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Clashes force people from homes, hampers aid delivery in S. Sudan

14 March 2014 01:13 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that continued fighting in Jonglei, Unity and Upper Nile states in South Sudan, is forcing more people from their homes and making it difficult to reach people in need of humanitarian aid, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said here Thursday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"Our humanitarian colleagues continue to negotiate with all sides to facilitate humanitarian operations, to recover looted assets and to ensure the safety of national and international aid workers," Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

However, the spokesman did not give further information on how many people were forced out of their homes in the wake of the continuous fighting in the South Sudanese states.

"The UN Mission in the country and our humanitarian colleagues in the country and our humanitarian colleagues say that heavy rain in Juba continues to cause problems at the UNMISS Tomping compound, " he said, referring to the UN Mission in South Sudan. "The transfers of displaced people from that base began slowly yesterday."

Jonglei is one of the 10 states in South Sudan, and it is also the largest and most populous state in the youngest country in the world.

Jonglei state has seen some of the fiercest fighting during South Sudan's crisis that began in mid-December 2013. The fighting has continued in Jonglei, sandwiched by the country's two oil- producing states, even after a cessation of hostilities agreement was signed in January.