Peace Monitors Raises Alarm Over Increased Attacks On Aid Workers In South-Sudan

South Sudan peace monitors on Thursday called on authorities to investigate the latest attacks at the Maban camp in northern Upper Nile in which aid workers were injured.

Relief agencies have said the current wave of attacks on its workers including civilians Maban County which has no military or police presence, is symptomatic of the brutal violence that has characterized the conflict in South Sudan since December 2013.

Maban County is home to a major aid operation providing life-saving relief to over thousands of refugees and local communities

The Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) also expressed its outrage and strongly condemned the attack on humanitarian workers and the destruction of facilities and equipment at the Maban camp.

“Attacks on aid workers who diligently offer their services to alleviate the suffering of people of South Sudan, are deeply regrettable.

“It is also a violation of the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities, Protection of Civilians and Humanitarian Access signed in December 2017,” the peace monitors said in a joint statement.

The peace monitors said the latest attack at Maban camp is one of the many other attacks that targeted aid workers in the country in the recent past, including killings of personnel.

“JMEC calls on the authorities to carry out an independent investigation into the attack and to hold those responsible to account,” the commission said.

South Sudan has been embroiled in more than three years of conflict that has have taken a devastating toll on the people of South Sudan.

The conflict has displaced some four million people internally and externally, with the UN warning that another seven million people remain severely food insecure.