Oxfam has warned that the renewed conflicts in the Pibor Administrative Area of South Sudan could cripple the gains of humanitarian efforts in the area and other parts of the country.

The organisation called on communities in the Pibor Administrative Area and other parts of South Sudan to reach a consensus on burning issues and come to a peaceful agreement.

In December 2022, the United Nations (UN) warned of a looming wave of violence. Barely a week later, youths attacked and razed down entire neighbourhoods in Pibor.

An interagency assessment of the situation puts the figure of those displaced by the crisis at over 17,000 people.

‘Some areas of the Greater Pibor have already been in a dire state of food insecurity for a very long time – a situation that is identical to where families cannot afford to put a single meal any day, let alone the risk of it worsening further with the current fighting’, Oxfam Country Director in South Sudan, Dr Manenji Mangundu, said in a statement.

‘Over the last two weeks, we managed to distribute quick impact non-food items to at least 2500 households, as we gather additional items to support more of the displaced persons.

‘Together with other agencies, we would like to ensure the displaced get their bare minimum of basic services.

‘Communities in Pibor and South Sudan as a whole cannot afford another wave of violence and this escalation in intercommunal conflict means degenerating from recent gains made in silencing the guns and getting closer to achieving basic food security.

‘Such conflict reflects badly on efforts to bring basic necessities to communities that recently faced up with floods and emerged from the effects of Covid-19.

‘We urge communities to take advantage of any opportunity to discuss and reach a consensus on any burning issues’.

A recent assessment shows that at least 17,000 people are sheltering in schools and other facilities within Pibor town.

Photo source: EUCPHA