South Sudan: UN Condemns Killing of Aid Worker

By Development Diaries
May 14, 2021

United Nations has called for law enforcement along roads in South Sudan after the killing of an aid worker in Budi, East Equatoria.

The aid worker was killed when assailants fired at a clearly marked humanitarian vehicle that was part of a team of international non-governmental organisations and South Sudanese health workers travelling to a health facility.

It was gathered that the team was driving from Chukudum to Kapoeta in Budi County in an area that has seen several roadside ambushes in 2021.

‘I am shocked by this violent act and send my condolences to the family and colleagues of the deceased’, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, Alain Noudéhou, said in a statement.

‘The roads are a vital connection between humanitarian organisations and communities in need, and we must be able to move safely across the country without fear.

‘I call on the government to strengthen law enforcement along these roads’.

The incident marked the first killing of an aid worker in the country this year. Nine aid workers were killed in 2020.

South Sudan has been struggling with communal conflict.

The years-long civil war has contributed to an economic crisis and below-average harvest that continues to send food prices skyrocketing.

More than 1.4 million South Sudanese are displaced inside the country, with many seeking refuge in neighbouring countries, according to a report by Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE).