Some 120,000 people fled into the bush to escape fighting and MSF says the army has refused to allow or facilitate the provision of emergency medicines, food and water to the displaced
NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Thousands of South Sudanese hiding out in malaria-infested swamps will die unless the government allows humanitarian aid in, the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Friday.
In early May, some 120,000 people fled into the bush because of fighting between the government and rebels in South Sudan’s troubled Jonglei state. MSF said the army has refused to allow or facilitate the provision of emergency medicines, food and water to the displaced.
“MSF knows from years of experience in Jonglei that without medical care people will not be able to live for long and will die of pneumonia and other respiratory diseases,” MSF’s director of operations, Bart Janssens, said in a statement. “Immediate action is required to avoid catastrophe.”
Violence has escalated in Jonglei since March, when the army launched an offensive against rebels – led by David Yau Yau – who say they want to end corruption and the dominance of the ruling party.
NOT A PLACE PEOPLE CAN REMAIN ALIVE
The rainy season has begun and the area where people are hiding will flood, MSF said. The rains also bring malarial mosquitoes and those sleeping out in the open are easy targets.
“This will not be a place where people can remain alive,” Janssens said.
On May 10, aid agencies evacuated from the town of Pibor, days before security forces went on the rampage, looting several agency compounds and homes, including MSF’s hospital.
The army said officers who had defected from a state wildlife force caused the damage, denying regular soldiers were behind the attack.
The town emptied of civilians, with government soldiers and UN peacekeepers remaining behind.
While the U.N. plans to help aid agencies return to Pibor, MSF says the government is denying humanitarian access to the bush where most people are hiding.
“Repeated requests by MSF to the authorities to travel outside these towns [Pibor and Gumruk] to deliver assistance to the people hiding in the bush have been denied,” the statement said.
“Recently MSF was informed unambiguously by the SPLA [army] commanders that the organisation would not be permitted to go to opposition held territory to provide medical care, or that travel into the bush to conduct assessments of the needs of displaced people would not be permitted until such time as the government has 'control' of the area,” it added.
FLOOD WATER
People are too scared to walk to town to seek medical care because they fear being confused with rebels or caught in the crossfire, MSF said. The population of Pibor is predominantly Murle, the same ethnic group as rebel leader Yau Yau.
The Murle are a minority who have been marginalised and also embroiled in a long-running conflict over land and cattle with the Lou Nuer, which has a strong presence in the army.
Since winning independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan has been struggling to impose its authority across vast swathes of territory teeming with weapons after decades of civil war with Khartoum.
Yau Yau, a former theology student, launched the rebellion in 2010 after failing to win a seat in the state parliament. He was granted amnesty in 2011, only to take up arms again a year later.
MSF called on the government to allow immediate humanitarian access to these areas to prevent thousands of deaths.
"The urgency of this cannot be overstated. People are displaced in a zone that will shortly be under a metre or more of flood water," Janssens said.
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