Thousands Displaced By Violence In South Sudan’s Tombura

By Awan Achiek

Violence in Tombura town of Western Equatoria State has left thousands of displaced civilians without access to food and livelihood, according to a civil society activist.

Edmund Yakani, Executive Director for the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) said displaced persons are in dire need of urgent humanitarian assistance following heightened violence since June.

The localized violence has pitied communities against each other and it’s alleged to be politically instigated by rival politicians from the area.

“The town is witnessing the displacement of civilians who are in dire need of humanitarian assistance,” Yakani told The Juba Echo by phone from Tombura on Friday.

Yakani disclosed that the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is the only humanitarian agency that is assisting the displaced civilians in the area.

 “The internally displaced persons (IDPs) are seeking shelter at Mary Parish which is a Catholic Parish, it has over 5,000 and some others are sheltering in former GIZ (German Agency for International Cooperation) compound,” he said.

He urged the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in the country to respond to the dire humanitarian situation in Tombura.

“The situation is dire, citizens are living in panic because the armed youth in bushes are still committing atrocities such as burning houses and killing innocent civilians,” said Yakani.

He revealed that children and women are suffering with no shelter, food, and medicine.