Denied access to conflict-affected areas around Wau aggravates humanitarian situation of population

27 Aug 2018

Denied access to conflict-affected areas around Wau aggravates humanitarian situation of population

Zenebe Teklewold

With the UN, humanitarian actors and ceasefire monitors still being denied access to conflict-affected areas to the west and southwest of Wau, it is likely that the situation for remaining residents has deteriorated.

Knowing the exact nature of the security and humanitarian situation in areas like Baggari, Bazia and Mboro is impossible, with no access having been permitted since the second week of June, when clashes in these locations erupted.

An assessment team from the World Food Programme (WFP) that did reach Baggari County was met by harassment and life-threatening intimidation by armed men. What they managed to observe was an area largely abandoned by civilians.

Reports from the ground have, however, been received from people who managed to flee and seek shelter elsewhere. The accounts given to a delegation from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan on its recent assessment visit to a temporary camp in Agok Hospital, 14 km from Wau, are harrowing.

A 26-year-old displaced woman from Gedi village in Baggari County recounted that armed men entered her village on 20 July, prompting residents to run for the bushes.

“They abducted 23 women from the area”, she said.

A 45-year-old woman gave the UNMISS team a similar narrative from a different village in the Baggari County.

“In July 2018, my family (husband and eight children) resided in one of the villages in Baggari County when armed men approached our village and began shooting at us”, she said, adding that civilians fled into the bush while their properties were looted.

As a result, the hospital compound in Agok has been filling up considerably: since mid-June the approximately 900 households who have been staying here since unrest taking place last year have been joined by another 420 families, according to camp manager James Okello.

UNMISSdeputy chief Alain Noudehou, responsible for the UN family’s coordination of humanitarian actions, visited Wau on 23 August for discussions with senior government officials at the local level. He emphasized that consistent, continuous access to areas ravaged by violence is a must to assess and respond to the needs of those remaining there.

“If we don’t reach the population in Baggari and other affected counties, they will be in a much more stressful situation,” he affirmed.

Before the beginning of the recent clashes, humanitarian actors brought lifesaving aid to more than 30,000 people in Baggari County alone, significantly reducing levels of malnutrition amongst the most vulnerable in the process.

By contrast, the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission in Wau reports that the first week of August saw the death of three malnourished children in the area.

“This is due to the delay in granting humanitarian partners access,” said Michael Geba, director of the commission. 

Violence taking place during the cultivation season has made farming impossible, with civilians abandoning their lands in favour of the relative safety in the bush. Reaching out to these food insecure citizens will only be possible with credible security assurances from all warring parties, making safe and continuous access to their locations a reality.

The Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed on 21 December 2017, and recently renewed as a “permanent ceasefire”, stipulates that warring parties are to guarantee humanitarian aid unhindered access to civilians in need.

The agreement also states that parties cooperate fully with the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangement Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM), the body tasked with monitoring and verifying the ceasefire, and report on any breaches of it.