The ongoing presence of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in Leer County, Southern Unity State, is contributing to improve security allowing lifesaving humanitarian operations in the area.

The presence of UNMISS in Leer County has been reinforced since November 2015 through the deployment of a company from the Mongolian Battalion (MONBATT), which allows situational awareness of the conflicting parties, monitoring of human rights abuses, monitoring of movements of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), protection for civilians and facilitation of peace dialogue.

Both Government and SPLA-IO county authorities said the ongoing patrols and peace dialogue facilitated by UNMISS has resulted in increased freedom of access for humanitarians to address food insecurity and health issues of the population.

Leer County Commissioner Wal Yach said “Leer has seen some improvement in terms of general security compared to the previous months.” Yach acknowledged the fact that UNMISS presence in Leer has helped in improving coordination between  the Government and the Opposition to deal  with issues of cattle raiding which  is an ongoing problem. He further said “with the presence of UNMISS, the presence humanitarians at Leer also increased.” The County Commissioner urged people who left the county to come back as peace is returning and asked all citizens to commit themselves to peace and reconciliation. 

The SPLA-IO County Commissioner of Leer, Kwong Kuony, also noted that the presence of UNMISS in the county has improved the security situation, stating “we praise UNMISS for their time to be here to safeguard the lives of citizens in Leer.”  He called on more humanitarians to come to the county to assess the situation and provide necessary support.  

Local and International humanitarian organizations operating in the county including ICRC, Norwegian Refugee Council, MSF, Midair,  Nile Hope and  Universal Intervention Development Organization.

Gatluak Gatliem is working as a nutrition attendant for the local Non-Governmental Organization Nile Hope. “When UNMISS was based in Leer, we worked on the islands and getting supplies to these locations was not easy. But now, thanks to UNMISS, it is safe to move to Adok and we are able to reach 100 to 300 children and lactating mothers,” Gatlluak appreciated.

John Gatlel from the SPLA -IO South Sudan Relief and Reintegration Agency in Leer said the presence of UNMISS and NGOs has allowed the people to move freely. “When the people see NGOs activities and the presence of UNMISS they come out from where they went for hiding,” John said.

John Kong who is working as logistic manager for a local NGO known as Universal Integration Development Organization said “security here in Leer is calm because UNMISS is patrolling. People are getting humanitarian support now and taking food to those in areas that are hard to reach.”