The Acting Director of South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC) Archangelo Sebit has decried a shortfall in humanitarian assistance and the increasing number of displaced people as a result of ongoing military offensives in the Yei area.

Mr. Sebit told a visiting UNMISS team that the population is facing severe insecurity in the town, leaving them in a precarious situation as they roam from one part of the town to another in search of safety.

According to Sebit, the number of people trapped in Yei town could exceed 100,000, as reported in the past, compared to the 52,000 confirmed by the World Food Programme (WFP) in July.

While he appreciated the enormous endeavours of the various UN agencies in supporting the displaced people in the state, Mr. Sebit stated that huge food gaps remain.

He said that at least 1,000 of the confirmed internally displaced persons never received food in early November, during the first WFP food distribution exercise in the area.

“The rations were meant to last for a month. Without more humanitarian support, the population will soon be heading towards hunger and starvation”, Mr. Sebit warned.

 “There are people who live outside Yei Town in places such as Mukaya, Lasu, Otogo and Tore without access to Yei, which has some life-saving basic services,” he added.

Charity Dudu, a resident of Yei, said that the town was facing hunger because prices for the scarce food items available are skyrocketing on a daily basis.

Ms. Dudu said that the hunger is a result of rampant insecurity in the state since peasants are denied access to their farmlands.

“Our crops and farmlands are trapped between government forces and the opposition forces,” she said.

“I believe that a permanent UNMISS presence in the town will help build confidence in the population because the local people have lost trust in the security forces.”