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Armed attack on UN boats disrupts food aid operation in Southern Sudan

Armed attack on UN boats disrupts food aid operation in Southern Sudan

An archive image of WFP beneficiaries in Southern Sudan
Armed gunmen attacked a convoy of 27 boats carrying United Nations food aid to thousands of displaced persons in Southern Sudan, delivering a “major blow” to the work of the World Food Programme (WFP) in the region.

Armed gunmen attacked a convoy of 27 boats carrying United Nations food aid to thousands of displaced persons in Southern Sudan, delivering a “major blow” to the work of the World Food Programme (WFP) in the region.

WFP’s Sudan Country Director, Kenro Oshidari, warned that a recent increase in inter-tribal – or tribal – fighting in Southern Sudan “could derail recovery and rebuilding efforts that we are supporting.

“The attack on the boats carrying WFP food meant for 19,000 internally displaced people in Akobo County is a major blow to our operation,” stressed Mr. Oshidari.

The boats had been travelling on the Sobat River, a tributary of the White Nile, on Friday with a 735-ton cargo of sorghum and other food aid for refugees who had fled ethnic violence in Southern Sudan.

According to media reports, some 40 Southern Sudanese soldiers were killed in the attack near the town of Nasir, close to Ethiopia, and dozens more wounded.

Michelle Iseminger, the head of the WFP programme in the Southern Sudanese capital of Juba, said that so far “16 boats have returned to Nasir, all without the food they were carrying.” The UN has reports that four or five of the other boats have sunk and the fate of the others is unknown.

WFP shipped a 15-day food ration for about 16,000 people in Akobo in April, and Ms. Iseminger noted that the blocking of the northern route, via the Sobat River, not only obstructs humanitarian aid but also commercial trade from reaching the area.

On Saturday, WFP resorted to airlifting food but the amount required is in the hundreds of tons and “the Buffalo planes we use can only carry 5 tons on each trip,” said Ms. Iseminger.

WFP, along with the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) and the Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), is negotiating with the Government for secure humanitarian access along the Sobat River, the only effective way to deliver large quantities of food aid.