The United Nations’ top humanitarian official says many of the internally displaced people in South Sudan are afraid to return home despite a ceasefire agreement.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos made the comments during a visit to South Sudan, on Tuesday.
After visiting a camp for displaced people in the key oil town of Malakal, Amos said the security situation in the country has not improved despite a truce signed by the government and rebels led by former Vice President Riek Machar, last week.
“We will have to guarantee people’s security and I think even that is not going to be enough to people. When we spoke to people they said they’d completely lost faith,” Amos said.
“They (are) saying to us that they want to be relocated to another country.”
“There is a potential health hazard in these informal camps that have now sprung up with too many people, not enough water, not enough food,” she added.
The fighting erupted on December 15, 2013, after the South Sudanese president Salva Kiir accused Machar of attempting to stage a coup against his government.
Although Machar rejected the accusations, clashes between the two sides became more intense.
On January 23, South Sudan and the rebels signed a ceasefire agreement to end weeks of heavy fighting between the president’s Dinka tribe and Machar’s Nuer ethnic group.
Reports say as many as 10,000 people have lost their lives as a result of the violence. Thousands of others have also become displaced and forced to seek shelter at the UN camps.
SZH/PR/HRB
Source Article from http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/01/29/348263/s-sudanese-afraid-to-return-home-un/
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