UN Urges International Community Not to Give Up on South Sudan

GENEVA - As South Sudan marks its 10th year of independence, the U.N. refugee agency is calling on countries to continue support for the world’s youngest nation, which, it says, shows promising signs of creating a better future for its beleaguered population. The past 10 years in South Sudan have been marked by brutal conflict, hundreds of thousands of deaths, and the largest displacement crisis in Africa.  

The U.N. refugee agency says 1.6 million people are internally displaced within South Sudan and another 2.2 million are refugees in neighboring countries.  The UNHCR representative in South Sudan, Arafat Jamal, says more than two-thirds of the country’s 12 million people need humanitarian assistance.   Speaking on a video link from the capital, Juba, he says the country is suffering from one of the worst food and nutrition crises in the world, noting 7.2 million people do not have enough to eat.