UNHCR Delegation Visits South Sudan Amid More Aid Worker Attacks

MABAN, SOUTH SUDAN, JUBA - The head of a high-level U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) delegation visiting a refugee camp in Maban, South Sudan, this week said threats and attacks against aid workers are continuing in parts of the country despite some government intervention.

Arafat Jamal, UNHCR’s country representative, said Thursday the delegation recently went to Maban to see how UNHCR and other agencies are working on the ground and to determine how aid work is sustaining the livelihoods of locals during and after the conflict. In 2019, up to 2,000 young people forcefully entered the UNHCR compound and those of 14 other aid agencies in Maban, which led to looting, arson, and the destruction of several vehicles and structures. The 2019 attacks forced aid agencies to suspend services in the area except for life-saving activities. Nearly 400 aid workers were evacuated from the Maban area.