Jonglei, South Sudan — Amidst a surge of violence, tens of thousands of South Sudanese have been forced to flee their homes, now surviving under the scorching sun in Jonglei State, South Sudan.
The displacement has been fueled by a rise in hostilities between government forces and opposition groups, with many families walking for days to escape the relentless attacks and the destruction of their villages.
The situation is dire, with reports indicating that the displaced are lacking basic amenities such as food, water, and medical care. “I have lived through many wars, but this kind of displacement has never happened before, “says Moses, a 77-year-old survivor from Lankien, South Sudan.
The scale of the devastation is unprecedented, with homes being reduced to ashes in a scale not witnessed before. Adding to their plight is the lack of access to healthcare, which is already scarce in the region. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been scaling up its efforts to provide medical and humanitarian support in areas such as Chuil and Ulang county, though the response is still insufficient.
The attacks on health facilities have only worsened the situation, with the MSF — supported hospital in Ulang being looted and destroyed, and Lankien Hospital being bombed recently, leading to the closure of two main referral hospitals in the region.
The crisis has seen a pattern of alarming attacks on health facilities and healthcare workers, alongside violence against civilians. Nyamai, a mother of three living in an informal displacement site in Chuil, speaks of the extreme measures taken to survive: “At one point, we survived by boiling leaves from the trees and eating them. We had nothing else.”.
The urgency for food, water, and shelter is palpable, with the need far beyond hospital care and medicine. Humanitarian organizations are stepping up their activities, but the response is still inadequate. MSF has called on all parties to the conflict to take all feasible measures to spare civilians from the effects of hostilities, emphasizing the importance of ensuring safe, sustained, uninterrupted humanitarian access.
*Additional reporting by ImNews | Sources consulted: 5*
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This original article was produced by the ImNews editorial team
Source: reliefweb
Source: Médecins Sans Frontières
