Intercommunal conflicts undermine peaceful elections in South Sudan: Haysom

February 27, 2024 (ADDIS ABABA) – Persistent intercommunal fighting in South Sudan will undermine the ability to hold peaceful elections in December this year, the head of the United Nations Mission in the country (UNMISS) Nicholas Haysom warned on Monday.

Briefing the African Union Peace and Security Council, Haysom urged the government to urgently finalize and implement transitional security arrangements to settle this issue.

The UN mission said it set up a new team site in Unity State in line with its mandate to protect civilians and improve security in areas bordering Warrap state and Abyei region.

Peacekeepers, according to UNMISS, have begun deploying to the site to also mitigate any spillover effects of the recent clashes in the disputed Abyei region into South Sudan.

“Their presence will help build trust and confidence between communities and contribute to creating conditions conducive to the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance to those most affected by the heavy flooding in Bentiu and to thousands of people seeking refuge from the crisis in Sudan,” the UN noted.

Last week, the UN Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa, Hanna Tetteh called for urgent and intensive dialogue between Twic Dinka and Ngok Dinka group to prevent hostilities in Abyei area.

Tetteh who was accompanied the Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix held a tour of the territory claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan.

During the week-long tour, the two senior UN officials also met with political leaders in South Sudan and travelled to Abyei to support efforts to address rising insecurity.

Lacroix expressed concern over the spillover effect of the Sudan crisis into South Sudan, stressing the UN’s strong and ongoing support for South Sudan as it deals with a dire humanitarian situation, persistent intercommunal fighting, and works to overcome significant obstacles to holding the forthcoming elections.

Since the start of the war, nearly 8 million people, half of them children, have reportedly fled Sudan while around 560,000 have taken refuge in South Sudan.

Thousands of civilians, UN figures show, have been killed in the ongoing war in Sudan.

Additionally, some 25 million people, more than half of Sudan’s population, need humanitarian assistance, while an estimated 3.8 million children under the age of five are suffering from malnutrition, according to the UN.

(ST)