UN Humanitarian chief visits Jonglei
February 2, 2012 (BOR) – Valerie Amos, the UN undersecretary for humanitarian affairs visited the conflict-affected areas of Jonglei state state Thursday.
Amos held a closed-door meeting with the Jonglei state governor, Kuol Manyang Juuk in Bor and continued to Akobo and Pibor counties; areas most afflicted by insecurity in recent months.
Amos told journalists she is in Jonglei to look at the impacts of the conflict to see how the UN and its partners can best assist.
Jonglei state is home to pastoralist communities that often engage in cattle rustling and child abduction. The proliferation of automatic weapons during more than two decades of Sudanese civil war, which ended in 2005 with the signing of the comprehensive peace agreement between then rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) and the Khartoum government.
The UN estimates that recent conflict in Jonglei has displaced 20,000 people.
In December 2011 Lou Nuer launched what they described as a revenge attack on Pibor county, home to the Murle. The Pibor county commissioner said over 3,000 people were killed in the attack – the UN refutes the figure.
The UN’s Amos said her visit aims at rallying “support for immediate humanitarian needs.”
Jonglei governor Kuol said the state is providing the information needed by the UN in order to address the humanitarian crisis.
(ST)