Jonglei’s Manyabol deserted due to lack of food, commissioner says

June 26, 2013 (BOR) – The locality of Manyabol in Pibor, Jonglei state has been abandoned by its inhabitants since two months ago due to “lack of food”, said a commissioner of the area on Wednesday .

Speaking to Sudan Tribune on phone from Pibor, the commissioner general Joshua Konyi, said his people in Manyabol deserted the area after they were unable to receive food aids from humanitarian agencies due to high levels of insecurity there.

“What I know is that they moved out, not at once, to other areas where they could get food supply. Some are now in Gumuruk, others are in Kochar and some came to Pibor headquarters”, he explained on Phone.

The UN OCHA said in its latest weekly bulletin that an inter-agency team reached the area on 17 June to inspect the situation.

The fact finding mission “found Manyabol emptied of civilians, reportedly following a clash on 26 May in which several civilians were reported killed”, said the humanitarian bulletin.

Sudan Tribune last May received reports about the killing of three local chiefs there, but the commissioner refused to give accurate account on who the suspects were and how many were killed.

OCHA said 560 of Manyabol displaced people are now in Gumuruk, where they will receive assistance from humanitarian groups, stressing that “the whereabouts of the population outside the town centre are unknown”.

The total population of Manyabol before the clashes was estimated at 4,000.

(ST)