US diplomat, UNMISS chief visit Upper Nile state
March 10, 2015 (MALAKAL/JUBA) – The head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, Ellen Margrethe Loej, and the United States charge d’affaires, Charles Twining, visited Malakal, the Upper Nile state capital on Tuesday.
The two officials met Upper Nile’s deputy governor, Gwinye Philip Chan and ministers in the state to discuss reports of the continuing recruitment of child soldiers in the state and other issues of concern.
This comes weeks after the UN Children Fund (UNICEF) reported the forceful abduction of hundreds of school children by armed militias allegedly linked to the Juba-based Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).
“I expressed my grave concerns about the forcible recruitment of boys recently at the Wau Shilluk village near Malakal and elsewhere in Upper Nile State,” said Loej in a release Sudan Tribune obtained.
“I stressed the importance of holding accountable all those who engage in this unacceptable practice, and I shared with the Deputy Governor the assurances given by President Salva Kiir Mayardit to me last month that the boys would be rescued,” she stressed.
The senior UN also addressed the proposed establishment of a forward operating base in Malakal town manned by UNMISS peacekeepers to promote a more secure and safe environment for internally displaced persons wishing to voluntarily return home.
Loej was “appalled” by the extent of the damage inflicted on the main market and teaching hospital of Malakal, a once thriving river port that was reduced to a ghost town during intense fighting that engulfed the city in the initial stages of the conflict.
Both the US envoy and ambassador Twining were briefed on security and humanitarian conditions in Upper Nile by the mission’s state Coordinator Deborah Schein, officials from UN agencies and the Mongolian commander of UN peacekeepers in Upper Nile.
The two officials also visited the UNMISS protection-of-civilians site and met with community leaders of the IDP population, which is estimated to exceed 21,000. They were briefed on the progress of ongoing construction work to expand the area of the existing protection site before the onset of the rainy season later this year.
UNMISS opened its gates to all unarmed civilians facing a threat of physical violence from the onset of the crisis 14 months ago. Currently, an estimated 112,000 displaced people are being sheltered at six protection sites nationwide, UN officials say.
(ST)