28 aid workers killed in South Sudan in 2017: U.N

January 21, 2017 (JUBA) – At least 28 aid workers were killed in war-torn South Sudan in 2017, the United Nations said in a statement.

The UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA) said there were also several incidences aid workers were involved in while doing their work, with violent related cases recorded, including killings, looting and threats.

“In 2017, 1,159 humanitarian access incidents were reported by aid agencies in South Sudan. This is the highest number of incidents in a year, representing a significant increase, compared to 908 in 2016 and 909 in 2015,” OCHA said in its latest bulletin.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than two million displaced in the country’s worst civil war, now in its fifth year.

In November last year, South Sudan President Salva Kiir ordered free and unimpeded movement for aid agencies all over the country. Despite this, however, attack on aid workers continued, the UN said.

South Sudan is considered the world’s most dangerous place to be an aid worker, with at least 95 killed since the country’s war started.

Attacks against humanitarian relief workers, under international humanitarian law, may constitute war crimes.

(ST)