Growing Crisis in Jonglei State Prompts NGOs to Demand Greater Access and Urgent Response

Two years after South Sudan gained independence, growing conflict in Pibor County, Jonglei State has caused almost the entire population to be displaced to flood-prone swamp lands still largely inaccessible to aid workers. Fearing targeting by armed actors, including the South Sudan Armed Forces (SSAF, formally the SPLA) and the non-state South Sudan Democratic Army (SSDA), more than 100,000 people are thought to be seeking refuge under harsh conditions.

Humanitarian agencies on the recent anniversary of South Sudan’s independence  demanded that the government and non-state armed actors allow them complete and unconditional access to affected populations across Jonglei State. Humanitarian assistance efforts are constantly disrupted by insecurity, a lack of access and the targeting of relief workers, according to the groups.

“Civilians in Pibor genuinely feel under siege from all sides,” said a senior aid worker with Pact, a U.S.-based NGO working in Jonglei. “The government cannot sit idly by and allow its own civilians to be targeted for violence or deliberately deprived of assistance or other basic needs.”

As the rainy season begins, these internally displaced people (IDPs) are at risk of isolation within the swamps. The marsh-like areas will become a prime breeding ground for mosquitoes, which when paired with a lack of access to clean drinking water or appropriate shelter dramatically heightens the risk of malaria and other diseases. To compound matters, in the past week reports have emerged of armed Lou Nuer and Dinka communities mobilizing and engaging in fierce clashes with Murle and the SSDA in close proximity to civilians.

“Many innocent civilians are at risk of being seriously isolated by this increased violence, and the prolonged impact of displacement, and have few choices left to access safety let alone basic assistance,” said the aid worker from Pact. “Those civilians that we have contact with have expressed a fear of the potential actions of armed forces against them should they return to towns for protection. In addition, civilians outside of towns are at risk of being targeted by other armed communities currently in the rural areas of Pibor."  

As a result of the fighting, civilians fled towns with services and goods such as clinics, safe water, and food for areas susceptible to flooding that are lacking these necessities. Given the onset of renewed violence that could also include large-scale cattle theft, these victims of conflict have few means of sustaining themselves and are in need of humanitarian assistance. 

For those seeking to provide assistance, restrictions on NGOs, insecurity and the logistical concerns of highly militarized conflict zones have greatly stalled efforts, according to an Inter-Sectoral Working Group Statement on Jonglei. 

Danger notwithstanding, many humanitarian groups have requested greater access to reach the 100,000 civilians trapped between raging violence in the north and mosquito-infested swamplands in the south. Should that request be denied, the risk for a humanitarian crisis in Pibor County looms as the rains begin and access to large parts of Jonglei State quickly evaporates until the next dry season. 

By Sarah Siguenza