WUNRN

http://www.wunrn.com

 

SOUTH SUDAN - HUMANITARIAN CRISIS - SERIOUS DISPLACEMENT - ALARMING FOOD INSECURITY - WOMEN & CHILDREN

 

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/07/rainy-season-worsens-south-sudan-crisis-201471211626270952.html

 

SOUTH SUDAN - RAINY SEASON WORSEND CRISIS - WOMEN & CHILDREN

At one UN site alone, approximately 4 children below the age of 5 are dying each day.

 

 

SOUTH SUDAN - UN WARNING OF MAJOR HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

Karin Zeitvogel -July 17, 2014

The United Nations' top humanitarian official, Valerie Amos, said this weekthe international community must intervene quickly in South Sudan, or watch theyoung country sink even deeper into disaster and possible famine.

"If we don't take urgent action now, we will see a major humanitarian crisisunfolding in South Sudan with respect to food insecurity and the possibility offamine," Amos said after briefing the U.N. Security Council on the deterioratingsituations in both South Sudan and Sudan.

Amos said ongoing fighting and the breakdown of the peace process for SouthSudan is putting hundreds of thousands of lives at risk.

“My fear is that, because of the conflict - because the agreement that wasreached between the two parties, that agreement is being broken every day andthe fighting continuing - that we will see a very quick deterioration of thefood security situation with the potential for a famine being declared verysoon," Amos said.

My fear is that because of the conflict, becausethe agreement that was reached between the two parties... is being broken everyday and the fighting continuing, we will see a very quick deterioration of thefood security situation with the potential for a famine being declared verysoon.

Valerie Amos, UN Humanitarian Chief

She warned that famine is also a strong possibility in parts of SouthKordofan, in Sudan. The United Nations and others in the international communitysay bombing raids carried out in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states by thegovernment in Khartoum have forced large numbers of Sudanese from their homesand have interrupted farming.

"We have already heard that the famine early warning system network hasforecast that the emergency levels of food insecurity are likely to persistamong the internally displaced and host communities in SPLM-North controlledareas of South Kordofan between now and September," Amos said.

"I warned the Council that if aerialbombardment continues to disrupt agricultural activities, we can expect theimpact to extend well beyond the harvest in September," shesaid.

Amos called on the Security Council and "anyone with any kind of politicalinfluence" to bring pressure to stop the violence on the warring parties inSouth Sudan and Sudan. She also called for U.N. humanitarian operations in thetwo Sudans to be scaled up significantly.

The U.N. says 1.5 million people have been displaced and around four millionface alarming food insecurity as a result of seven months of fighting in SouthSudan. It also says that tens of thousands have been displaced by violence inSouth Kordofan, which is one of Sudan’s biggest production areas for sorghum, astaple food.