Safety, security of aid workers deteriorated in South Sudan in 2020: UN

Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-20 00:51:53|Editor: huaxia
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JUBA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The safety of humanitarian workers worsened in South Sudan with nine aid workers killed and more than 300 violent incidents reported in 2020 alone, the UN humanitarian agency said Friday.

The deaths bring the total number of aid workers who have lost their lives since the east African nation plunged into civil war in 2013 to 124, according to a 2020 humanitarian access overview report released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Juba.

OCHA attributed the increase in aid worker deaths to intensified sub-national violence, compounded by the intensity of ambushes against aid workers.

"An increase in sub-national and localized violence, including the resumption of politicized conflict in parts of the country, impacted humanitarian operations and impeded humanitarian assistance to vulnerable people," OCHA said.

"Based on available information, the compromise of humanitarian access in 2020 was mainly as a result of active hostilities and violence against humanitarian workers and assets," OCHA said.

OCHA further noted that looting and theft of humanitarian supplies from warehouses and convoys in transit significantly increased in 2020, with 50 incidents reported across the country compared to 14 incidents in 2019.

South Sudan was ranked the most dangerous place to deliver aid, according to the Worker Security Report for 2018. Enditem

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