International

South Sudan hit by hunger, looting and cholera following violence

Published

8 years ago

July 20, 2016

War prone South Sudan is now suffering the consequences of the stand-off between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and armed men loyal to first vice president and former rebel leader Riek Machar which reportedly displaced over 36,000 people.

Over 5,000 people fled to Uganda, almost all women and children who had walked for days, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said.

Reports say that as a result of the violence in the capital of Juba, scores of people have taken ill with suspected cholera, while a U.N. food warehouse was looted and destroyed, incurring $20 million in damage, the United Nations informed on Tuesday.

The violence in Juba prompted many traders and markets to shut down, and insecurity along supply routes meant food supplies were likely to dwindle further, the U.N.’s World Food Programme (WFP) noted.

“We expect a huge humanitarian crisis. Even before the current crisis, the health system in South Sudan was facing a crisis due to near economic collapse,” World Health Organization spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said.

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