A crisis that can’t be ignored anymore

Action is needed to tackle the escalation of violence in South Sudan, writes Jane-Ann McKenna

JONGLEI State has become an epicentre of violence in South Sudan. A report by Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reveals the extreme level of violence, and the brutality associated with that violence, which has been devastating people’s lives in the world’s newest country.

‘South Sudan’s Hidden Crisis’ collates medical data and patient testimony recorded at MSF hospitals and clinics in Jonglei State over the past 18 months. The sheer intensity of violence perpetrated against civilians is immensely alarming.

Inter-communal cattle raiding has had a long history in this region, but whereas appropriating cattle used to be the primary aim of these incursions, the past few years has seen a change in the nature of the attacks.

Civilians, including women, children, and babies as young as four months old, are now being deliberately targeted. The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs has recorded 302 attacks in Jonglei between Jan 2011 and Sept 2012, resulting in 2,675 deaths and more than 200,000 people fleeing from their homes and villages.

A young mother of two explained how she ran away with her son to hide him in a safe location. When she returned to retrieve her two-year-old daughter, she found the girl had suffered kicks and stab wounds to the head. Fortunately, the child survived.

An elderly female patient described how the huts in her village were set on fire and children were thrown into the flames. All of the villagers tried to flee for their safety, but those who were not quick or agile enough, particularly the elderly and children, were wounded or killed.

In one attack last year, more than half the patients with gunshot wounds were women and children.

As was the case during the last peak of violence in 2009, when attacks occur, crops and food shops are destroyed, and whole populations flee into the bush where they wait in fear for days or weeks before seeking help.

Many people fall ill of potentially life-threatening diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea, or pneumonia while in hiding. MSF is concerned that survivors who do receive medical care represent only a fraction of the actual number of people who need help following each attack.

In response to the violence, the South Sudanese government launched a disarmament campaign last March. Additional members of the South Sudan Police Service and Sudan People’s Liberation Army were sent to Jonglei to disarm civilians. The UN mission in South Sudan supported the disarmament operation.

The process was accompanied by reports of abuse against civilians, mostly in Pibor County. Most recently, clashes between the South Sudan armed forces and a militia group in the area have led to further waves of panic and entire villages fleeing into the bush.

This hidden crisis can no longer be ignored; Jonglei is in the grip of an emergency. The population already faces recurring outbreaks of disease, malnutrition, and natural catastrophes such as flooding.

Medical facilities that offer a rare lifeline have been looted, damaged and destroyed, by armed groups, which makes providing urgently needed healthcare even more challenging. With many donors and NGOs focusing on transition and development, the response in this region has been placed on the shoulders of the few humanitarian organisations maintaining emergency capacity in the country.

As the dry season approaches, movement across the state becomes easier, and MSF fears that another spike in violent attacks will occur. The government of South Sudan, the UN, donors, and humanitarian groups must take all steps, including political backing and funding, to ensure there is adequate emergency response capacity.

*Jane-Ann McKenna is Head of Médecins Sans Frontières Ireland.