South Sudan: As people die in Nyatim, humanitarian access must be opened
Around 30,000 people seek safety, following recent violence in Lankien and Pieri.
A humanitarian disaster is unfolding in Nyatim, in Nyirol county, Jonglei state, South Sudan. Some 30,000 people have fled to Nyatim in search of safety after recent violence in Lankien and Pieri, finding shelter under trees next to a swamp. According to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) staff members who are in the area, at least 58 people have died over the past four weeks, where authorities are blocking humanitarian access to aid organizations.
Most of the people displaced to Nyatim are women, children, older people, people who are ill and others who are unable to move to safer locations. As well as being subjected to abductions by armed gangs, people are without adequate food and shelter, clean water, medicines or means to leave the area. Humanitarian access and a scale up of assistance are urgently needed in Nyatim.
“One of our colleagues, who is currently in Nyatim, has reported that people are dying of suspected hunger, as their only food is boiled tree leaves.”
Gul Badshah, MSF operations manager
The information comes from our colleagues who were displaced from Lankien and Pieri and arrived at Nyatim, subsequently describing the situation there.
“One of our colleagues, who is currently in Nyatim, has reported that people are dying of suspected hunger, as their only food is boiled tree leaves,” says Gul Badshah, MSF operations manager. “They also said around a dozen children died of acute watery diarrhea and suspected malaria.”
“Based on the ground reports, at least 10 people were abducted by armed gangs in the Nyatim area, including one breastfeeding mother who was shot dead,” says Badshah.
MSF teams also spoke with women who were able to leave Nyatim with their children and arrived at Chuil, where we are responding to people who have been displaced there. Distance between the two villages is some 50 kilometres, which means people have to walk for days while being exposed to potential violence.
“We adults try to be strong, but the children die in front of our eyes,” says Nyaluat, who arrived in Chuil. “Sometimes children watch their mothers or fathers die. This was happening every day in Nyatim. If you survive, you survive. If you die, you die. That is how we live now.”
“The truth is people are dying there,” says Nyapini, who is displaced in Chuil. “Some die from sickness, some from hunger and some are killed in the bush when they go to collect wild fruits, leaves or water lilies. If something can be done to help them, it would be very important.”
“When we fled Lankien, the men and women became separated,” says Nyaruop, who is displaced. “We ran in different directions and I went with the children toward Nyatim. We suffered a lot there. We were hungry, we were sick and there was no help coming from anywhere. Life there was very hard.”
“People in Nyatim are being trapped. Even if they want to leave this area, the vast majority of them do not have the strength or means, including transportation and money to do so,” says Badshah. “MSF calls upon the relevant authorities to urgently secure humanitarian access to Nyatim and prevent even more deaths and suffering. Our teams have been requesting access to Nyatim for the past month, but without any success so far.”
MSF also calls upon the international community, UN agencies, relevant embassies and other influential organizations to help urgently secure humanitarian access to Nyatim.
At least 25,000 people who fled the conflict in Jonglei state have sought refuge in Chuil, a small town in the same state, on the shores of Sobat River. There, MSF has scaled up the general healthcare centre to provide emergency care, treatment for malnutrition, maternal health services and stabilization for trauma cases. Our teams also distributed relief items to more than 1,500 families to help them cope with the harsh living conditions, with more distributions planned. To help support access to water and sanitation services, MSF is building latrines and constructing a water purification plant.
