South Sudan: people's suffering 'indescribable' as civil war aggravates poverty

July 09, 2015

Four years after South Sudan gained its independence, the people of the young African nation remain in severe poverty, aggravated by continuing civil strife, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) reports.

Over 2 million people have fled from their homes in South Sudan to escape the fighting between the government and rebel forces led by former vice president Riek Machar. The UN reports that 850,000 refugees from South Sudan are living in neighboring African countries, while 1.5 million are displaced within the country. Ironically, a steadily mounting number of people from South Sudan are seeking refugee in Sudan: the country from which they only recently won independence.

Especially in the Upper Nile region, the suffering of the populace is “indescribable,” sources told ACN. In addition to hunger and lack of shelter and medicine, refugees cope with episodes of violence that include sexual assaults on women and sniper fire into refugee camps.

 

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Further information:

• South Sudan – and the indescribable suffering of its people after 4 years of independence (ACN)