Call for aid in South Sudan

Lise Grande is the UN Resident and Humanitarian Co-ordinator for South Sudan

Deutsche Welle: What scope of humanitarian assistance is the UN looking at?

Lise Grande: It's clear that we are going to have to mount a massive and comprehensive emergency operation in order to help the people who have been affected by the violence to regain stability and their livelihood. Hours after the Lou Nuer youth had left, the humanitarian situation was grim. For up to a week, they didn't have access to food, they didn't have access to safe water, they didn't have access to shelter. We also saw people coming back with wounded. These were clearly the people who needed help the most urgently and the UN took steps in order to evacuate them so they could be treated at hospitals.

Apart from the insecurity that has hampered relief operations, what other obstacles are hindering humanitarian assistance in Jonglei?

Well, Pibor is one of the most isolated areas in all of South Sudan and at present it is impossible to get into the town via road, so all humanitarian assistance has to be provided by air. Of course, this is very costly and very difficult to arrange.

And how is the security situation at the moment?

The security situation in Pibor is very good. And, in fact, all during the crisis, the government held the town, it never actually fell. The southern part of the town was breached by the Lou Nuer column on the first day that they arrived but only for a little bit of time. Probably ten grass huts where people live were burnt and the medical clinic that is run by Medecins Sans Frontieres was looted, but the medical clinic itself is still intact. That was the only damage to the town. But, of course, before the column arrived in Pibor it had been moving from the town of Lekongole in a southerly fashion. Now Lekongele was burnt to the ground, although the overwhelming majority of the people had evacuated the town before the column arrived, so they were safe, but in that town now there is nothing left. The houses have been destroyed and the buildings have all been destroyed. That's another major area of our operations. We are going to have to get into Lekongole as well and provide life-saving assistance, so people can come back and start to rebuild their lives.

Interviewer: Chrispin Mwakideu
Editor: Susan Houlton/mik