The US government has announced an additional $133 million in humanitarian assistance for South Sudanese refugees outside the country as well as for internally displaced persons (IDPs). US Agency for International Development (USAID) administrator Gayle Smith made the announcement on the margins of the just ended United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The US government said the funding will also assist refugees who had fled to South Sudan, and others affected by the ongoing conflict. This additional funding brings the total U.S. humanitarian aid for the people of South Sudan to nearly $1.9 billion since the start of the conflict in December 2013.
The latest spate of violence in the country started in July, when forces allied to President Salva Kiir and the former vice president Dr. Riek Machar clashed in the presidential palace, in what the government has said was an attempt to topple the government.
While making the announcement, the US government demanded that all parties stop attacking civilians, allow humanitarian agencies unfettered access to those in need, and to cease violations of international humanitarian law and principles.
“No amount of humanitarian aid will end the violence or provide lasting solutions to this man-made crisis. We call on South Sudan’s leaders to prioritize the safety and security of the citizens they represent, to restore stable environments for civilians and humanitarians, and to enable people to rebuild their lives,” said a statement from the US department of state.
And speaking in New York, South Sudan vice president Taban Deng Gai, asked the international community to support the Transitional South Sudan government, as it endeavours to implement the peace agreement signed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, last year, between President Kiir and Dr. Machar. He said that the support should be given in a spirit of mutual respect and dialogue. He added that all nations, whether rich or poor, should be accorded respect and be listened to at the UN.
This happened as the UN mission in South Sudan announced that more than 6,000 IDPs in Kuda, 54 kilometres west of Juba town, were in need of humanitarian assistance, after fleeing from their homes two weeks ago, following clashes between government forces and a group of armed men.
The IDPs are in need of food, water, shelter and medicine. They said they are in the bush because they fear for their lives, adding that their children cannot go to school.
The UN says that more than 2.7 million South Sudanese have fled their homes to other parts of South Sudan or to neighbouring countries like Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda, as refugees.