Hundreds of civilians staged a peaceful protest in Walgak Payam, Akobo County, on Monday, calling for urgent humanitarian aid as severe food shortages threaten the community.
Protesters appealed to the World Food Programme (WFP), the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), and other aid agencies to deliver food, medicine, clean water and shelter to families affected by conflict and displacement.
Walgak, in the Akobo West area of Akobo County, has experienced acute food shortages since April after military operations displaced thousands of civilians and disrupted livelihoods. Many families returned home between May and July but found little or no humanitarian assistance available.
Demonstrators alleged that food supplies had been blocked from reaching the area, further worsening the crisis.
Akobo West has seen recent fighting between the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In-Opposition (SPLA-IO) forces, which led to the killing of government-appointed commissioner James Kueth and several other officials.
“We are starving. I am finding it difficult to speak due to hunger. We do not have food and no clean drinking water,” a woman told Radio Tamazuj. “We feed on leaves and grasses, but they are getting dry due to lack of rain. Please rescue us now.”
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