South Sudan: UNHCR condemns ‘senseless’ attacks against aid workers
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has condemned attacks in South Sudan against aid workers and called for increased protection after workers were targeted by armed men at the weekend.
In a statement, UNHCR described the attack as a “senseless act” against humanitarian workers who are in the country to deliver aid to vulnerable people in the world’s youngest nation.
UNHCR condemns attack against aid workers
“UNHCR strongly condemns this senseless act against aid workers who were there to improve the lives of refugees and vulnerable South Sudanese nationals,” the agency said in a statement.
The attack took place in the early morning of Sunday when armed men broke into an NGO compound in Bunj town in Upper Nile’s Maban County where they assaulted staff and stole their belongings.
UNHCR has noted an increase in attacks against aid workers in recent months. The weekend’s attack comes a month after three United Nations staff working in South Sudan’s Central Equatoria Region were killed.
“UNHCR calls for enhanced respect for international humanitarian and human rights law to protect civilians and humanitarian workers from violence and to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice immediately,” the agency said.
Featured image: By UNHCR – http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5518123
