ICRC warned of looming hunger in South Sudan 

International Committee for Red Cross has warned of severe imminent hunger in South Sudan during the Revitalized Peace Agreement. 

The humanitarian organization that provided food assistants to thousands of people across the country expressed the anxiety of severe looming hunger due to local food production decline.

According to the assessment conducted between November to December 2020, ICRC said communities in nine out of ten states harvested on average 50% production of cereal and vegetables compared to 2019. 

The fourth harvest monitory assessment was conducted in Jonglei, Upper Nile, Warrap, Unity, and the Lakes States. During the assessment exercise, ICRC interviewed 4,200 people and held 55 focus group discussions.

ICRC spokesperson Lucien Christen says organizations will continue providing seeds and agriculture tools to vulnerable people to boost sustainable humanitarian assistants. 

Mr. Lucien stated ICRC director Robert Mardini went to Rumbek and Akobo this week for field assessment to get ordinary people’s views on the ground. 

In the press release, the director was quoted during his field visit; “People are tired of depending on aid. They want to live in dignity and provide for themselves and their families.”

“What is clear is that, yes, at the movement, many South Sudanese depend directly on the humanitarian assistant, but they are tired of the situation. It is not a choice. So, I think you know if they have the possibility, they were able to harvest their food, and it is the solution they would prefer,” Christen reiterated.

ICRC blamed the crisis that continuing conflict and armed violence in the country has contributed to insufficient production.

The Equatoria States was mentioned, “faced a heightened risk of hunger after thousands of people fled their homes, losing crops and livestock due to ongoing conflict.”

The organization cautioned renewed outbreak of armed violence or the intensification of conflict would increase the chance of immediate, “life-threatening food shortages” for hundreds of thousands of South Sudanese.

On Thursday European Union issued a statement humanitarian situation remains critical, and an immediate system-wide scale-up of the UN’s humanitarian response is needed. 

President Kiir order suspension of South Supreme Airlines

South Sudan president Kiir Mayardit has directed the transport and Civil Aviation Authority ministry to suspended South Supreme Airline Operation.

The head of state was shocked by the recent plane crashed on Tuesday in Piere Payam of Uror County that killed ten people on board, including two crew members.

In 2018, a plane belonging to South West Company crashed in Eastern Lakes Regions killed 17. A similar aircraft crashed in 2020 for a cargo plane belongs to South West Aviation, killing seven people in Juba.

The majority of people who die in the recent plane crashed are six women, one child, and three men.

President Kiir sends his condolence message to families and friends whose relatives perished in the tragic incident.  

He warned, “for the nation to avoid air incidents before the laws governing civil aviation are strengthen through legislative means.”

President tabled suspension in accordance with the law as the best option to be prioritized. “This measure is necessary for these institutions to assert airworthiness of the remaining South Supreme planes. It is necessary to step to restore public confidence in the air travel in the country.”

The director for Civil Aviation at Bor Airstrip, Kuot John Akech, confirmed an incident. He says the South Supreme plane branded “L410” crashed immediately after leaving the runway at 4:05 PM. 

“The plane was carrying cargo from Juba to Pieri, and they got some people waiting at the airstrip to be taken to Juba. The passengers were 8 in number, six women, a young girl, and an older man. The crew members were two, Pilot and co-pilot. The plane was running to take off, and shortly after leaving the runway, it collapsed and caught fire. No one survived, Kuot echoed”

The cause of the plane crashed remained unconfirmed. The government dispatched a team from Juba to Jonglei states to investigate the crash.

In October 2019, four people survived with injuries after a plane crashed 12 KM away from Bor town while returning from Walgak to Juba.