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LEER - 25 Apr 2018

ICRC suspends operations in Leer County over insecurity

Photo: Unity State, Leer,Women collecting sorghum and oil some hours after an airdrop conducted by the ICRC. (Jacob/ICRC)
Photo: Unity State, Leer,Women collecting sorghum and oil some hours after an airdrop conducted by the ICRC. (Jacob/ICRC)

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Tuesday said it had suspended operations in South Sudan’s Leer County after its compound came under attack earlier this month. 

The aid agency said in a statement that a distribution of seeds and farming tools for approximately 24,600 people was interrupted after armed men attacked its compound in Leer, forcing staff to evacuate and program activities to be suspended.

"We are shocked and disappointed by this attack, which is not only an attack on the ICRC, but also on the people we are here to assist", says Francois Stamm, ICRC's Head of Delegation in South Sudan.

Gunshots, according to the relief organization, were directly fired at the ICRC field base in Leer just after midnight on April 10th, noting that one ICRC guard suffered minor injuries to his leg and received medical care in Leer.

“Eight ICRC staff were evacuated to Juba the following morning,” it said.

"This attack has meant that 16,000 people have now been left without the supplies they need to plant their crops at a time when food security is worsening across the country", says Stamm. "While we will do everything possible to ensure that the remaining families receive seeds and tools in time for the planting season in May, the security of our staff is paramount and it is not clear yet when we will be able to return."

The security conditions for humanitarian workers have deteriorated in recent weeks in former Unity state, where Leer is located. "We take this opportunity to remind all parties to the conflict that any attack on humanitarian aid workers is unacceptable and a violation of international humanitarian law", says François Stamm. "Aid workers are not a target and attacks such as these only compound the suffering of the South Sudanese people."