By Lodu William Odiya
President Salva Kiir Mayardit has yesterday vowed his administration’s commitment to addressing the ongoing challenges in Unity state.
In statement issued by the president’s press unit, the head of state also pledges peace, security and humanitarian efforts to the people in the area.
According to the statement, Kiir’s remarks followed an update from Governor Riek Biem Top, regarding the ongoing activities in Unity State.
The statement underscored the activities includes security and efforts to address the devastating flooding affecting the people in the area.
“President Kiir reiterated his administration’s commitment to supporting the state, in addressing these challenges. This, he said is aimed at enhancing development and the welfare of the people” the statement partly read.
The statement further emphasized that Governor Biem noted that the recent state of emergency, declared three months ago, in Mayom County has culminated into a successful and peaceful disarmament.
Earlier in June this year, President Salva Kiir had declared a six-month state of emergency in the country’s Warrap State and Mayom County of Unity State, citing escalating insecurity and rising communal violence.
Unity State is one of the country’s flood-prone regions, has experienced recurrent flooding in recent years, displacing tens of thousands of people and disrupting livelihoods across the Nile basin counties.
Heavy rains and rising Nile River levels continue to cause widespread flooding across South Sudan, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation marked by food insecurity, conflict, and disease outbreaks.
In Unity State, flooding continues to disrupt service delivery, with WASH contamination and Logistics constraints due to submerged routes which hinders supply and movement to Koch.
Recently, the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan warned that the escalating political crisis is driving renewed armed violence, compounding already dire human rights and humanitarian conditions while heightening regional instability.
Despite one decade of efforts by the African Union and regional actors to support the peace process, South Sudan’s leaders had deliberately stalled progress and brought South Sudan to yet another precipice.
Armed clashes are occurring on a scale not seen since a cessation of hostilities was signed in 2017, with civilians bearing the brunt of human rights violations and displacements.