<
http://www.independent.co.ug/news/regional-news/9301-un-warns-of-ssudan-fam
ine-after-aid-helicopter-downed-> UN warns of S.Sudan famine after aid
helicopter downed
11 September 2014 06:15 By AFP
JUBA - War-torn South Sudan faces possible famine early next year, the UN
chief in the country warned Thursday, as aid workers said the shooting down
of a UN helicopter threatened efforts to save lives. "We all are working
very hard to prevent a famine... but I am very worried that we will not be
able to prevent it," UN aid chief in South Sudan, Toby Lanzer, told
reporters. Thousands of people have been killed and more than 1.8 million
have fled a civil war sparked by a power struggle between President Salva
Kiir and his sacked deputy Riek Machar. "The single biggest cause if there
is a famine is the failure of the political leadership to resolve this
crisis," Lanzer said.
Famine, if declared, could be expected at the end of 2014 or "more likely"
in early 2015, he added.
The UN Security Council said the UN Mi-8 cargo helicopter was downed Aug.26
by an "attack" that killed three Russian crew members and injured another,
but did not say which side was to blame. UN cargo helicopters are vital to
supplying peacekeeping bases and providing food for civilians. Lanzer said
that all flights to the northern oil town of Bentiu, had been suspended
following the crash, as investigators examined the craft's black box flight
recorder. "If this type of threat continues, our services will grind to a
halt in Bentiu," Wendy Taeuber, who heads International Rescue Committee
(IRC) in the country, told AFP.
"Helicopter is the only way in and out for both staff and supplies."
The army and rebels have both accused each other for the attack, which broke
a day-old ceasefire deal, the fourth in eight months of war. Over 45,000
civilians are sheltering in the UN camp in Bentiu alone, some of more than
100,000 civilians who have fled to UN bases to escape the conflict.
Famine implies that at least 20 percent of households face extreme food
shortages, there is acute malnutrition in over 30 percent of people, and two
deaths per 10,000 people every day, according to the UN's definition.
Meanwhile, warring forces in South Sudan traded blame for the crash of a UN
helicopter. South Sudan Army spokesman Philip Aguer said rebels "shot it
down", but provided no further evidence.
Rebel spokesman Mabior Garang, son of South Sudan's first president John
Garang who died in a helicopter crash in 2005, dismissed the claims as
"malicious allegations". He said rebel troops nearby had "heard a loud
explosion, and upon investigation found that an aircraft had crashed", but
claimed it landed in an area controlled by the army. "The area in which the
plane was reportedly shot down is government-held territory, if indeed the
aircraft was shot down," Garang said. Thousands of people have been killed
and more than 1.8 million have fled a civil war sparked by a power struggle
between President Salva Kiir and his sacked deputy Riek Machar.
Rebel forces in Unity are led by warlord Peter Gadet, who has been slapped
with sanctions for atrocities by both the United States and the European
Union.
"The plane was shot by forces of Riek Machar under Peter Gadet," Aguer said,
adding the army had also sent a team to investigate. The town of Bentiu has
been badly damaged in heavy fighting between government and rebel forces.
Earlier this month government troops there opened fire on a UN peacekeeping
base sheltering 40,000 civilians, wounding a child and spraying bullets
across the camp, during celebrations to mark a holiday.
Rebel forces last week seized a UN helicopter carrying a ceasefire monitors.
UN cargo helicopters are vital to supplying peacekeeping bases and providing
food for civilians, with aid agencies warning of the risk of famine should
fighting continue.
Received on Thu Sep 11 2014 - 16:24:31 EDT