HIGHLIGHTS
UNHCR participates in a joint protection assessment at the UN House– Following the fighting which erupted between SPLA and IO on July 8 2016 causing massive displacements in the Juba city residential areas including Gudele, Jebel Checkpoint, Atlabara, Munuki and Lologo, UNHCR joined a joint protection assessment at the UN House (POC 1 and POC 3) on 17 July. During the exercise, UNHCR identified 71 persons with specific needs including elderly at risk, Widows with small children and single mothers.
UNHCR hotline for urban refugees in Juba: Following the outbreak violence in Juba, UNHCR informed urban refugees of the existing hotline for emergency and urgent matters. Refugees are using the platform to communicate issues about looting of their houses, loss of ID documentation, food shortages and insecurity in Juba. To date over 100 calls have been received, with information on the sad death of two refugees during the unrest in Juba.
UNHCR mobile response team completes assessment in Wau– In Wau, UNHCR mobile response team completed an assessment in Lokololo, Cathedral, and Nazareth IDP collective sites in Wau. Their assessment followed the June 24 violence in Wau, which displaced more than 40,000 people in Wau and 37,000 outside the town.UNHCR assessed and noted protection needs of the most vulnerable internally displaced people and planned for targeted assistance, including distribution of non-food items.
275,668,213 USD
Funding requested for comprehensive needs in 2016
121,749,542 USD
Funding requested for prioritized needs in 201
OPERATIONAL CONTEXT
Fighting breaks out in Juba: On Friday, 8 July 2016 around 5 pm, heavy gunfire erupted between Government forces under President Salva Kiir (SPLM IG) and forces loyal to the First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar (SPLM-In Opposition (IO)) during a press conference being held at the State House (South Sudan’s presidential palace). The press conference was preceded by a discussion by both parties on the killing of five SPLM soldiers by IO forces that took place on Thursday 7 July in Juba town. Fighting continued until late 11 July, with use of heavy artillery, attack helicopters, tanks and light weapons across the city, with the most intense fighting noted around Gudele, the Presidential Palace Area, Jebel and surroundings, Tomping, UN House and UNMISS Tomping and the airport. Estimates of numbers killed are not verified, but are in excess of 270 people, including 30 civilians, with the death toll likely to rise. OCHA preliminary estimates indicated that at least 36,000 people (including estimated 7,000 inside the POC sites) were displaced by the fighting in Juba sheltering at various locations throughout the city, including the UNMISS base in Tomping, UN House, WFP, ADRA as well as churches and cathedrals. Current estimates note up to 11,000 additionally displaced into UN sites, and 4,500 still in collective sites such as Don Bosco Gumbo in Juba. This brings the current total of IDPs in Juba to over 63,000 including those who were already displaced before the recent fighting.
Government orders ceasefire: At around 17:00, the President Kiir announced unilateral ceasefire through the Republican Order NO.17/2016 for the Declaration of Cessation of Hostilities between the Sudan People’s Liberation Amy (SPLA) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) to be effective from 18:00, 11 July. The President ordered all SPLA forces to return to their units and barracks, and directed all the Commanders to control their forces and protect the civil population and their property. The order was read on a national TV by the Information Minister. The SPLA Chief of Staff General Paul Malong further ordered through a military spokesman that all troops not participating in operations in Juba, to return to barracks. In reciprocity, the 1st Vice President Riek Machar announced the SPLA-IO’s agreement to the ceasefire with immediate effect. The ceasefire continues to hold.
Clashes in Mundri, Central Equatoria and Torit, Eastern Equatoria: on 11 July morning, armed clashes erupted in Mundri town (Central Equatoria) between armed youths and the SPLA. Clashes were also reported in Lainya, Kajo-Keji and Yei surrounding areas (Central Equatoria) between Government forces and armed groups. Clashes in Central Equatoria subsequently subsided; the UNHCR Yei Office confirmed that the situation remained calm in Yei town, though increased population movements were observed. On 11 July, fighting was also reported in Torit (Eastern Equatoria). Reportedly, thousands of IDPs rushed to the UNMISS based and forced their way into the UN compound through the main entrance. UNHCR no longer has Office/staff presence in Torit, but maintains a rub hall and a container at the UNMISS Torit base. Security in Wau, Western Bahr El Ghazal remains unpredictable, with reports of artillery fire several kilometres outside the town in the morning of 12 July, with no further escalation in Wau Town. UNHCR and most of humanitarian agencies operating in Wau had to temporarily suspend work outside of wau following a security incident on 08 July when an interagency humanitarian convoy returning from southwest areas of Wau county was stooped and humanitarian aid workers threataned at a gun point by government security agencies. It is estimated that over 50,000 IDPs and vulnerable host communities outside of Wau are currently facing extremely difficult situation with shortages in food and NFIs, while medical assistance has been only partically possible to delkiver through health facilities supported by MSF and ICRC.
Situation in Unity State: Renewed fighting east of Leer in southern Unity put on halt majority of humanitarian operations, forcing most of humanitarian actors to evacuate from the area, while recently reestablished humanitarian compounds and assets following fighting in mid-2015 were yet again ransacked and looted. UNHCR’s partner NRC was also forced to suspend operations with a number of national staff being forced to seek safety in swamps and islands within the area. The well-established out- of- Bentiu strategy that has ensured in the past several months that humanitarian assistance and services are extended to address the needs of the population outside the POC site has also suffered a setback following reports on renewed fighting in Buaw, while population in the POC site was sharply increased by an influx of estimated 10,000 persons, including a significant number that were previously residing in the POC site but decided earlier in the year to leave and reestablish themselves in the areas of Unity state including areas of origin;
UN Secretary General, Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (JMEC), IGAD call for sanctions and protection force: Further to the UN Secretary General’s call for an arms embargo to South Sudan, targeted sanctions and a re-enforcement of UNMISS, including attack helicopters, these recommendations have been further endorsed by the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Committee under the Peace Agreement, who further recommended to IGAD that cantonment of armed forces should happen immediately, access for humanitarians should be granted, and that the IGAD endorse a regional protection force. During the AU Summit on 18 July, leaders also expressed support for a regional protection force, with details to be released in an imminent statement. The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee also released a statement on 18 July, where they endorsed the proposal for a UN or regional force to act as buffer between the two parties and allow for free flow of humanitarian aid.
Due to the prevailing security situation in Yei, after a military attachment was attacked on 12 of July close to Yei, the road between Yei and Lasu refugee settlement, where 10,000 refugees reside, remains impassible. UNHCR is in contact with the refugees daily, where security remains calm.
The unrest in Juba and other parts of South Sudan has precipatated movements of people, predominantely into Uganda, with further movements likely as borders are opened and check points diminish along key road arteries.