News (Consolidated) - UNSOM

Solomon Atem Akech nearly lost the opportunity to deliver an important item – a neatly folded letter, addressed to the president of South Sudan – because no one had invited him to read it out. But he was determined, so he walked up to me and said he had a message for President Salva Kiir Mayardit.…

Women leaders representing four administrative areas in the Bahr el Ghazal region are demanding full implementation of the 35% affirmative action provided for in the revitalized peace agreement, saying they are currently marginalised and under-represented at all levels of government. The women from…

Mon Kon is not a child soldier – as children who have been forcibly conscripted into the armed forces are commonly known – but the phenomenon saddens him. “I’m not happy when a child is a soldier,” says the 15-year-old pupil of Torit Model Primary School, as he demands freedom of choice to all…

A complex primary health care centre comprising an outpatient department, a maternity unit, a laboratory and pharmacy, has been inaugurated in the Jebel Kheir neighbourhood of Wau, to support the people who are voluntarily returning to their home areas following years of displacement due to conflict…

Ngovu village was a peaceful place to live before conflict erupted in the area three years ago. The violence forced all of its inhabitants to flee to other areas within the Western Bahr El Ghazal region of South Sudan. Nineteen-year-old Regina Peter was among those displaced from Ngovu after her…

Aweil Gadid was once a place that its people took pride in. A clean and comfortable community. But the eruption of violent conflict sent its families scurrying to safety, with many finding sanctuary at a United Nations protection site next to its base in Wau. With desertion, came unwanted dirt and…

A march that began at Bahr El Ghazal University, winding through Wau town’s streets with fanfare, terminated at the Wau Stadium, where a tug-of-peace contest awaited eager participants and spectators. At the stadium, stood United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) staff and South Sudan Prison…

There is a sea of white tents as far as the eye can see. The makeshift structures next to the United Nations base in Juba are home to thousands of families displaced by the war that has plagued South Sudan for more than five years. The UN opened its gates to provide sanctuary to these people as they…

South Sudanese refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo “commuting” to their home country in search of food not given to them across the border do not only constitute a sad humanitarian tale. Their desperate movements also increase the risk of the much-feared Ebola virus being transported to…

The UN Mission in South Sudan is finalizing preparations for the assisted voluntary return of more than 20 people – all from the Greater Upper Nile – who had sought sanctuary at its base in Wau. The returnees will be flown to the capital, Juba, from where they will disperse to their respective areas…

Issues impeding voluntary returns in opposition-controlled areas of Wau have been raised at a one-day round-table discussion that brought together the leadership of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement in Opposition (SPLA/M-IO) in the area. Organized by the United Nations Mission in South…

Rajendra Baniya is part of the Nepalese peacekeeping contingent serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. Based in Rumbek, Rajendra has a strong “passion to save humanity”. While still some way from achieving that particular target, he and his colleagues from the Himalayas have just…