Profile| WFP boats in Upper Nile State in 2018. | Photo: UN.

JUBA, South Sudan (Eye Radio) – Several foreign missions in Juba have issued a joint condemnation following the looting of 12 World Food Programme boats in Baliet County, warning that the theft jeopardizes food security for 73,000 people.

On January 30, the World Food Program (WFP) suspended operations in Baliet County, Upper Nile State, following a weekend of attacks on its river convoy.

This incident prompted a joint condemnation from the Embassies of Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States, alongside the Delegation of the European Union.

In a statement released on Friday, February 6, the foreign missions noted that the convoy carried over 1,500 metric tons of food—vital supplies intended to feed 73,000 people in need.

“We urge the transitional government to take prompt actions to recover the food as well as other resources stolen from implementers that were aboard the boats. Our countries’ taxpayers’ funding for humanitarian assistance in South Sudan should achieve the greatest possible life-saving impact,” read part of the statement.

The statement further emphasized that attacks on humanitarian and medical facilities are “entirely unacceptable.

The Diplomatic Missions called on South Sudan’s leaders, of all parties and at all levels, to create conditions that ensure the unhindered delivery of assistance to their people enduring famine, malnutrition, and conflict-driven displacement.