A WFP worker at work | File photo

The UN food agency in South Sudan has lost about 230 tons of food when its warehouse was looted in Marial-Lou area early last month.

The food was preposition in Tonj of Warrap State to cater for food shortages in the area during the rainy season.

But inter-communal clashes in July led to the looting of the food items, enough to feed about 8,000 people for three months.

The Deputy Country Director of World Food Program described the incident in Marial-Lou as an “unfortunate” occurrence.

“The schools were raided, hospitals and our warehouse was looted. We lost about 230 tons of food and yet that food was to assist about 8,000 people for three months,” said Mrs. Adeyinnka Badejo.

“During the rainy season, you cannot access Marial-Lou by road. It is not accessible anymore. That’s why that food was put there to support the population.”

The WFP Deputy Country Director stated that they are mobilizing support to assist those displaced from Marial-Lou.

“An assessment has been done and now we are mobilizing to assist them. In terms of replacing that stock, it is a tricky situation because we are already facing a funding gap”.

“So we will assist now for one month, and we hope we will be able to assist them for the next 2 to 3 months. Our assistance is timed to the lean season,” Mrs. Badejo added.

The WFP Deputy Country Director was speaking to the press conference during a signing ceremony of a 3.2 million dollars donation from the Japanese government on Thursday.

For his part, the Charge de Affairs of the Japanese Embassy in Juba reiterated the need to protect aid workers in the country.

“Violence against humanitarian workers is unacceptable and we strongly believe that it should be addressed,” Mitsuhiro Tomaya said.

“We hope that all aid workers including WFP staff are protected appropriately and their humanitarian assistance will be delivered to the South Sudanese people safely and smoothly.”

According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, since the beginning of 2020, there have been more than 400 violent incidents against aid workers.