Aid workers leave famine-hit South Sudan area for safety

KAMPALA, Uganda – The United Nations says aid workers in a famine-stricken region of South Sudan have been forced to relocate because of insecurity, complicating efforts to help more than 100,000 affected people.

The U.N. statement Tuesday said 28 aid workers had to leave Mayendit county in Unity State. The U.N. and South Sudan last week declared famine in that and one other county.

President Salva Kiir has again promised to allow full humanitarian access. But U.N. officials have accused South Sudan’s government of putting restrictions on humanitarian aid. They say the famine is a man-made result of a three-year civil war and economic collapse.

The U.N. humanitarian co-ordinator in South Sudan, Eugene Owusu, says the famine “represents only the most extreme tip of the iceberg of needs in this country.”