UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- UN humanitarians on Monday strongly condemned the killing of two aid truck drivers and injury to a third in South Sudan over the weekend.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the drivers were attacked on Saturday, their trucks torched and destroyed as they were returning to Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
The humanitarian office said the drivers had delivered aid to Yei in Central Equatoria State. Following the attack, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) suspended moving supplies to the area.
UNICEF said it was appalled by and strongly condemned the attack.
"The safety and security of staff and contractors is of the utmost importance," said Hamida Lasseko, UNICEF South Sudan representative. "When attacks occur, it is children and women in desperate need of assistance who suffer the most."
The fund expressed condolences and sympathies with the drivers' families. It said aid workers are frequently in the firing line of such needless attacks and incidents like these threaten the safe delivery of aid across the country by all humanitarian actors and must stop.
Mary-Ellen McGroarty, the acting humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan, said those who provide vital assistance to the most vulnerable must be protected. The killing of those who deliver support to save lives is unacceptable.
Across South Sudan, humanitarian workers, mostly national staff, face violence, threats and looting, among other challenges, while trying to reach people in need, OCHA said.
South Sudan tops the list of the most dangerous countries for aid workers in the world. ■
