The United Kingdom, through its Department for International Development (DFID), has donated £1.6 million for the expansion of the ‘protection site’ at the UNMISS base in the Upper Nile state capital Malakal.

The funding will go to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) for implementation of the expansion of the site where over 17,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) are living.

“Fighting in the area is ongoing and it is unlikely that residents will be able to leave in the near future,” IOM said in a statement. “Conditions on the site, which floods during South Sudan’s long rainy season, are congested and unsanitary.”

IOM South Sudan Chief of Mission David Derthick said his organization would take advantage of the onset of the dry season to complete expansion of the Malakal protection site.

According to IOM, site planners as well as water and sanitation teams are currently digging drainage trenches, expanding the berm and raising the foundation of the site to provide a developed and dry base for emergency shelters.

“These improvements will ensure appropriate drainage and reduce the risk of future flooding,” the statement noted.

Recently a resident within the ‘protection site’ told Gurtong website that the site was unsafe owing to tensions between Shilluk and Nuer communities.

“The situation is so bad here that we are not even getting both food and non-food supplies. This has made our life very difficult. Additionally, aid workers who attempt to bring us supplies are being attacked,” said the Nuer IDP in the camp. 

File photo: The previous UNMISS force commander in Malakal