Thousands of people displaced to villages and wilderness outside of Mayom in northwest Unity State are afraid to return to the town, which is garrisoned by government forces since its capture in early January.

About a third of the entire population of Unity State was forcibly displaced in offensives carried out in January and early February. The number of displaced still in Mayom County itself is unclear, but at one time the entire town was deserted as well as some outlying villages.

The United Nations stated in a report about aid operations on Friday, “Many civilians reportedly move in and out of Mayom during the day, afraid of staying overnight, due to insecurity.”

Aid workers took this back-and-forth movement as a sign that some people were considering returning to their homes, according to the report, but were not yet able to do so.

Destruction in Mayom and other parts of the state was widespread and severe. At least 19 health clinics and hospitals are no longer functioning because health workers have fled and supplies have either been looted or exhausted.

According to an update on Friday by the Health Cluster, a coordinating body of different aid organizations, resumption of health care work in Mayom County is inhibited by “access challenges” as well as lack of safe storage space for supplies. 

The health cluster said that a recent assessment mission by aid workers found “critical gaps” at the Mayom Primary Healthcare Centre, where the aid organization CARE is yet to resume provision of health services.

The UN, meanwhile, says that there are “clear and immediate needs for shelter and household items, in view of the large-scale destruction” in Mayom County.

But the agency responsible for leading the ‘shelter and non-food items cluster’, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), disclosed in a report last week that it had not yet provided any relief items in Mayom County, nor in Rubkona, Guit, Koch, Mayendit or Panyijar counties.

IOM stated that it managed only to reach displaced people in Rubkona and Leer counties with some shelters and household items.

Access is somewhat better in Unity State’s northernmost county, Pariang, where UNHCR said that together with its partners it distributed relief items to about 11,000 out of 20,000 forcibly displaced people.

Cleophas Mubangizi, head of UNHCR's sub-office at Jam Jang in Unity state, said the aid included plastic sheeting, jerry cans, buckets, kitchen sets, mosquito nets, sleeping mats and blankets.

Also in Pariang County, the World Food Programme with its local partner has distributed 80 tons of food and plans to hand out another 95 tons.

Related:

On the run in South Sudan (26 February, Al Jazeera)

Mayom: ‘Ghost town, burnt down, many bodies’ (8 Jan.)

Photo: A man with his belongings in Bentiu, 12 January 2014 (AP Photo/Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin)