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Recurring local violence in Jonglei, in the eastern part of South Sudan, has displaced more than 150,000 people since May, according to data reported by UN OCHA and the Conflict Sensitivity Research Facility (CSRF).
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WFP and FAO have warned that the violence is crippling the food security and livelihoods of growing numbers of people, as it has halted farming, which will slash harvests for the rest of the year, and has deprived communities of livestock.
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According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the Pibor Administrative Area now faces ‘emergency’ levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 4). Earlier this year, 3 Jonglei counties hosted 40,000 people who were classified in a “catastrophe” level of food insecurity (IPC Phase 5, or ‘famine’). The violence is adding to the number of hungry people just when the country is currently in its annual lean season with at least 6.5 million people – more than half the entire population – facing severe acute food insecurity.
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The ongoing fighting, combined with COVID-19 related restrictions is limiting mobility, forcing NGOs and UN agencies to trigger relocation contingency plans, and hindering the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance to the area.