About one thousand five hundred South Sudanese in Kidepo Valley County of Torit State went to Uganda and Kenya since the beginning of this year due to the looming hunger.
Kidepo Commissioner Peter Lokeng Lotone told Journalists that there is alarming food insecurity in the area that has forced majority to seek food in other countries.
He says last year’s poor harvest and prolong drought in the state put lives of people at risk.
‘The food security in Kidepo Valley is really alarming since 2018. People are suffering, people don’t harvest until today, the delay of the rain and other circumstances make the communities to flee out from the state to different Countries like Uganda and Kenya’, the Commissioner stresses.
Commissioner Lokeng says the security situation in the area has improved following the resolution reach during inter-counties meeting to end hostilities among counties of Torit and Kapoeta States.
He appreciates UNMISS Civil Affairs and UNDP for organizing community peace dialogue between seven neighbouring counties of Kapoeta and Torit.
‘In Kidepo Valley County, the security situation is calm since we had a meeting of UNMISS Civil Affairs Division and UNDP till today when they meet the seven Counties of Torit state and Kapoeta state and we manage to follow the resolutions made by the communities, Lokeng elaborates.
The commissioner calls on the local population to embark on agriculture and massive production of food so as to reduce fleeing the country.
He calls on government and humanitarian agencies to quickly intervene with support.
Commissioner Peter Lokeng made this statement in a press release at SPLM secretariat in Torit on Thursday.