“The people hit hardest by this fighting are struggling to cope in appalling conditions,” said Mahimbo Mdoe, UNICEF's Representative in South Sudan. “They are desperate for water, food and in need of medical assistance.”

Yesterday, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hervé Ladsous told the Security Council that the fighting between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those backing First Vice-President Riek Machar made the movement of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) difficult although the Mission was able to conduct limited patrolling.

Primary health care kits as well as recreational items for children will be distributed on Thursday. Yesterday, four trucks of supplies, including the treatment of malnutrition as well as sanitation items such as water containers and soap, were dispatched from UNICEF warehouses and taken to a UN displacement site in Juba as soon as movement became possible in the city. High-energy food bars were also distributed in two churches where families have gathered.

Teams from UNICEF and partners are also working to assess the extent of humanitarian needs and have begun family tracing for children who became separated from their parents as families fled the fighting. Plans are in place to assist up to 50,000 people affected by the conflict.

“We are responding and that response will continue to grow, but it is vital that we are able to reach everyone in need and for that we must have unrestricted humanitarian access,” said Mdoe.