South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has ordered that humanitarian aid convoys be allowed to move freely, unhindered and unimpeded around the country, two weeks after the United States said it had lost trust in his government and threatened to pull support.
Kiir’s order directs that all roadblocks should be removed, all levels of government must assist aid groups and anyone who obstructs aid or imposes taxes on aid convoys shall be held accountable, Reuters reports.
The move came two weeks after U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley met with Kiir in Juba.
During her visit, Haley said that Washington had lost trust in Kiir’s government for fuelling the civil war in the nation. They demanded that Kiir allow full and consistent humanitarian aid access.
“This is a good sign, but we must see actions – more than words from President Kiir,” Haley said in a statement on Tuesday, referring to the order.
“The true test will be whether humanitarian assistance is actually allowed to get to the South Sudanese people in a consistent way. We will be watching, and we will continue to encourage President Kiir to do the right thing,” she added.
South Sudan spiralled into civil war in late 2013, two years after gaining independence from Sudan.
The war was sparked by a feud between Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar and has seen Some 4 million people flee their homes.
The U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan, Alain Noudehou, welcomed Kiir’s order read on November 9.
“We hope that the order will have a positive impact in reducing the many constraints faced by humanitarian partners that delay or prevent the provision of urgently needed help,” Noudehou said in a statement on Monday.
This was not the first time Kiir has pledged to improve the humanitarian aid situation.
When U.N. Security Council ambassadors visited in September 2016, Kiir agreed to eliminate illegal checkpoints and streamline bureaucratic processes and access to people in need. The following month he set up a high-level humanitarian oversight committee to improve cooperation with aid groups.
U.N. sanctions monitor last week accused Kiir’s government of using food as a weapon of war to target civilians by blocking life-saving aid in some areas.
