In September, three aid workers were killed in South Sudan, the United Nations said, raising concern about the escalation of violence against them in that country.

A total of eight aid workers have been killed in the country since the start of the year, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

OSHA said in a statement last week that a man who worked for an international non-governmental organization was killed in a shootout in Unity State (central north of the country).

The same source added that a United Nations staff member working at a medical center in a displaced persons camp was killed the same week, noting that a third victim was killed in an ambush in Jonglei (east) state, where armed violence and ethnic conflict are taking place. .

Since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan, one of the world’s poorest countries, has experienced civil war, natural disasters, famine, ethnic violence and political conflict despite its large oil reserves.

The United Nations and the international community regularly accuse South Sudanese leaders of maintaining the status quo, fueling violence, suppressing political freedoms and wasting public funds.