SIX aid workers have gone missing in the war-torn South Sudan. They went missing on the road between Wau and Raja in South Sudan’s Western Bahr el Ghazal region on Sunday.

The aid workers include one international and five national staff working for two international and a national aid organisation.

There were reports of armed clashes at the time of the incident. Aid agencies were implementing food security, livelihoods, health and nutrition interventions in a region with some of the highest malnutrition rates in the East African country.

Alain Noudéhou, the humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan, expressed concern. He calls for the swift and safe return of the missing humanitarians. Noudéhou also reiterated the requirement on all warring parties to respect the neutrality of on-going humanitarian operations.

The world’s newest country after attaining independence in 2011, South Sudan is beset by a deadly civil war that has raged for four years.

Recently, unidentified armed men killed more than 45 people, including six aid workers, in a remote village east of the country. Four million people have fled their homes because of the conflict.