Map of the Day: South Sudanese Under UN Protection

This map comes from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. It shows the pattern of of population displacement caused by the recent outbreak of violence in South Sudan.

 

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In all, there are 194,000 people displaced throughout the country, including 57,500 who are huddled at UN bases. The the challenge of these peacekeepers is to protect civilians from direct attack.  Equally so, it is to prevent the outbreak of disease in crowded camps and compounds not equipped to handle thousands of people. It is a monumental challenge, made even more difficult for the fact that many humanitarians have evacuated the country out of security concerns.  These UN compounds are the first and last line of defense for civilians caught in conflict as a political solution takes hold.