17³Ô¹ÏÍø evacuates six Mayom bomb victims
16 April 2012 - Following yesterday's bombing of Mayom, Unity State, 17³Ô¹ÏÍø today flew six seriously wounded residents, including two children, to hospital in the capital Bentiu.
While visiting the area, the 17³Ô¹ÏÍø team confirmed that two people had been killed and nine injured by five bombs that fell on the town, two of which hit the17³Ô¹ÏÍø County Support Base (CSB).
In addition to the six evacuated by 17³Ô¹ÏÍø, two additional wounded residents were sent earlier today to Bentiu with severe injuries, according to Mayom County Health Director Stephen Nyit.
The bombs that fell on the 17³Ô¹ÏÍø CSBdamaged buildings and equipment, but resulted in no human casualties.
17³Ô¹ÏÍø Director of Mission Support Nick Von Ruben said the compound had suffered "reasonable damage ... damaging one of the two generators to the point that it needed to be repaired".
The bombs also affected prefabricated buildings in the 17³Ô¹ÏÍøcompound, blowing out windows and destroying light fixtures.
Mayom is the latest in a series of deadly air strikes that have plagued the border area between Sudan and South Sudan over the past few days. Bentiu was hit in three separate bombardments, leaving an estimated 7 people dead and 11 wounded.
17³Ô¹ÏÍø expressed concern today in a statement about the continued aerial bombing in areas populated by civilians in Unity and Warrap states.
"The loss of civilian lives as a result of indiscriminate bombings in Bentiu and Mayom is unacceptable," Hilde F. Johnson, 17³Ô¹ÏÍø Special Representative to the Secretary-General (SRSG), said in the statement.
"It is the responsibility of the parties to hostilities to respect the physical integrity of civilians and their right to live without fear of displacement," the SRSG said.
She called on both parties to abide by international human rights and humanitarian law, protect civilians and guarantee the safety of international aid organizations as well as UN personnel and assets.
