South Sudan starves as aid blocked, money spent on fighting
AWEIL, South Sudan — The mother faced an anguished decision: choosing which of her children to save.
With hunger gripping this remote region of South Sudan, Elizabeth Athiel could either get urgent medical attention for her 8-month-old daughter, Anger, or make sure her other five children could eat.
The little girl was shockingly thin, but the medical clinic was a half-day’s walk away, and she would have to wait there for days until recovery. “I can’t leave the others alone here,” Athiel said, holding Anger in her arms. It is not known what later happened to the child.
Her family is another victim of South Sudan’s civil war — in a part of the country that hasn’t even seen fighting.