US embassy condemns killing of Bentiu health worker

JUBA – The United States Embassy in Juba on Tuesday issued a statement condemning the killing, yesterday, of a local medical doctor working for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Bentiu, the capital of the oil-rich Unity State.

On Monday morning, gunmen shot dead Dr. Daniel Deng Gatluak several times before he died while inspecting health facilities at Bieh camp, a neighborhood in Bentiu town where flood-displaced residents of Unity States are seeking higher ground.

The killing, officials told Sudans Post, was connected to a sectional feud in which relatives of the slain medical doctor are suspected to have killed a man related to the assailants a few years back.

In the statement extended to Sudans Post, the US embassy condemned the killing and urged the government of South Sudan to do more in protecting humanitarian workers who are delivering much-needed assistance to millions of the country’s citizens.

“The United States Embassy strongly condemns the September 19 killing of Dr. Daniel Deng Gatluak, a World Health Organization (WHO) health worker, who was working in Bentiu, Unity State,” the embassy said in the statement extended to Sudans Post.

“Far too many aid workers have been killed in South Sudan.  More must be done to protect the workers who deliver valuable and life-saving services to help the South Sudanese people, including the most vulnerable people of this country,” the statement added.

It further called “on the Government of South Sudan to create a safer environment for aid and humanitarian workers, and to bring to justice perpetrators of violence.  Nearly 150 aid workers have been killed in South Sudan since 2013.”