Juba/Gorom (dpa) – In the course of a trip to East Africa lasting several days, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called for more help, especially for the women and children in need among the refugees in South Sudan. “I appeal to the states here in the region – the Gulf states in particular – not to look the other way in the face of this humanitarian suffering but to do as much as possible to increase support for the women and children here,” said Baerbock on Friday in the refugee settlement of Gorom near the South Sudanese capital Juba. The war in Sudan was “above all a war against women”, she added.
Sexualised violence and rape were being “systematically used as a weapon of war”, said the Federal Foreign Minister. The women she spoke to in Gorom had “suffered dreadfully, having had to watch their daughters being raped before their very eyes and losing their children while fleeing”. 1,500 refugees from Sudan were arriving every day in South Sudan in refugee camps that were already overcrowded, said Baerbock, adding that it was vital to provide more support in areas such as medicine and education.