Alert over malnourished children in South Sudan as rights abuses unveiled

Tens of thousands of children are at risk in South Sudan because of ongoing conflict and a critical lack of funding, the UN has announced.

The alert follows the publication of a new UN report on Friday detailing horrific abuses sanctioned by the government.

According to the UN Human Rights Office probe, state-backed forces have operated a so-called "scorched earth policy", deliberately targeting civilians who they killed, raped and pillaged.

The UN Children's Fund UNICEF, meanwhile, has warned that the fighting has enveloped previously peaceful areas.

There are now more than 160,000 severely malnourished children who need help.

Despite an appeal for US$155 million to support more than five million children, just US$27 million has been received.

UNICEF spokesperson Christophe Boulierac said "For the first time children since this violent crisis began, children are being threatened, not by lack of access or capacity but by a lack of funds."

Thousands more people have also been displaced by civil war in the country since December 2013, fleeing to Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and even the volatile Central African Republic.

SOURCE: UNRadio