South Sudan: Shattered Dream Our World

accused of leading unit, never charged. He said he had been doing

charity work in Afghanistan. It is one of the world's worst

humanitarian crises. A bloody multiethnic conflict.

Civilians targeted, raped, and burnt alive in their homes.

Millions forced to flee, and now hundreds of thousands of people

close to starvation. Whereas you going? Families surviving on grass

and leaves. On the outskirts of Bentiu town, South Sudan. Behind the

barbed wire, 120,000 people have taken cover. They are being

protected by the UN, because if they leave this camp they could be

killed. We are about to enter the main gate of the camp, there are

truly a number of entrances, this is just one of them, were about 2000

people come through each week. -- where. This is the new reality in

South Sudan. Bentiu town is strategically important. It lies in

oil-rich unity state, en route to the country's vast oilfields, and

the front of South Sudan's bloody civil war between the country's

president, Salva Kiir, from the Dinka tribe, and his rival, rear --

react react masher. About 60 families arrive here each day. They

come through that main gate over there to this reception area, where

they are register them, ask them health

This woman, like the majority of what has happened

This woman, like the majority of people in this state, is ethnic

Nuer. But there is conflict even within tribes. In this complex,

multiethnic war. She is one of the 2 million people

forced to flee their homes. But this camp is not safe. 30 children have

been dying here each week from malaria. I meet this seven-year-old

playing in the mud. I ask what is it he is making?

In this camp, children at least have the chance to go to school. These

kids are getting their school bags for the first time and they are so

excited they are cheering with joy. But 400,000 children in this country

are missing out on an education. In the conflict zone, 70% of schools

Why do you like this? What else do have closed.

Why do you like this? What else do you do in the class? What you want

to be when you grow up? What kind of man?

It takes me to meet his mum. We have just been speaking to him and he is

telling us about some of the things he has seen. What goes through your

mind when you know he has seen these things?

When the soldiers came, what did you and your family to? You know he is

making guns out of clay? Tens of thousands of people have been killed

in this conflict, and it is the supply of arms to both sides that

the UN says has been instrumental in prolonging and escalating the war.

We managed to catch up with this woman who is trying to find a bed

for the night. After being registered, she has come here with

her family to get ration cards. She has two lineup here to get her food

for the evening. After queueing for her food rations she's taken to

another part of the camp. It looks like she will have to stay

in this temporary shelter tonight. Did you and your family think you

would survive this ordeal? There is so much hope for your

country, what do you think has happened to it now? What will happen

to it? Beyond the camps, out in the bush,

war has taken a heavy toll. Almost 4 million people in South Sudan face

severe food insecurity, and many thousands are close to starvation

according to the latest international assessment. I am with

teams from the world food programme and UNICEF who are warning that

unless action is taken famine could be just weeks away. We are

travelling further across unity state to visit promote settlements.

Some people have walked for days to get here. They are in desperate need

of food, water and basic shelter. But ceasefire breaches are hampering

the effort to deliver much-needed assistance.

Families are being given a 50 day supply of sorghum and green, but

there is no guarantee that further help will survive. It seems quite

chaotic here, but there is some water. This clinic was vandalised in

the fighting but they are using it to treat some of the children, who

are extremely malnourished. Do you have small children? Tell me about

your family. Wearout they now? -- where are they. When you get to

food, where will you go? The risk that fighting may resume

means that aid teams can only stay for seven days, and then they have

to get out. They are asking both sides in the conflict to provide

unrestricted access to the areas of need. How serious is the situation

right now? The South of Unity has been identified as one area where

potentially we could have famine. Is there a sense of how bad the

situation is? There are some locations in central Unity, where

they are finding somewhere around nutrition levels of 30%. But we

really don't know. We worry that we are not able to reach the ones that

may be in a much worse situation. The reason this assistance is

allowed to happen or even possible, and the health checks as well, is

because the NGOs have struck a deal with both the government and the

opposition that there will be no fighting for at least seven days, so

these guys can come in and give these people the help they so

desperately need. In April, government troops and

allied militia carried out a major offensive in this state to push back

opposition forces. What happens to you?

It must have been a very frightening night, as you were waiting for

daytime to find out what would happen?

What he says is consistent with reports from both the UN and Human

Rights Watch. Right across this country, with

government forces and rebel fighters are accused of carrying out serious

human rights abuses. Both sides deny the charge. The government says if

atrocities did occur they were carried out by people acting on

their own behalf. Iron with a team from UNICEF, who

have just been given the thumbs up to launch a relief and rescue

operation into Jonglei state and into the town of Kaldak. This

mission is heading deep into the bush to look for people who have

fled from the fighting. We've heard reports that the situation is very

desperate, that people could be dying of starvation. We're with the

first international team to reach this town.

This territory is actually controlled by the opposition, but in

November of last year the government launched a massive offensive here

and they virtually flattened the whole town. There was a market just

over there, there were buildings and homes, and now nothing exists.

People are forced to shelter under the trees. Hundreds of families just

outside the town has made this patch of earth their home.

Women are cooking and what I find is truly shocking.

Those pots are full of grass and leaves.

I meet Regina, who is cooking grass for her family. Can you tell me what

Between ten and 15,000 people have you're doing?

Between ten and 15,000 people have arrived in discount from other parts

of the country. They're living alongside people who have returned

to what's left of their homes and conditions are desperate. There are

so many resources here that people could tap into. That water is full

of fish. But the people here don't even have fishing rods. They've also

been trying to access the waterlilies. Across this country

people have been eating the roots from the waterlilies, but they don't

even have can use. What they are doing is eating grass and leaves. A

lot of the work is done by the women here and they wake up each morning

and collect leaves and grass for their families. In this town, South

Sudan's two main tribes, the ethnic Nuer and Dinka, mix with the local

tribe. Regina and her friends are from this tried. I go with them as

they search for their next meal. Where are you going? What's happens

to your food? There is very little or no

nutritional value in this grass and the sleeves. I've been told by a

health expert here that these people could actually develop health

problems with their liver and kidneys if they consume this over a

long period of time. Some of these people have been eating grass and

leaves for about six months. This country has so much great

potential. 95% of the land in South Sudan is fertile.

Four and a half years ago, the world's youngest nation had promised

so much hope for millions. But war has torn this country apart. Now,

thousands of its own people are on the brink of famine.

Rain around at the moment that will linger in Scotland Saturday morning.