DISPLACED people who took refuge in an isolated South Sudan village were denied lifesaving aid by the government even as deaths mounted, eyewitnesses and aid groups said today.

People who fled to the swamp-encircled community of Nyatim described having little food and no clean water.

When aid workers sought permission to deliver emergency relief, it was denied despite reports of dozens of deaths from apparent starvation.

“It was a ‘no’ from local and national authorities and from the military,” said Yashovardhan, the head of mission for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in South Sudan, who goes by one name.

“Meanwhile, people are eating leaves and roots to survive.”

The UN World Food Programme also said it had been blocked despite “numerous engagements with both national and local authorities.”

County commissioner James Bol Makuei acknowledged access had been restricted but said population estimates were exaggerated.

He accused the main opposition group of holding civilians to attract aid.

In March, over half of more than 1,000 children screened by the MSF in a nearby community were acutely malnourished.

“People are returning to their homes,” said resident Koang Pajok. “There was no food and shelter.”