Fresh fighting displaces 40,000 in South Sudan - UN
Since mid-November, fighting between the Maiwut opposition forces and the national army has reportedly taken place throughout the state.
Boakyewaa Lawrencia 
An UN agency has reported that over 40,000 people have been forced from their homes as a result of increased conflict in South Sudan's oil-rich Upper Nile State.
Threats of violence still impede humanitarian response in the state, according to the most recent statement from the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha).
It said that the displaced persons were in terrible circumstances and needed immediate life-saving assistance.
Ceasefire monitors announced last week that they will deploy a team to look into the state's continued fatal skirmishes.
Since mid-November, fighting between the Maiwut opposition forces and the national army has reportedly taken place throughout the state.
Additionally, there are allegations of rekindled confrontations between several ethnic rival groups in the Fashoda area.
The Community for Progress Organisation (CEPO), a well-known civil society organization, told the BBC that it had received reliable allegations from citizens about armed teenagers assembling troops in the state over the weekend.
The information could not be independently verified by the BBC.
