Four die South Sudanese town riots - World - monitor.co.ug - Daily Monitor

Its security forces are made up of former rebel fighters, many of whom have struggled to integrate into a well-ordered and cohesive force, despite UN-backed training efforts.

The death toll from riots in the South Sudanese town of Wau when crowds went on a rampage on Wednesday has risen to at least four, witnesses said.

"Four people have died...they had head injuries, some had been crushed and others had been burnt," Sister Rosemary Oduol, of Comboni Hospital, the only health facility in the capital of Western Bahr el-Ghazal state, told AFP.

Many more were feared hurt and could not reach the health facility.

"People are getting no help now...there is no way to reach the hospital ... the soldiers just bring in people and dump them," Oduol said.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said that numbers seeking shelter at its base had risen from an earlier estimate of 100 people.

"Several thousand civilians in and around the base are being protected by the UN," UNMISS spokesperson Liam McDowall told AFP.

The town has been rocked by violence and protests that began last week after officials said they would move the seat of local government out of Wau to the smaller settlement of Bagare nearby.

Local activists however also accuse a local government official of stoking ethnic tensions between rival groups.

Journalist Assad Al Tahir said he had seen between 1,000 and 2,000 Dinka tribesmen attack members of the Fertit tribe in the latest unrest.

"It now has shifted to a tribal thing," said local activist Bible Manding, who had gone into hiding.

"There is so much firing and so many houses are on fire, I see so many buildings in flames."

"All the people in the area, they are outside running," said Natalina Andrea Mabo, another leading activist. Gunfire could be heard in the background as she spoke via telephone.

The riots were reported to have calmed by late in the day Wednesday, and the army was out in force patrolling the streets, according to businessman Osborne Buhere.

But he added: "I've seen most of the houses where the conflict started that were burnt.... There were many."