Juba (AFP) - Gunmen stormed a UN base in South Sudan Thursday, wounding dozens of civilians from a rival tribe in an "unprovoked" attack before peacekeepers fought them off, the UN said.
The top UN aid official in South Sudan, Toby Lanzer, said he was "outraged" by the assault in the war-ravaged town of Bor, in which two peacekeepers were also wounded.
Almost 5,000 civilians are sheltering inside the fortified base of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), one of the most bitterly contested regions in the four-month-long conflict splitting the country.
UNMISS condemned "heinous murders" in the attack, although it has not officially confirmed any deaths.
"The armed mob forced entry into the site and opened fire on the internally displaced persons sheltering inside the base," the UNMISS said in a statement, saying its forces returned fire -- first firing warning shots and then taking part in a ferocious gun battle -- before the fighters retreated.
The gunmen had initially approached the camp "under the guise of peaceful demonstrators" intending to present a petition to the UN, before opening fire and breaching the compound, the statement added.
[1]The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, Toby Lanzer, speaks to journalists in Ju …
The civilians fled into the base weeks ago amid brutal ethnic massacres in the world's newest nation.
Information Minister Michael Makuei said that a "huge number" of gunmen had come seeking revenge for the rebel capture of the oil town of Bentiu two days ago hoping to kill the trapped civilians, many of them children.
The conflict in South Sudan has left thousands dead and forced around a million people to flee their homes since fighting broke out on December 15 in the capital Juba before spreading to other states in the oil-rich nation.
Bor, the capital of Jonglei state, has swapped hands several times during the conflict.
The latest clashes in Bor echo an attack by gunmen in December on a UN base in Akobo, also in Jonglei, killing at least 11 civilians and two Indian UN peacekeepers.
[2]Map locating Bor, where gunmen attacked a UN base (AFP Photo/)
- Famine warnings -
More than 67,000 civilians across the country are sheltering inside UN bases for protection from ethnic attacks, with heavy fighting ongoing as the rebels say they are targeting key oil fields.
On Thursday, the army said it was trying to wrest back control of Bentiu from fighters loyal to rebel chief Riek Machar.
"Bentiu is still under the hands of the rebels but we are closing in," army spokesman Philip Aguer told AFP. "There is still fighting."
Information Minister Makuei insisted all oil fields were under government control, but that production had stalled in Unity -- a key oil zone -- as facilities were damaged in fighting.
[3]This picture taken on April 13, 2014 shows Mundari youth fishing with a spear along the Nile near Te …
UN peacekeepers reported dozens of corpses littering the streets of Bentiu, the state capital of Unity, which rebels had previously seized in December at the beginning of the conflict.
The fighting is between soldiers loyal to President Salva Kiir and mutinous troops who have sided with his former vice president Machar, whom Kiir sacked in 2013.
The conflict has taken on an ethnic dimension, pitting Kiir's Dinka tribe against militia forces from Machar's Nuer.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has warned that more than one million people are at risk of famine in the troubled country.
More than 3.7 million people are in dire need of food aid, many of them being forced to eat "famine foods" such as grasses and leaves, UN children's agency UNICEF said Thursday.
"Worse is yet to come," said UNICEF chief in South Sudan Jonathan Veitch in a statement.
"If conflict continues, and farmers miss the planting season, we will see child malnutrition on a scale never before experienced here."
- Unrest, Conflicts & War
- Politics & Government
- South Sudan
References
- ^ The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in South … (news.yahoo.com)
- ^ Gunmen open fire on UN base (news.yahoo.com)
- ^ This picture taken on April 13, 2014 shows Mundari … (news.yahoo.com)
Source http://news.yahoo.com/several-wounded-gunmen-attack-civilians-sudan-un-132620811.html
Newer articles:
- Deadly attack on South Sudan UN base - 17/04/2014 23:27
- Child soldiers battle in worsening South Sudan war - 17/04/2014 23:08
- U.N. condemns attack on civilians at South Sudan peacekeepers base - 17/04/2014 23:03
- 12 killed in South Sudan after mob attacks UN base; peacekeepers open fire - 17/04/2014 19:41
- S. Sudan: 12 die after mob attacks UN base - 17/04/2014 18:00
Older news items
- South Sudan Conflict Interrupting Children's Education - 17/04/2014 03:23
- South Sudan rebels control Jonglei state capital, says military - 17/04/2014 03:09
- UN chief says up to 1 million people in South Sudan could face famine without immediate action - 17/04/2014 02:14
- UN Chief: 1 Million South Sudanese May Face Famine - 17/04/2014 01:45
- South Sudan: Bad News for Beijing As Rebels Attack Oil Fields - 16/04/2014 20:35
Latest news items (all categories):
- South Sudan Opens 14 Oil Blocks, Courts Investors Ahead of SSOP 2026 - 26/10/2026 15:08
- Jambojet Explores South Sudan Expansion After Talks with Juba Regulator - 26/10/2026 15:05
- Kiir swears in 5 officials ahead of South Sudan elections - 26/10/2026 14:53
- South Sudan cattle battles leaves 10 dead: official - 26/10/2026 14:49
- Churches urge world 'not to forget South Sudan' ahead of first elections - 26/10/2026 14:47
Random articles (all categories):
- Civil society calls for deal on number of South Sudan states - 14/02/2020 12:39
- South Sudan: Humanitarian Snapshot (August 2020) - 14/09/2020 07:45
- Feeling the Pinch: Golden Wing Airline Shuts Operations across South Sudan - 25/05/2016 07:22
- Tito Okello Snubs Uganda Cranes for South Sudan - 10/09/2020 09:03
- UN says S.Sudan children raped, castrated, thrown into fires - 19/06/2015 05:07
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 151318 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 28401 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 25506 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 24711 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 22686 times
