
Rebels in South Sudan have denied a UN report that they killed hundreds of civilians after taking control of the oil hub, Bentiu, last week.
Brig Lul Ruai Koang told the BBC there was a security vacuum after government forces left the town.
The UN said that civilians were killed along ethnic lines at a mosque, a church and a hospital.[1]
More than a million people have been forced from their homes since fighting broke out in December 2013.
The conflict pits President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, against his former Vice-President, Riek Machar, from the Nuer community.
Analysis
In a civil war marked by numerous human rights abuses, the reports from Bentiu are among the most shocking.
The rebels are accused of killing Dinkas (President Kiir's ethnic group), Sudanese (because of the alleged support of Darfuri rebel groups for President Kiir) and Nuers who were not overtly cheering their fellow Nuer rebels.
The victims hid in hospitals and places of worship, but did not find sanctuary there.
Many of the rebels say they took up arms because of the murder of their relatives in Juba at the beginning of this conflict.
Both sides have committed terrible abuses.
However the scale of the killings carried out by rebel troops, including the feared White Army militia, in Bentiu, Bor and Malakal, has turned many people against the rebel leader, Riek Machar.
With the rainy season approaching, and negotiations set to resume in Addis Ababa, there is likely to be more fighting - and very likely more atrocities - in the next few weeks.
Although both men have prominent supporters from various communities, there have been numerous reports of rebels killing Dinkas and the army targeting Nuers.
But correspondents say that the killings in Bentiu are among the most shocking since the conflict began.
'Piles of bodies'The UN's top humanitarian official in South Sudan, Toby Lanzer, told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that he had seen "piles of [the bodies of] people who had been slaughtered" last week.
He said they all appeared to be civilians.
Non-Nuer South Sudanese and foreign nationals were singled out and killed, the UN Mission in South Sudan (Unmiss) said.
Some 200 civilians were reportedly killed at the town's Kali-Ballee mosque where they had sought shelter.
At the hospital, Nuer men, women and children, who hid rather than cheer the rebel forces as they entered the town, were also killed, it said.
The statement also said that hate speech had been broadcast on local radio stations, urging men to rape women from certain communities.
Many of those killed were Sudanese traders, especially from Darfur, Mr Lanzer said.
South Sudan analyst James Copnall says they could have been targeted because rebel groups in Darfur are alleged to back President Kiir against the rebels.
But Brig Koang told the BBC's Newsday programme: "Our forces are not responsible for killing civilians anywhere in Bentiu."
He suggested that government forces and their allies could have been responsible in order to make the conflict appear as though it was "tribal war".

Bentiu, capital of the oil-rich Unity State, has changed hands several times during the conflict.
Control of the oilfields is crucial because South Sudan gets about 90% of its revenue from oil.
A ceasefire was signed in January but there has been a recent upsurge in fighting.
Last week, the UN said an attack on one of its bases in the central town of Bor in which at least 58 people were killed could constitute a war crime.
Fighting broke out last year after Mr Kiir accused Mr Machar of plotting to stage a coup.
Mr Machar, who was sacked as vice-president earlier in 2013, denied the charges but launched a rebellion.
The UN has about 8,500 peacekeepers in South Sudan, which became the world newest state after seceding from Sudan in 2011.







References
- ^ Link to the UN report (www.unmiss.unmissions.org)
- ^ Continue reading the main story (www.bbc.co.uk)

Source http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-27108777
Newer articles:
- South Sudan conflict: key issues in worsening war - 22/04/2014 16:45
- 'Piles and piles' of bodies in South Sudan slaughter, UN official says - 22/04/2014 16:27
- South Sudan rebels blamed for massacres push offensive - 22/04/2014 15:20
- South Sudan rebels deny slaughter accusation - 22/04/2014 14:30
- sudan-mssacre-reuters-042214.jpg.JPG - 22/04/2014 12:00
Older news items
- Hundreds of civilians killed in South Sudan ethnic massacre: UN - 22/04/2014 11:19
- South Sudan: UN Claims 'Ethnic Killings' - 22/04/2014 09:59
- South Sudan: UN condemns ethnic killings in Bentiu - 22/04/2014 08:41
- South Sudan's sacked VP denies plotting coup - 22/04/2014 08:28
- South Sudan Refugees in Uganda Struggle with Water Shortages - 21/04/2014 21:49
Latest news items (all categories):
- The Collo Kingdom Remains Underdeveloped: Five Hundred Years Later! - 03/02/2025 12:57
- Attack on South Sudan cattle camps kills 35 - 03/02/2025 12:46
- في صفقة مثيرة.. الإمارات تشتري نفط الجنوب في باطن الأرض لمدة 20 عامًا - 03/02/2025 12:42
- South Sudan: Can oil production save the economy? - 30/01/2025 19:27
- 20 oil workers and crew die in South Sudan plane crash - 30/01/2025 19:20
Random articles (all categories):
- Minister speaks out on compensation of Ugandan traders in South Sudan - 02/11/2022 02:18
- Family will help rebuild South Sudan - 07/02/2012 06:19
- South Sudan’s rebels say leader not returning to Juba without peace deal - 10/05/2018 08:42
- Sanctions against South Sudan should worry Kenyan banks - 28/09/2017 11:36
- UNFPA - Personal Assistant to the Representative - Juba - 15/08/2012 22:24
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 68142 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 22363 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 21559 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 19224 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 19200 times