Nearly 60 People Killed In Militant Attack On U.N. Refugee Base In South Sudan

The latest reports I am seeing is that 58 civilians were killed who had taken shelter in a U.N. camp in South Sudan - the attackers got through defenses and simply opened fire on the crowds.

The story comes from BBC News.

South Sudan conflict: Attack on UN base 'kills dozens'


Dozens of civilians sheltering in a UN base in the South Sudan town of Bor have been killed in an attack by armed youths, the UN says.

Toby Lanzer, the UN's top aid official in South Sudan, told the BBC that the youths broke through the gates and opened fire.

UN peacekeepers returned fire and eventually repelled the attackers, he said.

Almost 5,000 civilians are sheltering at the base in the war-ravaged town.

Thousands of people have been killed in South Sudan since fighting began in December between supporters of President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar.

More than one million people have fled their homes in the conflict, some to neighbouring countries.

Mr Lanzer said a group of about 350 youths had left the centre of Bor, in Jonglei state, and approached the base on Thursday morning, allegedly wanting to present a petition.

"They managed to force the gate open, they came in and started shooting indiscriminately," he told the BBC.

"It is the bravery of the peacekeepers that managed to repel the attack. Unfortunately we have had significant loss of life. I can't confirm the number but I can tell you it runs into the dozens."
Base reinforced

Mr Lanzer, the UN assistant secretary general in South Sudan, said the youths were dressed in civilian clothing and it was not clear who they were.

"It was totally unprovoked and I think that meting out violence on a group of civilians who are sheltering and seeking protection from the United Nations is not only cowardly it is abominable," he said.

Mr Lanzer added that the UN had stepped up security following the attack.

"We have further reinforced our base and we will send very clear signals to anybody who wishes to approach us with any intent of wrongdoing," he said.

"We've got clear rules of engagement and we will use force if at all necessary to protect people whose sole purpose for being inside our base is to stay alive."

South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 after a long and bloody conflict to become the world's newest state.

The Nightmare of South Sudan Continues

From Times of India.

At least 66 troops dead in South Sudan fighting: Doctor


JUBA: At least 66 soldiers have been killed in battles raging for the past two days in the South Sudanese capital, a military hospital doctor said on Tuesday.

"So far we have lost seven soldiers who died while they were waiting for medical attention and a further 59 who were killed outside," doctor Ajak Bullen said on Miraya FM radio, adding the men would be given a mass burial.

Another medical establishment, Juba Teaching Hospital, had earlier reported 26 dead, a mixture of civilians and military.

It was not clear whether there was any overlap between the figures. South Sudan's hospitals, for a variety of logistical and cultural reasons, suffer from a shortage of blood, meaning that many patients in need of a transfusion die.

Military spokesman Philip Aguer declined to comment on the casualty figures, telling AFP only: "The soldiers are controlling the situation."

Attack In South Sudan By Rebels Kills Over 100 People

You know, I know very little of the tribal and ethnic issues of South Sudan and after reviewing a couple of articles on it, I don't really want to know.

But this was a blood bath today as the world spirals into more and more death, destruction and decay.

The article comes from Times of India.

South Sudan attack leaves more than 100 dead

JUBA: More than 100 people have been killed in South Sudan in an attack by rebels and ethnic allies on a convoy of families from a rival tribe and their cattle, an official said on Sunday.


Since breaking from Sudan in 2011, oil-producing South Sudan has struggled to assert control over remote territories awash with weapons after a 1983-2005 war with the north and torn by ethnic rivalries.

The attack on Friday was the worst violence in Jonglei State since 900 people were killed there in tribal attacks linked to cattle rustling in 2011, the United Nations said.

Rebels loyal to former theology student David Yau Yau and members of the Murle community had killed 103 people, most of them women and children, in the ambush on ethnic Lou Nuer families, state governor Kuol Manyang said.

"They came under attack from people in a huge force," he told Reuters. "There are many children and women missing. Their fate is not yet known."

Fourteen soldiers escorting the convoy were also killed, he said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had sent a medical team to treat the wounded.

Yau Yau rebelled in July last year. He recruited armed youths antagonised by a government campaign to end tribal violence in Jonglei, which human rights groups say was marked by abuses by soldiers.

More than 1,500 people have been killed in Jonglei since independence, according to the United Nations.



South Sudan accuses Sudan of dropping weapons and ammunition to Yau Yau's rebels, an allegation denied by Khartoum.

The violence in Jonglei is hindering government plans to explore a major oil concession with the help of France's Total.