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News South Sudan UN

Group: 80 civilians killed in South Sudan county in October

Jason Patinkin, Associated Press |JUBA, South Sudan,

This handout picture taken on April 15, 2014 and released on April 23 by the the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) shows debris outside the Kali-Ballee Mosque in the oil town of Bentiu, Unity State, on April 15, 2014. "More than 200 civilians were reportedly killed and over 400 wounded," the UN mission in the country said, adding there were also massacres at a church, hospital and an abandoned UN World Food Programme (WFP) compound. South Sudan's army has been fighting rebels loyal to sacked vice president Riek Machar, who launched a renewed offensive this month targeting key oil fields.  AFP PHOTO / HO / UNMISS RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HO / UNMISS " - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS-/AFP/Getty Images
This handout picture taken on April 15, 2014 and released on April 23 by the the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) shows debris in the oil town of Bentiu, Unity State, April, 2014. (Photo credts: “AFP PHOTO / HO / UNMISS ” – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS-/AFP/Getty Images)

Oct 25, 2015(Nyamilepedia) — Eighty civilians, including 57 children, were killed in just one county in war-torn Unity state between October 4 and 22, according to a group of humanitarian organizations monitoring civilian casualties in South Sudan.

Twenty-nine of the children drowned after running into swamps to hide from attacks in Leer County. There were reports of widespread use of sexual violence, including more than 50 rape cases, said the Protection Cluster, representing 60 local and international organizations.

Kuong Kuony, the rebel’s commissioner for Leer County, accused government troops of launching attacks on rebel positions, burning civilian houses, and looting livestock.

South Sudan’s military spokesman, Col. Philip Aguer, said Saturday that he had no reports of fighting in Leer County.

The U.N. and human rights groups have documented widespread abuses against civilians, including rapes and killings by government soldiers and their militia, in Unity state this year.

Fighting persists despite a peace deal signed in August.

The latest incidents took place following a brief takeover of Leer town by rebel forces on October 2. Government forces pushed the rebels out later that day, the Protection Cluster said. Government forces then attacked numerous locations across the county, chasing civilians into swamps, according to many survivors who spoke to AP in Unity state during and after the attacks.

“As a result of this new wave of violence, it is estimated that nearly 1,200 children are unaccompanied and separated in southern and central Unity State,” the Protection Cluster said.

South Sudan has been at war since December 2013 as government forces loyal to President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, battle rebels led by his former deputy, Riek Machar, a Nuer. The fighting has often been along ethnic lines.

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1 comment

AMEN October 25, 2015 at 8:38 am

rebels of Riek machar always killed innocent civilian and say it is government, how many time did rebels killed civilian when they attack civilian villages.

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