70 people killed in South Sudan during clashes between army, civilians –UN

The United Nations has revealed that no fewer than 70 people were killed and dozens wounded during weekend clashes between South Sudan’s army and armed civilians in the north-central Warrap state.

This was revealed on Tuesday by UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric who said that the world body’s peacekeeping mission in South Sudan reported that “the violence was sparked by a disagreement over a disarmament exercise being conducted in the area”.

According to army spokesman Lul Ruai Koang, the violence quickly spread to nearby villages, with armed civilians attacking an army base in the nearby town of Romich on Monday.

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Dujarric said a market in Romich “was reportedly looted and some shops were burned to the ground … Many women and children fled in fear of their lives”.

He said a UN peacekeeping patrol was heading to the area to assess the security situation.

The UN peacekeeping mission is urging all those involved in the violence “to lay down their weapons and to help restore calm for the sake of their communities”, Dujarric added.

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