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| Africa Horn |
| Heavy Fighting In South Sudan's Jonglei State |
| 2013-07-11 |
| [AnNahar] South Sudanese troops, rebels and rival ethnic militia forces are fighting in the troubled eastern state of Jonglei, aid workers and diplomats warned Wednesday. The latest outbreak of fighting in Pibor county in the impoverished Jonglei region follows festivities in May, when soldiers and other gunnies looted United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... and aid agency stores, including the only hospital for the wider region. The U.S. embassy Wednesday issued a statement condemning in "the strongest possible terms the interethnic violence now taking place" in Pibor county. "We urge that all... allow humanitarian agencies to reach those civilians and communities ravaged by violence," the embassy added. South Sudan's rebel-turned-official army has been fighting to crush a rebellion led by David Yau Yau, a former theology scholar fighting since April 2011, who comes from the Murle people. Tribal militia forces several thousand strong from both Lou Nuer and Dinka tribes are also reported to have mobilized to fight their long-time Murle rivals, according to aid workers in the region. "We have very credible reports of wide-spread fighting across northern Pibor county," said a United Nations official who was not authorized to speak to the media. Rights groups accuse both government troops and Yau Yau's forces of abusing civilians, including widespread rape. South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, speaking Tuesday at celebrations to mark the nation's second anniversary of independence, said he was "extremely concerned about the continuing attacks and senseless killing of innocent civilians" in Pibor. Blaming Yau Yau for the attacks, Kiir nevertheless urged the rebel commander to accept an amnesty offer and surrender. In April, five U.N. peacekeepers and seven U.N. civilian workers were killed in an ambush near Pibor. "The lives of our citizens and of international peacekeepers have been tragically lost and many others have been displaced," Kiir added. Volatile Jonglei has been the scene of widespread ethnic conflict since South Sudan became independent in July 2011. The wider region is still reeling from a 1983-2005 civil war that left communities awash with guns and riven by ethnic hatred, with traditional cattle raiding between rival tribes escalating into a wave of brutal killings. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |