Armed mob under guise of peaceful protest attacks UN in South Sudan
Thu Apr 17, 2014 6:44pm GMT
(Adds unofficial death toll in paragraph 2)
UNITED NATIONS, April 17 (Reuters) - A mob of armed civilians pretending to
be peaceful protesters delivering a petition to the United Nations in South
Sudan forced their way into a U.N. base sheltering some 5,000 civilians on
Thursday and opened fire, the world body said.
A U.N. source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least 20 people
had been killed and 60 wounded in the attack on the base in Bor in northern
Jonglei state, where there are Indian and South Korean U.N. peacekeepers.
The source warned that the death toll was likely to rise.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said dozens of civilians were wounded, but
the exact number of people killed or wounded had not yet been confirmed. Two
U.N. peacekeepers were wounded repelling the armed mob, he said.
More than 1 million people have fled their homes since fighting erupted in
the world's youngest country in December between troops backing President
Salva Kiir and soldiers loyal to his sacked vice president, Riek Machar.
Thousands of people have been killed and tens of thousands have sought
refuge at U.N. bases around the country.
"This attack on a location where civilians are being protected by the United
Nations is a serious escalation," Dujarric said. "The assailants -- a mob of
armed civilians -- came to the base under the guise of peaceful
demonstrators intending to present a petition to UNMISS (the U.N.
peacekeeping mission)."
"The armed mob forced entry on to the site and opened fire on the internally
displaced persons sheltering inside the base," he said. "At the time of the
attack there were some 5,000 displaced civilians ... inside the base."
Dujarric said the wounded were being treated at the U.N. compound.
On Jan. 23, the warring parties agreed to a cessation of hostilities but
fighting has continued in parts of South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan in
2011 under an agreement to end decades of war.
The current conflict has disrupted oil production, which provides a hefty
portion of the government's revenue. South Sudanese rebels said on Tuesday
they have seized the capital of oil-producing Unity state, Bentiu, and
warned oil firms to pack up and leave within a week.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Leslie Adler and Andrew Hay)