South Sudan deploys army to guard UN base after attack kills dozens
Fri Apr 18, 2014 1:13pm GMT
By Carl Odera
NAIROBI, April 18 (Reuters) - South Sudan sent troops to secure a United
Nations base after armed civilians fired on displaced tribespeople
sheltering there, in an attack that killed at least 48, the president's
spokesman said on Friday.
Locals pretending to be peaceful protesters delivering a petition forced
their way into the camp on Thursday and opened fire before being beaten back
by UN security personnel (UNMISS).
"The army has come in now. They have been ordered to protect UNMISS so there
will be no attack from anybody," Ateny Wek Ateny, President Salva Kiir's
spokesman, told Reuters by phone.
Thousands of people have been killed and more than one million displaced
since fighting erupted in South Sudan in the middle of December, triggered
by a power struggle between Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar.
The conflict in Africa's newest state took on a tribal dimension as Kiir's
Dinka fought Machar's Nuer for control of strategic towns before a ceasefire
was signed on Jan. 23.
Sporadic clashes between both sides after the ceasefire deal erupted into
full-blown combat this week, when the rebels seized control of Bentiu, the
capital of oil-producing Unity state.
Thursday's attack on the U.N. base at Bor, some 120 miles north of the
capital of Juba, was blamed on locals who were seeking to punish the Nuer
for the loss of Bentiu.
"Those internally displaced people in Bor from the Nuer community were
celebrating the capture of Bentiu by the rebels and this angered the local
community," Ateny said.
The Dinkas are the predominant group in the area.
The locals went to the base to demand the relocation of the 5,000 Nuer
living there and were dispersed by UN personnel before regrouping nearby and
launching the attack, he said.
Joe Contreras, the acting spokesman for UNMISS, said security had been
stepped up in their bases around the country - where tens of thousands are
sheltering - and urged South Sudan to investigate the attack and prosecute
the assailants.
No one has been arrested over the attack pending completion of
investigations, information minister Michael Makuei told Reuters.
The conflict has disrupted oil production, which provides most government
revenue. The rebels warned oil firms to pack up and leave within a week
after they recaptured Bentiu on Tuesday. (Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing
by Louise Ireland)