More than 3,100 die as ethnic fighting wracks South Sudan

MORE than 3,000 people were killed in South Sudan in brutal massacres last week in an explosion of ethnic violence that forced tens of thousands to flee, a local official said yesterday as the UN increased patrols.

“There have been mass killings, a massacre,” said Joshua Konyi, commissioner for Pibor county in Jonglei state.

“We have been out counting the bodies, and we calculate so far that 2,182 women and children were killed and 959 men died,” said Konyi.

UN and South Sudanese army officials have yet to confirm the death toll and the claims from the remote region could not be independently verified, though the UN said yesterday it had stepped up land and air patrols in key areas of Jonglei.

If confirmed, the killings of 3,141 people would be the worst outbreak of ethnic violence yet in the fledgling nation, which split from Sudan in July.

A column of about 6,000 rampaging armed youths from the Lou Nuer tribe last week marched on the remote town of Pibor, home to the rival Murle people, who they blame for abductions and cattle raiding and have vowed to exterminate.

The Lou Nuer gunmen attacked Pibor at the weekend, torching huts and looting a hospital, only withdrawing after government troops opened fire.

More than 1,000 children are missing, feared abducted, while tens of thousands of cows were stolen, added Konyi, an ethnic Murle.

The UN humanitarian co-ordinator for South Sudan, Lise Grande, said she feared “tens, perhaps hundreds” may have died.

“Yes, there have been casualties, but we don’t have the details, and can’t at present confirm what the commissioner reports,” Jonglei state information minister Isaac Ajiba said.

“We are awaiting reports from our (military) forces on the ground,” added South Sudan army spokesman Philip Aguer.

“For the assessment to be credible they must have gone into the villages to count all the bodies.”

South Sudan has declared Jonglei state a national “disaster area”, while the UN has said it will launch a “massive emergency operation” to help those uprooted by the violence.

“The needs are great ... It is currently estimated that 50,000 people are affected,” said Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The UN mission in South Sudan “has reinforced its peacekeepers’ presence in key areas of Jonglei and is conducting daily land and air patrols to deter potential violence,” spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

“At this stage it is very difficult to get an accurate picture,” he added.

Lou Nuer fighters are returning home after the army also beefed up reinforcements in Pibor, while the World Food Programme has flown in emergency rations to support the thousands who have been displaced.

A statement from a group calling itself the “Nuer White Army” claimed responsibility for attacks on the Murle, and warned of more assaults if they retaliate.

“If they did that, we will launch surprise attacks which will lead to more bloodshed and displacements,” the group said, warning “any attempt to disarm the Nuer White Army will lead to catastrophe.”