Two separate incidents in the troubled country of South Sudan have cost an estimate number of 166 lives over the weekend.

Thousands of people have been killed in South Sudan since fighting began in December between supporters of President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar.

The first incident involved a cattle raid in South Sudan’s Northern Warrap State on Saturday in which the cattle raiders killed 28 civilians.

Warrap State Information Minister, Bol Dhel was quoted local reporters as saying that police and soldiers who were deployed to the area returned fire and killed more than 80 of the attackers.

Cattle raids and inter-ethnic clashes have claimed thousands of lives in South Sudan since independence from Sudan in 2011 as cattle are the main source of wealth and pride for many communities in northern states of South Sudan.

Local reporters had previously reported that 58 people were killed as many left injured at a UN base in the town of Bor.

Dozens of armed youth were said to have forced their way into the UN base but they were met with strong resistance from UN peacekeepers resulting in this deaths. It was unclear how many of the armed youth were killed in the attack.

But the United Nations Mission in South Sudan confirmed the report and said in a statement that those dead included children. It also added that the death toll is likely to rise as some of those injured are in critical condition.

Some senior officials of the United Nations were quoted by local media in which they praised the braveness of the peacekeepers for being able to repel the attack.

The Security Council said in a statement that it condemned the attack and called for investigations into the attack.

“The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest term these acts and underscored that attacks on civilians and UN peacekeepers may constitute a war crime.”

“The members of the Security Council called on the government of South Sudan to immediately take steps to ensure the safety of all civilians and UNMISS Protection of Civilian sites in South Sudan, to swiftly investigate these incidents, and to bring the perpetrators of these egregious acts to justice”, the Security Council said.

Fighting in South Sudan broke out on December 15 last year and regional leaders together with the UN are helping the country to restore peace and stability.

Thousands of civilians have been killed in more than four-month-long conflict between the government forces of President Salva Kiir and rebels loyal to his former sacked vice President, Riek Machar.

A ceasefire was agreed between the two sides in early January in a deal mediated by regional leaders but both sides have accused each other of violating the ceasefire agreement.

Both President Kiir and Mr. Machar were part of the Sudanese Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM) which fought for independence from Sudan but relation between the two worsen in less than 2 years of independence from Sudan.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News

Writer’s Email Address: Adamsisska@googlemail.com

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