SOUTH SUDAN: Bodies are scattered across the streets of Bor after government forces retake the key town that last week fell to rebels loyal to rebel leader Riek Machar. Bor mayor said the rebels wanted to"ethnically cleanse" the town

Record ID: 375666

  • Title: SOUTH SUDAN: Bodies are scattered across the streets of Bor after government forces retake the key town that last week fell to rebels loyal to rebel leader Riek Machar. Bor mayor said the rebels wanted to"ethnically cleanse" the town
  • Date: 25th December 2013
  • Summary: SOUTH SUDAN PEOPLE LIBERATION ARMY TROOPS STANDING NEXT TO A MULTIPLE ROCKET LAUNCHER (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNNAMED JONGLEI RESIDENT, SAYING: "I have just come out from the UN compound and what I'm seeing is a lot of dead bodies. And then the other thing that was scary the most was inside the compound, the rebels themselves were entering inside with guns. W e tried to ask
  • Embargoed: 9th January 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Sudan
  • Country: South Sudan
  • Topics: Conflict,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAA70XWB8RZ3UGLZDUXG2BTTEMR
  • Story Text: South Sudanese troops have retaken the flashpoint town of Bor in Jonglei state, a week after the town fell to rebels loyal to rebel leader Riek Machar.
    When it became clear that forces loyal to the government had secured the area, residents came out on the streets to be met with dead bodies, a Reuters TV report shot during a facility trip organised by the South Sudan government showed.
    "I have just come from the UN compound and what I'm seeing is a lot of dead bodies. The other thing that was scary the most was the rebels themselves were entering with guns and we tried to ask the UN peacekeepers to protect us," a Jonglei resident who had taken refuge at UN compound said.
    The fighting that erupted around the capital Juba on Sunday night has quickly spread, pitting loyalists of the former Vice President Riek Machar, a Nuer, against South Sudan President Salva Kiir, a member of the dominant Dinka clan.
    Machar, whose dismissal in July led to months of tensions, has denied Kiir's accusation that he had led a coup attempt.
    Rivals have fought fierce gunbattles over the town of Bor, north of Juba, the scene of a 1991 massacre by soldiers loyal to Machar of hundreds of Dinkas.
    Jonglei mayor, Nyiang Majak Nyiang, said the rebels wanted to "ethnically cleanse" the town.
    "For the last one week the difference between life and death for the people who were in this town was very thin and we are actually traumatized seeing a great deal of population suffering in hands of other people. What happened in this town was not something to do with the coup, it was people who were out there to kill people and actually ethnically cleanse people," said Nyiang Majak Nyiang.
    Troops moral was high as they left the barracks. Singing and war cries were heard as they were driven aback military trucks.
    The mayor explained that those who had taken over Jonglei had an intention to kill and destroy but before they could accomplish their mission, forces royal to the government arrived and retook the city from them.
    "You can see all around here is devastation people were out there to clear or actually destroy. But I thank God our forces have done their work and may the almighty God bless them and I do believe in the people of this town and South Sudan and that Bor town is officially back in the hand of SPLA and our people can now smell the freedom they have wanted," Nyiang added.
    The fighting adds new instability to an already volatile region of Africa, derailing the young and undeveloped nation's halting efforts to build a functioning state.
    South Sudan declared independence from Sudan in 2011. A persistent dispute with Sudan over their border, oil and security have added to the sense of crisis.
    The conflict, which has so far killed more than 500 people, and possibly many more, has alarmed South Sudan's neighbors. African mediators held talks with Kiir to try to broker peace.
    ENDS
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