Over 80 killed in South Sudan due to clashes

SANAA, Aug. 12 (YPA) – At least 81 people have killed in Warrap province after heavy fighting between gunmen and government forces carrying out a disarmament operation, an army spokesman in South Sudan said Tuesday.

The two-day clashes broke out at the beginning of the week after a group of armed youths in the Greater Tonj district began clashing with security forces, Lul Ruai Koang told Reuters.

The cause of the fighting was not immediately clear, he said, adding that an investigation had been started  into the incident.

“Among the dead are 55 members of the security forces and 26 civilians. Another 31 servicemen were also wounded,” Koang said, adding that the numbers could rise.

He stated that the injured security forces had been airlifted to the military hospital in the capital Juba for treatment there, and that conditions in the area had calmed down once again as the authorities restored order.

The national government, formed this year after an agreement to end a conflict that broke out in 2013, launched a disarmament process in Tonj Province last month, saying it was armed militias that were driving inter-communal violence in the region.

E.M