More than 60 people killed in South Sudan clashes

Civilians seeking protection, arrive in the UN House compound on the southwestern outskirts of Juba. AFP PHOTO.

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The UN mission officials say more than 10,000 civilians, fleeing the violence have sought refugee at two UN bases.

Juba - At least 66 people, including two Ugandans, have been killed in the ongoing fighting that followed an attempted coup in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, medical and military officials said on Tuesday, as random shooting persisted.

A second Ugandan national was yesterday shot dead in Juba. The dead has been identified only as Aloro, a driver from Koboko District, who has been working with Civicon Construction Company in Juba. The Ugandan killed on Sunday night when a coup was reportedly attempted in Juba, is yet to be identified.

An employee of Civicon, who preferred anonymity, told Uganda Radio Network that Aloro was in his house when a stray bullet hit him on the head on Tuesday afternoon. The source says the fighting is still ongoing in various parts of the city, including Gudere, Munuk and Jebel.

Among the deceased are reportedly mostly soldiers, according to senior officials at the military hospital in Gieda.

It is unclear whether those who died were fighting for or against the government.

Shortage of blood, drugs
The undersecretary in the South Sudan ministry of health, Mr Matur Makur Koriom, said 26 people had been confirmed dead and 140 others injured at Juba Teaching Hospital following the fighting that broke out on Sunday night.

Electricity was restored at Juba Teaching Hospital yesterday and the facility converted into an emergency unit, Radio Miraya reported.

Doctors there treated more than 100 people for gunshot wounds and warned that they faced a shortage of blood. Some of the doctors gave their own blood to save lives but said supplies would run out on Tuesday night if not replenished.

“The situation at the hospital is critically bad,” a source that declined to be named because of the presence of security personnel, told Radio Tamazuj in Juba.

He said the hospital had run out of supplies including syringes, gauze, bandages, and medicines although the operating theatre was full of patients awaiting surgery.

“The situation is terrible. Everybody is wounded in the head, in the chest,” the radio quoted the source as saying. “There are few doctors and nurses on duty owing to the fear of movement and the curfew imposed from 6 pm. The mortuary is full. Sometimes people carry their relatives out, but it is full. All the wards are full.”

The hospital, which is the largest in the city, has no blood bank but family members are able to donate blood to their relatives directly if there is electricity to operate the laboratory.

Sustained gunfire was still heard around the J1 presidential complex in what security officials said was a crackdown on the coup attempt remnants.

Fresh gunfire erupted on Tuesday near the presidential palace and many other areas of Juba.

The UN mission officials said more than 10,000 civilians, fleeing the violence had sought refugee at two UN bases.

In a statement, the head of the UN mission in the country, Ms Hilde Johnson, called upon both parties to the crisis to refrain from violence.

“At a time when unity among South Sudanese is more needed than ever, I call on the leaders of this new country and all political factions and parties, as well as community leaders to refrain from any action that fuels ethnic tensions and exacerbates violence,” Ms Hilde said.

“South Sudan’s greatest asset is not only its resources, but its people and their diversity. Instead of being a force for division, diversity should be an asset of strength and a source of unity in the process of nation building,” the statement read.

The African Union said it was “particularly concerned about the safety and security of the civilian population” in Juba since the crisis began on Sunday and urged for restraint.

The AU commission chairperson, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, urged the parties to the crisis to “seek the resolution of their differences through peaceful means, with due respect for the rule of law, human rights and constitutional legality.” Government officials, however, said the situation was under their control.

Kiir, Machar disagreement
President Salva Kiir accused former vice president Riek Machar of plotting the failed coup.

Mr Kiir has been at loggerheads with his longtime deputy until they publicly fall out in March, leading to the sacking of the later from the Cabinet.

Mr Machar has been a controversial politician. He rebelled against former rebel leader John Garang in 1991, accusing him of dictatorship and poor human rights record in the liberation struggle.

He later fought alongside the Khartoum troops and eventually signed the Khartoum Peace Agreement in 1997.

He later returned to the rebel movement in 2002, ahead of the signing of the 2005 peace deal that paved the way for independence of South Sudan in July 2011.

After the death of Dr Garang, Mr Kiir assumed the leadership of the movement and appointed Mr Machar as his vice, a post he held until July.

In the aftermath of the failed coup, the roads were still empty, shops closed, and tanks were patrolling the main streets of the city, eyewitnesses said.

Curfew and arrests
A night-time curfew is in place, and several former ministers have been arrested since Sunday’s alleged coup.

The government said it was looking for former vice president Riek Machar, who had gone into hiding.

The gunfire also included an onslaught on the house of the Inspector General of Police Pieng Deng Majok, where ex-ministers implicated in the attempted coup were detained, the officials said.

The ex-ministers arrested include former Interior Minister Gier Chuang Aluong and former Deputy Defence Minister Majak de Agoot, among others, according to President Salva Kiir’s press secretary Ateny Wek.

The house of Mr Machar, the alleged ring leader of the failed coup, was raided in an effort to get hold of the remaining plotters. There was resistance from his body guards, leading to an exchange of fire.

Mr Machar, former ruling party secretary general Pagan Amum, and the wife of late Dr John Garang, who are the key figures of the disgruntled camp of the ruling party being accused of plotting the coup, were still at large.

Ms Nyandeng was at her house as of Tuesday afternoon, but Mr Machar and Pagan were in hiding, suspected to be hiding at a United Nations house to the west of Juba. The UN earlier denied hosting the dissidents.