21 killed in South Sudan aerial bombing
South Sudanese soldiers line up in the streets of Juba in a “show of force” ahead of Pope Francis’ visit to the country in Juba, South Sudan on February 2, 2023.
What you need to know:
- South Sudan's Information Minister Michael Makuei said the airforce bombed Nasir on Monday morning.
At least 21 people were killed in an air strike on a village in Nasir County, Upper Nile State, South Sudan on Sunday night.
Nasir County Commissioner Gatluak Lew told the media that the midnight air strike had also claimed the life of the local paramount chief Paul Bol.
“Last night, 17 people died on the spot after the bombing and five were injured. However, now only one injured person is alive as the rest have succumbed to their injuries. I can confirm that 21 people died in the air strike,” he said.
The aerial bombing comes less than two weeks after government forces withdrew from the area following intense fighting with an ethnic militia, the White Army.
A South Sudanese general was among around 27 soldiers killed on March 7 when a UN helicopter trying to evacuate them from Nasir came under attack.
Witnesses accused the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) of carrying out the attack, alleging it targeted residential areas and destroyed homes.
The details came after the Ugandan troops warned the local militia in Nasir to surrender or be targeted.
“Our mission in South Sudan has just begun. I want to offer the White Army an opportunity to surrender to the UPDF force before it’s too late. We seek brotherhood and unity. But if [they] dare to fight us, you will all die,” warned Uganda's Chief of Defence Forces Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Last week Uganda said it had deployed special forces in Juba to "secure it". The South Sudanese government at the time denied the presence of Ugandan troops in the country.
However, on Monday, government spokesman Michael Makuei confirmed the presence of UPDF forces in the country "to back up and support the (national army) according to their needs". He told journalists at a news conference the airforce bombed Nasir on Monday morning.
The clashes in Nasir, near the Ethiopian border, between national forces and the White Army, a loosely organised group mostly comprising armed ethnic Nuer youths, has threatened to reignite the 2013-2018 civil war in which hundreds of thousands of people died.
The government accuses the party of First Vice President Riek Machar, a Nuer, of collaborating with the White Army, which fought alongside Machar's forces during the civil war against the predominantly ethnic Dinka troops loyal to President Salva Kiir. Machar's party has denied involvement.
Additional reporting by Reuters
