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UN condemns South Sudan attack that killed dozens, including 3 children

Tuesday, 25 January 2022 3:35 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 25 January 2022 3:43 PM ]

South Sudan violence (file photo by Reuters)

The United Nations has condemned recent armed attacks in South Sudan that killed more than 30 people, including three children.

Armed youths from the Murle ethnic group attacked two villages in eastern Jonglei state on Sunday, opening fire and setting fire to property. Thirty two people from the Dinka Bor community died in the violence and 26 others were wounded.

In a statement on Tuesday, the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) condemned the bloodshed.

"UNMISS strongly condemns any raids against the civilians and wants groups and individuals to take serious action to avoid the next accident that endanger the vulnerable people," it said.

The mission called on authorities to conduct an investigation into the attack, that also killed three children who drowned in a river while trying to flee the violence.

Oil-rich South Sudan declared its independence from Sudan in 2011, but it has been engulfed in ethnic violence since December 2013. More than 400,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in the civil war.

The peacekeeping mission was deployed for a year in 2011, but its mandate has been repeatedly extended as the young country continues to grapple with ethnic violence.

More than 700 people were killed and many others kidnapped in Jonglei alone between January and August 2020 in armed attacks by ethnic armed groups.

A UN investigation has found that political and military elites played a major role in the violence.

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sudan violence