South Sudan troops The Security Council of the Republic of South Sudan on Wednesday ordered troops deployed to restore security and prevent retaliatory attacks after violent clashes in the past week. The caretaker minister of interior, Gen. Gier Chuang Aluong, said that Sudan People's Liberation Army troops would be rapidly deployed to the states of Jonglei in the east and Warrap in the north-central part of the country, which became independent on July 9.
In the wake of clashes August 18 between the Murle and Lou Nuer communities that left at least 600 people dead, 200 abducted and at least 26,000 cattle stolen, the caretaker minister for information and broadcasting, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, condemned "such mindless violence that has left so many innocent men, women and children dead or injured, their homes and livelihoods in ruin."
An assessment mission dispatched to Jonglei on Monday confirmed more than 330 buried dead and close to 200 injured. According to Lise Grande, a U.N. humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan, the team identified more than 250 unaccompanied minors and estimated that 26,800 people became displaced.
"It is possible that many more bodies remain unburied in the bush," Grande said. "During yesterday's flyover, the assessment team saw two villages that appeared to be torched to the ground."
Since February this year, a series of clashes between the Lou Nuer and Murle communities has resulted in the loss of more than 1,000 lives, the humanitarian coordinator said Wednesday.
Humanitarian assistance has been hindered by the unrest. A warehouse stocked with food from the United Nations' World Food Programme has been looted, and a Medecins Sans Frontieres-supported clinic was partially destroyed, Grande said.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday called on the government of South Sudan to restore security in Jonglei, protect civilians affected by violence and work with both communities to reduce tensions.