2 min readNairobiJan 15, 2014 02:47 AM IST
First published on: Jan 15, 2014 at 02:46 AM IST
Rebel forces in South Sudan attacked Malakal, the capital of the oil-rich state of Upper Nile, again Tuesday, amid reports of a deadly ferry accident that claimed the lives of more than 200 people trying to flee the fighting.
Col Philip Aguer, a spokesman for the South Sudanese military, said the people on board were all civilians, including women and children, who were trying to escape the advance on the town of Malakal.
“The boat was overloaded,” Colonel Aguer said.
Many people displaced by the fighting in South Sudan have sought safety by crowding into barges and crossing the White Nile. In the rush to escape, witnesses have described how people have been crushed or fallen overboard and drowned, but the recent accident is the worst reported thus far.
Malakal has already traded hands twice in the conflict, with the rebels capturing the strategic city early in the conflict, then retreating in the face of a government assault in late December.
“Today there is fighting anew” in and around Malakal, said Toby Lanzer, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan, in a message on Twitter Tuesday. He said the number of civilians seeking protection at the UN base there “has soared from 10,000 to 19,000”.
The fighting was touched off by a political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his former vice-president, Riek Machar. Kiir dismissed Machar along with the rest of his cabinet in July.
The UN said in late December that more than 1,000 people had been killed since fighting broke out in South Sudan on December 15. The International Crisis Group said last week that the number of fatalities was approaching 10,000.
“We all assume that the humanitarian situation will get worse. There are new people displaced,” said Jose Barahona, country director in South Sudan for Oxfam.
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