3K ‘massacred’ as white army attacks IDP camp in Upper Nile – official

JUBA – At least 3000 innocent civilians have been massacred in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State after armed civilians notoriously known as White Army from Jonglei State attacked a camp hosting internally displaced persons in the Chollo Kingdom, a local government official has said.

The Coordinator of Relief and Rehabilitation Commission in Fashoda County Paul Awin said elements of the White Army attacked several areas including the camp hosting thousands of displaced civilians in Aburoc and said around 3000 civilians were killed.

“The estimated figures that I can say regarding the death, it can be more than three thousand because people are still checking,” he is quoted as saying by Eye Radio.

“After they finish in Kudok Payam, they also proceed to Dethouk Payam where is the higher population of the IDPs, so the attacker they went there and start shooting on those IDPs, this is where a lot of population of Dethouk Payam lost their lives,” he added.

“In that place I think only 20% survived and reach to the river-side. We have people who are still in the water, they even saw a lot of dead bodies still in the water,” he continued.

The violence begun in July as a power struggle between SPLA-IO Kitgwang leader General Simon Gatwech Dual against his deputy General Johnson Olony Thabo.

Armed civilians from the Gawar White Army joined the violence on the side of Gatwech and swapped through several villages of Fashoda and Panyikang attacking a IDP camp at Adidhiang.

While the government in Juba continued to condemn the violence, Upper Nile State governor told Sudans Post in September that South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) refused to intervene saying that they have no orders to prevent the attack from Juba.