Clashes between military factions in South Sudan have spread from the capital to the rural state of Jonglei, a South Sudanese military official said Wednesday. Up to 500 people are reported to have been killed since Sunday in the world’s newest country.
South Sudanese military spokesman Col. Philip Aguer said there was fighting overnight among troops in Jonglei, the largest state in South Sudan, and he was trying to confirm reports there of desertions from the military.
United Nations diplomats said as many as 500 people have been killed in violence that is believed to be largely along ethnic lines. About 20,000 people have sought refuge at UN facilities in Juba, the capital, since fighting started on Sunday, and on Tuesday the United States ordered its citizens to leave South Sudan immediately.
President Salva Kiir said in an address to the nation on Monday that his government had foiled a coup attempt by a group of soldiers loyal to former Vice-President Riek Machar, who is now the subject of a manhunt by Sudan’s military. Foreign Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin said on Wednesday that Machar is believed to have fled Juba and that the government believes he is in hiding.
