Dozens killed in South Sudan violence

JUBA (AP): Dozens of people have recently been killed in violence that includes beheadings and sexual attacks in a volatile county in South Sudan, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan said. The mission said it documented 72 civilian deaths between Feb. 17 and April 7 in Unity State’s Leer county. Among the victims was a local staffer with the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders, it said.
Sixty-four cases of sexual violence, including gang rapes, were recorded in Leer in the same period. The attacks were carried out by “armed youth” from the neighboring counties of Koch and Mayendit. “I am strongly appalled by these horrific attacks on civilians in Leer,” Nicholas Haysom, special representative of the UN secretary-general for South Sudan, said in a statement. “We must all do everything we can to ensure that victims and survivors get the justice they deserve and receive the care and support they need.”
Markets, homes, humanitarian facilities and warehouses were looted and burned down. An estimated 40,000 people have fled the violence in Leer, with thousands reportedly crossing the Nile River to shelter in another state, that statement said. The UN mission said it has deployed more peacekeepers to conduct regular patrols in Leer town. South Sudan has been plagued by sporadic violence since it gained independence from Sudan in 2011.