Two South Sudan army generals killed in clashes with rebels
April 10, 2017 (JUBA) – Two senior South Sudan army (SPLA) officers were killed in renewed confrontations with the armed opposition forces (SPLA-IO) in the Western Bahr el Ghazal region on Monday, multiple military and local officials told Sudan Tribune Monday.
“It is unfortunate that comrade Abraham Bol Chut Dhuol has been killed along with Brigadier General Peter Par. You know Peter was chief of military operations and Bol was the head of our logistics here. They were killed when the convoy in which we were travelling came under attack,” a military officer said.
Added the officer, “Comrade Bol Chut was shot in the head and he died even after managing to bring him to our hospital in Grinti. We were returning [to the headquarters] from an operation outside town”.
However, it remains unclear as to how many soldiers could have died with the officers, as no official statement was released by either side.
The officers’ death sparked tensions in Wau town on Monday, forcing authorities to limit movements after sustained shootings.
16 KILLED, 10 INJURED
At least 16 dead bodies, the United Nations mission said, were discovered its peacekeeper, with 10 others were reportedly injured.
Fighting reportedly spread to Wau town after “a number of government SPLA soldiers were killed in an ambush on Sunday to the south of the town of Wau.”
“The mission mounted two patrols into Wau on Monday and said it had observed the bodies of 16 civilians in a hospital. There were ten people who had been injured,” the U.N said in a statement Monday.
84 people, it added, arrived at its protection of civilians’ site, with an influx of about 3,000 people, mostly women, and children at a Catholic church in Wau town.
The fighting, the U.N further stated, followed the movement of SPLA troops, tanks, and equipment towards the south-western part of Wau late last week.
(ST)