UN chief sends condolences to family of U.S scribe killed in S. Sudan

August 28, 2017 (JUBA) – The head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan has expressed sympathy to the family and friends of Christopher Allen, an American freelance journalist killed during fighting in Kaya, a South Sudan town near the Ugandan border.

“We would like to pass on our deepest condolences to the family, colleagues, and friends of Christopher Allen for their loss. His death while reporting on the conflict in South Sudan is a tragedy,” said David Shearer, also Special Representative of the Secretary-General.

Allen is the tenth journalist to have died in South Sudan since 2012.

“UNMISS has repeatedly stated that any attacks on journalists are unacceptable and it calls on all parties to the ongoing conflict in South Sudan to respect the freedom of the press,” stressed Shearer.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch condemned last week’s killing of the American freelance journalist in South Sudan, urging authorities in the war-torn nation to investigate the incident and ensure those responsible are held accountable.

Jehanne Henry, a senior Africa researcher at the rights body, described Allen’s killing as a violation of international humanitarian law.

A 2013 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Allen was reportedly involved with Sudan’s rebel forces for the past week. Before his South Sudan visit, however, he covered the war in Ukraine.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in South Sudan since the conflict broke out in 2014, and over a million have fled across the border into Uganda because of the fighting within the border area.

(ST)