About 300 people dead as presidential guards and security agents target Nuer civilians in Juba

Displaced Civilians taking refuge at UN compound(Photo: UNMISS)

Juba - 287 people have been confirmed dead and more than 500  wounded in Juba by armed security personals and presidential guards  whom have gone door to door since last night in search of people they  alleged to have aligned and supported Riek Machar and his group of SPLM  dissidents which included Rebecca Nyandeng, Dr Majak Agot and Luk Jok  among others.  The killing occurred in many parts of the city and targeted only members of  the Nuer ethnic group.  According to Jal Dep, a civil servant the Upper Nile Times spoke to said that  the security and presidential guards rounded people up in a home they identify  as belonging to Nuer. "This is a clear ethnic cleansing. I have lost 3 of my family members now  who were last night detained simply because they've marks on their faces.  This is inhumane and the presidential guards should know the difference  between civilians and soldiers", Dep said Furthermore, eyewitnesses described scenes at targeted homes as cruelty  and brutal. Tanks were used to maul down fences and houses that appeared  and found to belong to a Nuer. Rebecca Nyandeng echoed Jal Dep's claims telling BBC that the Presidential  Guards aimed to kill Nuer to protect the interest of the president. Asked of  whereabout of the former Vice President, Dr Riek Machar, Nyandeng said: "No I don't know whereabout the Vice President is. I have been looking for one  of his officers because the Nuer people when they move around, they're being  killed so sometimes its very difficult to tell where he is. And his telephone doesn't  go through, so I don't know where he is." The fighting around Juba has this evening calmed but residents fear that there is a  potential onslaught later tonight by the dissident group.  UN aid agencies and UNMISS have already reported receiving more than 13,000  seeking refuge in their compounds. In another development, the United States has ordered its officials to leave South  Sudan and urged its citizens to reconsider visiting the country as fighting is  expected to continue for the next few days.   The Upper Nile Times

Author: The Times Wire Staff Post : December 17, 2013