S Sudan rebel leader denies killing civilians
Iran Press TV
Tue Apr 22, 2014 3:9PM GMT
South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar has dismissed allegations that his forces were behind an alleged massacre in the oil-rich state of Unity last week.
Machar said he respects people, and that his troops cannot kill South Sudanese citizens.
'I contacted the field military commander in Bentiu who told me that such accusation is false. First of all we respect our people, and the majority of the forces are from the region and we can't kill our citizens,' Machar said.
Meanwhile, the rebel spokesman Lul Ruai Koang said that rebel fighters were not responsible for the killings in Bentiu, and blamed others, including government forces for the act.
The exact number of people slaughtered in the fresh atrocities in the world's newest country remains unclear.
This is while the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has accused forces loyal to Machar of killing over 200 civilians in a mosque alone, when they captured the oil town.
The mission says a large number of civilians were also massacred at a church, a hospital and an abandoned UN compound in Bentiu.
Fighting in South Sudan has intensified recently as rebels loyal to sacked vice president, Riek Machar, launched a renewed offensive targeting key oil fields in the country.
The fighting between troops of South Sudan President Salva Kiir, who is from the Dinka ethnic group, and Machar, a Nuer, erupted around the capital Juba on December 15 last year.
The armed conflict has claimed thousands of lives and forced over a million to flee their homes over the past months.
The fighting comes despite a ceasefire signed on January 23 to end weeks of violence in South Sudan which has resulted in the death of thousands of people in the world's youngest nation.
JR/PR
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