The clashes in Nasir, near the Ethiopian border, between national forces and the White Army, a loosely organised group mostly comprising armed ethnic Nuer youths, had threatened to reignite the 2013-2018 civil war in which hundreds of thousands of people died.
read more
Just weeks after government troops withdrew from the east of the country following intense clashes with an ethnic militia, an airstrike by South Sudan’s air force killed at least 19 people in the area, residents reported.
The fighting in Nasir, near the Ethiopian border, between national forces and the White Army—a loosely organised militia of armed Nuer youths—raised fears of a potential resurgence of the 2013-2018 civil war, which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
The government has accused First Vice President Riek Machar’s party, which is largely Nuer, of working with the White Army. During the civil war, the militia fought alongside Machar’s forces against the predominantly Dinka troops loyal to President Salva Kiir. Machar’s party has denied any involvement.
A South Sudanese general was among around 27 soldiers killed on March 7 when a UN helicopter trying to evacuate them from Nasir came under attack.
South Sudan’s Information Minister Michael Makuei told journalists at a news conference the airforce bombed Nasir o