News South Sudan

yakherder

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Anyone been paying attention, or has Gaza/Ukraine/Syria/Iraq kept everyone busy enough?

Things are about to get bad. And things are Already bad. Current predictions are along the lines of 10,000 to die from an upcoming anticipated famine, the direct result of the some conflict behind previous famines and genocides over the past couple decades.

Even China has about 800 boots on the ground as far as I know, their first real support for UN operations.
 
Definitely not averted.

Short version: Ethnic conflict forced farmers to flee their villages at a critical harvest time. Thus, the harvest was missed and there is no food. Predictions for deaths in the inevitable famine range from 10,000 to 100,000. The U.N. has warned that 50,000 children, who are particularly vulnerable, could die.

The longer version involves a resurgence from groups like the Lord's Resistance Army, famous (remember the Kony memes?) for raiding villages, killing or raping the adults, and kidnapping children to become soldiers.
 
South Sudan conflict: UN outrage at deadly Bor attack

Undefended villages are attacked like this nearly daily. Attacks on actual U.N. bases aren't quite as common, but far from rare. Typically they'll just lob a couple mortars over the fortifications and hope to get a lucky hit on a tent or group of refugees, then run away before U.N. forces have a chance to return fire.

The UN has expressed outrage at a deadly attack on one of its bases in South Sudan, saying it could "constitute a war crime".

Thursday's attack by armed youths on the base in Bor left at least 58 dead, including children.

Thousands of civilians are sheltering from ethnic violence there.

The UN said its peacekeepers returned fire as a mob of some 300 people forced their way into the base in an "unprovoked attack".

Thousands of people have been killed in South Sudan since fighting began in December between supporters of President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar.

More than one million people have fled their homes in the conflict, some to neighbouring countries.

'Lethal force'
The UN said: "The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms these acts and underscored that attacks on civilians and UN peacekeepers may constitute a war crime."

It added: "The members of the Security Council called on the government of South Sudan to immediately take steps to ensure the safety of all civilians and UNMISS Protection of Civilian sites in South Sudan, to swiftly investigate these incidents, and to bring the perpetrators of these egregious acts to justice."

Some 100 people were also wounded in the attack and the death toll may rise, the UN said.

The senior UN official in South Sudan, Toby Lanzer, praised the actions of the peacekeepers from India, Nepal and South Korea.

He told the BBC: "It is the bravery of the peacekeepers that managed to repel the attack. Unfortunately we have had significant loss of life."

Almost 5,000 civilians are sheltering at the base in Bor.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 after a long and bloody conflict to become the world's newest state.
 
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