South Sudan cattle raid kills 140
Sunday, 10 January 2010
At least 140 people have been killed in ethnic clashes in Southern Sudan, officials say, as aid agencies warn that the country faces a return to war, reports BBC.
Deputy governor of Warrap state Sabino Makana said members of the Nuer group attacked Dinka cattle herders and seized thousands of animals.
The UN says more than 2,000 people have been killed in ethnic violence in the south since January 2009.
More people died in Southern Sudan than in Darfur last year, however a minister has denied that war could resume.
The BBC's Peter Martell in the southern capital Juba says the Nuer and Dinka people have a long history of both rivalry and co-operation.
Violence of this scale and intensity is creating a lot of concern in Juba that things are out of control in the south's more remote regions.
Government ministers say they are doing all they can - they have launched disarmament drives and, with the election coming up, they are trying to tell people not to use guns to solve their disputes.
But that is an extremely difficult message to get out to heavily armed groups of people in remote areas who are angry over long-lasting enmities.
Deputy governor of Warrap state Sabino Makana said members of the Nuer group attacked Dinka cattle herders and seized thousands of animals.
The UN says more than 2,000 people have been killed in ethnic violence in the south since January 2009.
More people died in Southern Sudan than in Darfur last year, however a minister has denied that war could resume.
The BBC's Peter Martell in the southern capital Juba says the Nuer and Dinka people have a long history of both rivalry and co-operation.
Violence of this scale and intensity is creating a lot of concern in Juba that things are out of control in the south's more remote regions.
Government ministers say they are doing all they can - they have launched disarmament drives and, with the election coming up, they are trying to tell people not to use guns to solve their disputes.
But that is an extremely difficult message to get out to heavily armed groups of people in remote areas who are angry over long-lasting enmities.