AFRICA/SOUTH SUDAN - Assault against the camp for displaced people in the UN base in Malakal

Juba (Agenzia Fides) - "From the first information we have the massacre in the UN camp in Malakal is due to tribal tensions", say to Agenzia Fides local sources from South Sudan, where on the night of 18 February an armed group attacked the IDP camp in Malakal located in the UN Mission base in South Sudan (UMISS), killing at least seven people and wounding 32.
"Given the tensions between the residents in the area, about 47,500, the UN has decided to create sectors where displaced people of the same ethnic group are hosted. Because of the constant flow of people seeking refuge the perimeter of the camp is widened continuously and this may lead to some security flaws. UN staff do what they can, but we must keep in mind that the materials of construction to widen the camp come by air and this entails considerable costs", explains our source who requested anonymity for security reasons.
"Ethnic tensions are heightened by the new administrative division of the Country in 28 States" the sources said. "The new Malakal administrative configuration, a historically Shilluk town, was annexed to a primarily Dinka State. These days the governor of the new State sacked all government Shilluk employees, telling them to go to the other side of the Nile, in the other State with a Shilluk majority. This is triggering dissatisfaction and has heightened the tension". (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 18/02/2016)

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armed groups

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displaced persons

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