June 13, 2009 (JUBA) — Armed tribesmen clashed with the southern Sudan army when they attacked during the weekend barges carrying UN food aid, unconfirmed reports say hundreds of people were killed.

- Refugees wait for the distribution of food and non-food items during a visit by U.N. top humanitarian official John Holmes in Akobo town, Jonglei, May 8, 2009 (UNMIS-Tim Mckulka)
Armed men from the Jikany Nuer ethnic group attacked some 27 barges carrying humanitarian aid of the World Food Programme outside the town of Nasir on the Sobat River on Friday afternoon in Upper Nile state, said Michelle Iseminger, the WFP programme director for South Sudan.
The Sobat River, a tributary of the White Nile, is the only transport route available to channel goods to Akobo during the rainy season, when roads are flooded.
The relief assistance is destined to Akobo which is Lou Nuer County in Jonglei state. UN officials say the supplies are vital to support some 18,000 displaced people in Akobo who fled their homes in fighting earlier this year.
The Jikany Nuer blocked the humanitarian assistance in Nasir to revenge attacks on Torkech Luak-Piny County, Upper Nile, when 70 people, mostly children and women, were killed by attackers allegedly Lou Nuer from Akobo County, last May.
The clashes erupted when the SPLA soldiers said they would escort the barges to the town of Akobo, even by force, the blocked aid in spite of the tribesmen opposition.
The barges were carrying sorghum and other food for thousands of people displaced by tribal fighting.16 boats managed to return to Nassir, but the fate of the 11 other barges was still unknown. "Nobody knows their real conditions now," said the WFP official.
Reports from the region say hundreds were killed and many others wounded but no official figures about the causalities of the fighting.
(ST)









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