'Twenty-six killed' in south Sudan tribal fighting

Nigerian soldiers on trial over role during clashes
Kano, Nigeria (AFP) May 5, 2010 - Five soldiers are to face trial over alleged "negligent firing" while quelling bloody sectarian clashes in central Nigeria which claimed hundreds of lives, an army spokesman said Wednesday. "A court martial was inaugurated yesterday (Tuesday) in Jos to try five soldiers for offences they allegedly committed during army operations this year in Jos," Colonel Galadima Shekari told AFP. Rights groups and residents have accused Nigeria's army of extra-judicial killings, indiscriminate firing and killing unarmed residents after troops were deployed to put down ethno-religious clashes in central Plateau State this year. The clashes claimed hundreds of lives since the beginning of this year.

"The offences they are accused of committing included assault, misapplication of service property and negligent firing. These are the offences the five soldiers will be charged with," Shekari said by telephone from the state capital Jos. Shekari said that the president of the military court, an army colonel, was yet to set a date for the commencement of the trial of the five soldiers, members of a military task force deployed in the area. Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang recently called for the withdrawal of the troops from Jos and its environs, following residents' complaints. Jos has long been the centre of the ethno-religious violence in a country whose 150 million population is divided almost equally between Christians and Muslims.

by Staff Writers
Khartoum (AFP) May 5, 2010
Clashes over livestock between members of two large tribes killed 26 people in the south Sudan state of Warrap on Wednesday, a senior officer in the south Sudan armed forces said.

"Nuer coming from Mayom county (in the southern state of Unity) attacked Dinka in (neighbouring) Warrap state. Eleven Nuer were killed and 15 Dinka," said Malaak Auyen Ajok, spokesman for the former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army.

"This involved fighting over livestock," he said, adding that no more details were immediately available.

The Nuer and the Dinka, each divided into clans, are the two most important tribes in south Sudan, a vast impoverished region that will hold a referendum in January on whether to remain part of Sudan.

The Sudanese press in recent days has spoken of increasing tensions between armed groups in Warrap.

Speaking of the same incident, the United Nations' Miraya FM radio said 20 people had been killed in East Tonj and North Tonj counties in Warrap.

Autonomous south Sudan is struggling to recover from the 22-year civil war with the north that ended in 2005, during which an estimated two million people were killed in a conflict fuelled by ethnicity, ideology, religion and resources such as oil.

The region is also plagued by local clashes between rival ethnic groups, often sparked by cattle rustling and disputes over natural resources, with others in retaliation for previous attacks.

More than 400 people have been killed across the south in cattle raids and revenge attacks this year, according to the United Nations.

Among them, more than 140 people have been killed in Warrap, one of the most violence-ridden states.

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
Africa News - Resources, Health, Food

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

UN warns climate change will hit Africa's poorest
Rome (AFP) May 4, 2010
Climate change can significantly reverse progress in Africa over food security and poverty reduction, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations said Tuesday. The main consequence of higher temperatures and more unpredictable weather was a likely reduction in crop yields, down 6.9 percent in the case of maize, an important staple, the FAO said in a statement. The FAO cit ... read more

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement