KAMPALA, Uganda — Two days of fighting in Southern Sudan between the region’s army and a rebel faction killed 105 people, a southern army spokesman said Friday, in a reminder that violence can still erupt in the volatile region despite its successful independence referendum.
A former high-ranking southern army member who had previously rebelled against the southern regional government attacked the towns of Fangak and Dor in the Upper Nile state Wednesday, breaking a January cease-fire, said Col. Philip Aguer, the army spokesman.
Aguer said 105 people were killed in the two towns: 39 civilians, 24 southern police and soldiers, and 42 of rebel commander George Athor’s men. Attempts were made to reach Athor and his top aide, but the phone calls to the remote region did not go through.
Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders, said Friday that it is treating dozens of wounded. About 50 patients have been admitted to the aid group’s health facilities.
“We are mainly seeing patients with gunshot wounds, and many have significant abdominal and limb injuries,” said Tim Baerwaldt, head of the group’s mission in Southern Sudan.
Medical supplies and personnel have been flown to Malakal, the major town in Upper Nile state, the medical group said.
The violence erupted the same week final results were announced from Southern Sudan’s Jan. 9-15 independence referendum. Nearly 99 percent of ballots were cast for independence, setting the region on course to become the world’s newest country in July.
The fresh fighting, though, is a reminder that renegade commanders abound in a region that has endured two decades of war. More than 2 million people died in the 1983-2005 north-south civil war.
No new fighting was reported Friday.
