The number of civilians killed in cross-fire or deliberately targeted in Melut town in Upper Nile State has reached to at least eight. Many civilians have also been wounded and received medical treatment at the UN peacekeeping base in the town.

Deputy Spokesman of the UN Secretary-General Farhan Haq announced in New York today that “the UNMISS compound and the protection of civilians site have been caught in the cross-fire and seven internally displaced persons have been killed.”

This death toll represents an increase since Wednesday when Ban Ki-moon said that four internally displaced persons (IDPs) were caught in the cross-fire in the protection of civilians site within the UNMISS compound in Melut.

Additionally, Radio Tamazuj earlier today reported the killing of another civilian, an elderly man, who was not included among the seven people mentioned by Farhan Haq.

Overall, about 1,600 IDPs are seeking protection at the UNMISS base in Melut and another 20,000 displaced people who were previously sheltering in two sites outside the UN base have scattered, according to Farhan Haq.

He said that humanitarian supplies at the Melut base are running low. The UN Radio Miraya reported that a mortar round had damaged a water installation run by the Indian battalion in the base.

The United Nations says that Melut has been the scene of intense fighting over the past two nights. Government troops claimed to have retaken control of the town on Wedneday evening and a rebel spokesman announced their troops had withdrawn.

But the UN deputy spokesman in New York also cited reports saying clashes had continued this morning in Melut, which is located about 35 kilometres (20 miles) west of South Sudan's main oil production base at Paloich.

Jane Andanje, who heads the aid agencies CAFOD and Trocaire in South Sudan, told AFP news agency that her staffs inside the UN compound in Melut reported hearing “the constant sound of shelling – believed to be mortar fire.”

According to the UN Mission in South Sudan, Indian peacekeepers are providing treatment for injured civilians inside the Melut base.

Photos: Wounded civilians are treated at the Melut base (UNMISS/UN Military)

Related: 

Targeted killings reported in Melut after govt recapture (21 May)

S Sudan government retakes Melut (20 May)

Heavy fighting in Melut, some oil workers evacuate (20 May)

Fighting reaches Melut near S Sudan oil fields (19 May)