Over 2,000 civilians have fled their homes after attacks by SPLA forces in several villages outside South Sudan’s Wau town over the last few days, according to displaced people.
A mother who arrived in Wau together with over 2,000 displaced told Radio Tamazuj that she lost her husband in an attack at Korokanda in Momoye area.
“I come from Korokanda, all people have come here,” she said. “People were being attacked, houses were burned, that’s why I came here with children, and we don’t know where to go. So that’s the situation we are in now.”
The mother said the displaced families are now accommodated in Kosti School for Girls in the town, saying they lost everything after the killings, looting, and burning that took place in their area.
She pointed out that they lack food and other basic services.
Meanwhile, several eyewitnesses confirmed that the school was full with the newly displaced people who came from remote peripheral areas in Wau County.
On Wednesday, multiple sources told Radio Tamazuj that SPLA forces attacked several villages around Wau town, killing at least one civilian and torching 29 homes and two schools, besides the arrest several people.
Radio Tamazuj earlier reported that SPLA forces prevented United Nations peacekeepers including human rights monitors from accessing affected populations outside Wau.
Related:
SPLA accused of killing and burning homes near Wau (7 Jan.)
SPLA spokesman denies aerial bombing in Wau county (8 Dec.)
UN says clashes in Wau County violate ceasefire (8 Dec.)
Wau authorities arrest 7 civil society activists who protested abuses by security forces (30 Nov.)
File photo: survivor of an alleged SPLA attack in Central Equatoria state