More than a dozen people were wounded and hundreds of people fled from Renk town after artillery hit the town from the western side of the Nile River, an area controlled by the rebel SPLA-IO, according to local sources.
Additionally, an SPLA-IO source reported clashes on the west bank of the river southwest of Renk, saying their forces overran an area earlier controlled by SPLA-Juba.
In the late afternoon yesterday, civilians fled Renk amid shelling, fearing that fighting could erupt at any time between the SPLA-Juba forces and SPLA-IO fighters.
A source indicated that the shelling from the western side of the river began at 4:00 p.m., prompting the civilians to flee toward areas along the Upper Nile-Sudan border.
Following the shelling yesterday, Radio Tamazuj confirmed today from wounded civilians themselves that at least 14 people were hurt in the shelling. Some houses were also burned.
Meanwhile, SPLA-IO rebels yesterday also said that they launched an attack on Kaka area southwest of Renk, claiming that they captured the town.
Public relations officer Capt. Paul Malith said the two warring parties were in combat for five hours yesterday and succeeded in overrunning Kaka. He told Radio Tamazuj that their forces took Kaka from the government following serious shelling on their position.
“It is not a surprise that the government have carried out attacks in Shilluk kingdom for the whole of this week as you may have witnessed Lt. Gen. Johnson Gony Bilieu was inciting the attack and vowed to overrun our current position in Wedakona over state run SSTV,” he added.
Malith further claimed the rebels captured from the SPLA-Juba side 12 pickup trucks mounted with heavy weapons, two Walid armored personnel carriers and ammunitions.
SPLA-Juba has yet to comment on these claims.