At least 16 civilians were killed after fighting spread to Wau town on Monday morning, the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said in a statement.
“The mission mounted two patrols into Wau today and said it had observed the bodies of 16 civilians in a hospital. There were ten people who had been injured,” the statement said.
The UN mission further said SPLA troops, tanks and equipment moved towards the south-western part of Wau late last week.
It pointed out after an ambush south of the city left a number of government SPLA soldiers dead on Sunday, fighting spread to Wau.
Some 3,000 people, mostly women and children had fled to a Catholic Church in the town, according to the UNMISS. It added that another 84 people had sought refuge at the UN Protection of Civilians site (PoC).
Photo: Displaced civilians at UN PoC in Wau town on 28 June, 2016/Francis Irigu