Dozens of wounded fighters arrived over the past few days to Melut, a government-controlled town on the White Nile north of the Upper Nile state capital Malakal.
A source who preferred not to be named told Radio Tamazuj from Melut that the fighters were wounded in clashes against opposition forces loyal to ousted vice president Riek Machar.
He said the wounded fighters were brought from a battlefield at a place called Jieng Chyany, south of Akoka. The source described the wounded fighters not as soldiers but as ‘sons of Akoka,’ a reference to the DInka tribe inhabiting the area.
Melut Commissioner Akuj Teny Diing today confirmed the report of 43 wounded, but could not confirm details about the fighting. He told Radio Tamazuj the 43 people were hurt in clashes over the past few days in the direction of Malakal and also Guel Guk.
File photo: SPLA soldiers sit on a pick up truck during a patrol in Malakal on January 21, 2014 (AFP/Harrison Ngethi)
Medical sources say about 750 wounded in Upper Nile region fighting (25 Feb.)
Fighting south of Adar oil field in Upper Nile (24 Feb.)