950803

145 Sudanese

massacred by

rival group

NAIROBI: A south Sudanese rebel group said on Thursday a rival group massacred 145 people, mainly women and children, and wounded more than 250 last Sunday in Western Upper Nile province.

UN aid workers were unable to confirm the casualty report but said the violence may have resulted from a cattle-rustling raid.

In a statement the South Sudan Independence Army (SSIA) said a total of 145 people, mostly women and children, were killed and more than 250 wounded had arrived at Ganyliel in Payinjar district for treatment.

It said gunmen of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) took 4,000 head of cattle, burned down 35 villages, destroyed crops and looted mosquito nets, fishing nets and hooks in the attack.

"On the other hand the SPLA left behind 90 of their own dead and two RPD46 light machineguns and three AKM-47 rifles captured by the SSIA forces in a battle that lasted for nine hours," it said.-Reuter