UN peacekeepers, civilian staff killed in South Sudan

PanARMENIAN.Net - Several UN peacekeepers and civilian staff were killed in an ambush by unknown attackers in South Sudan's restive eastern state of Jonglei on Tuesday, April 9 the United Nations said, according to Reuters.

"A number of peacekeepers were also injured in the attack," the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said in a statement. UNMISS could not immediately say how many casualties there were or give the nationalities of the victims.

Army spokesman Philip Aguer confirmed the incident, saying a UN convoy was attacked near the remote town of Gumuruk, but he also had no further information for the time being.

Since winning independence from Sudan in July 2011, South Sudan has been struggling to impose its authority across vast swathes of territory bristling with weapons after decades of civil war with Khartoum.

More than 150 people were killed last month in Jonglei, the country's largest state, in a battle between South Sudan's army and insurgents of David Yau Yau, a local rebel leader fighting government forces.