South Sudan army says 56 rebels killed in weekend fighting

South Sudan’s army says heavy clashes between government forces and rebels have left dozens of people dead over the weekend around the town of Malakal.

“Our forces were able to successfully drive them back” after they tried to seize control of the town, army spokesman Brigadier General Lul Ruai told journalists on Sunday. “Over 56 rebels were killed,” he said.

The rebels had attacked government positions on Friday night but the military had held their ground, the army spokesman added.

“We came here ... to let the people of South Sudan, and in particular the region, know that Malakal was not captured by the rebels as reported over the weekend,” he said.

On Friday, the rebels had announced that they had taken control of Lalo and the nearby location of Wajwok, and were about to capture Malakal.

“We want to make sure that the government is dislodged from the town and we take control,” said Dickson Gatluakm, a spokesman for the forces loyal to former vice president Riek Machar.

Last week, South Sudan’s military had warned about the surge of violence, raising fears of a full-scale civil war.

On October 10, the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said it had received reports of “horrific attacks on civilians, including some who were burned to death.”

South Sudan plunged into turmoil in late 2013, when President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, accused Machar, a Nuer, of plotting to take the helm of the oil-rich African nation.

SS