'Many killed' as fresh conflict in S Sudan displaces 180,000

JUBA

Renewed fighting in South Sudan has displaced more than 180,000 people, with witnesses describing indiscriminate use of barrel bombs and civilians fleeing into swamps as the country's fragile peace unravels.

The world's youngest country has been beset by war, poverty and massive corruption since it was formed in 2011, but violence is once again on the rise between rival factions, currently focused on Jonglei state north of the capital Juba.

A power-sharing agreement between the two main factions is all but dead after President Salva Kiir moved against his vice-president and long-time rival, Riek Machar, who was arrested last March and is now on trial for "crimes against humanity."

Their forces have fought several times over the past year, but the most sustained clashes began in late December in Jonglei.

South Sudanese authorities estimate the number of displaced at more than 180,000 across four counties of Jonglei, the U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA said this week.

"Most people are settling under trees. Their homes and health facilities have been looted or burned and there is a lot of hunger," said Deng.

Kiir and Machar fought a five-year war shortly after independence that claimed 400,000 lives. A 2018 power-sharing deal kept the peace for some years, but plans to hold elections and merge their armies did not materialize.