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At Least 19 Killed In South Sudan Skirmish

Khartoum(August 27, 2017): A United States citizen working in South Sudan as a freelance journalist was among 19 people killed  during fighting between government troops and rebels in Yei River state, the rebels and the military said.

Christopher Allen, who worked for various news outlets, was killed in heavy fighting in the town of Kaya. South Sudan has been convulsed by conflict since late 2013, pitting President Salva Kiir’s troops against those of rebel leader Riek Machar.

“On the ground, about 16 (bodies) have been found around the defensive position of the SPLA including this white man,” Santo Domic Chol, a military spokesman, told. Three government soldiers were also killed, he said.

The country spiralled into civil war, with fighting along ethnic lines, after Kiir sacked Machar in late 2013.

The conflict has forced about 4 million people to flee their homes. Uganda currently hosts more than a million South Sudanese refugees, while over 330,000 have fled to neighbouring Ethiopia.

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