South Sudan Violence

Devastating conflicts, violence and persecution in places like Syria and South Sudan left a record 65.6 million people uprooted from their homes by the end of 2016, the UN said Monday.

A prominent Sudanese rebel group on Wednesday signed a deal with the United Nations to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers in its ranks.

South Sudan rejected today accusations from the UN that its soldiers had raped and killed civilians during and after ethnically-charged fighting last month in the capital Juba.

About 60,000 people have fled South Sudan since violence escalated over the past three weeks, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said today.

At least 300 people have been killed in four days of intense gunbattles in the capital of South Sudan and 42,000 have fled the city, the UN said Friday.

Two C-17 Globemaster aircraft left for Juba this morning to evacuate 600 Indians from war-torn South Sudan. Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh is leading the operation - named SankatMochan. South Sudan has been rocked by violence that has claimed hundreds of lives.

Three-quarters of the population of South Sudan needs humanitarian aid after four days of deadly fighting, the UN's World Food Programme director Etharin Cousin told AFP on Tuesday.

Japan has urged dozens of Japanese nationals including aid workers in South Sudan's capital of Juba to leave the country and dispatched military aircraft to evacuate them amid renewed fighting in the African nation.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called Monday for an immediate arms embargo against South Sudan in response to an outbreak of heavy fighting that has left hundreds dead.

Heavy fighting erupted again in South Sudan's capital on Monday a day after the UN Security Council told rivals President Salva Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar to rein in their forces and end days of violence that have left scores dead.

The UN Security Council met behind closed doors Sunday on renewed fighting in the capital of South Sudan, as former rebels and government soldiers exchanged fire in several parts of Juba.

The Indian embassy in South Sudan swung into action after direction from External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj On Twitter to provide rescue and relief to trapped Indians in a country which has turned into a war zone.

Britain advised its nationals on Saturday to leave South Sudan if they could do so safely, and said it was removing non-essential embassy staff, after a surge of violence in the capital Juba.

Aid workers in South Sudan have suffered an increase in attacks in recent weeks, the UN warned Wednesday, with three killed in May since the formation of a unity government.

Up to 16,000 children have been forced to join the fighting in South Sudan since the start of this year, the United Nations children's agency (UNICEF) said today.

Devastating conflicts, violence and persecution in places like Syria and South Sudan left a record 65.6 million people uprooted from their homes by the end of 2016, the UN said Monday.

A prominent Sudanese rebel group on Wednesday signed a deal with the United Nations to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers in its ranks.

South Sudan rejected today accusations from the UN that its soldiers had raped and killed civilians during and after ethnically-charged fighting last month in the capital Juba.

About 60,000 people have fled South Sudan since violence escalated over the past three weeks, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said today.

At least 300 people have been killed in four days of intense gunbattles in the capital of South Sudan and 42,000 have fled the city, the UN said Friday.

Two C-17 Globemaster aircraft left for Juba this morning to evacuate 600 Indians from war-torn South Sudan. Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh is leading the operation - named SankatMochan. South Sudan has been rocked by violence that has claimed hundreds of lives.

Three-quarters of the population of South Sudan needs humanitarian aid after four days of deadly fighting, the UN's World Food Programme director Etharin Cousin told AFP on Tuesday.

Japan has urged dozens of Japanese nationals including aid workers in South Sudan's capital of Juba to leave the country and dispatched military aircraft to evacuate them amid renewed fighting in the African nation.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called Monday for an immediate arms embargo against South Sudan in response to an outbreak of heavy fighting that has left hundreds dead.

Heavy fighting erupted again in South Sudan's capital on Monday a day after the UN Security Council told rivals President Salva Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar to rein in their forces and end days of violence that have left scores dead.

The UN Security Council met behind closed doors Sunday on renewed fighting in the capital of South Sudan, as former rebels and government soldiers exchanged fire in several parts of Juba.

The Indian embassy in South Sudan swung into action after direction from External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj On Twitter to provide rescue and relief to trapped Indians in a country which has turned into a war zone.

Britain advised its nationals on Saturday to leave South Sudan if they could do so safely, and said it was removing non-essential embassy staff, after a surge of violence in the capital Juba.

Aid workers in South Sudan have suffered an increase in attacks in recent weeks, the UN warned Wednesday, with three killed in May since the formation of a unity government.

Up to 16,000 children have been forced to join the fighting in South Sudan since the start of this year, the United Nations children's agency (UNICEF) said today.