20 Killed in Raid on UN South Sudan Compound | WPN World People News

Officials in South Sudan say gunmen have raided a United Nations compound housing 5,000 civilians and U.N. peacekeepers, killing at least 20 people and wounding 60.

Officials say armed youths overran the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) compound Thursday in the capital of Jonglei state, Bor, and opened fire.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power described the assault as a "brazen, inhuman attack on unarmed civilians."

She said the U.S. will work with its allies to determine who is responsible for what she called a "horrific attack" and to bring the perpetrators to justice.

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric called the attack on a location where civilians are under U.N. protection a "serious escalation." He also said any attack on peacekeepers is "unacceptable and constitutes a war crime."

A spokesman for South Sudan's opposition forces, James Gatdet Dak, condemned what he called a "barbaric attack and massacre of unarmed innocent civilians."

Tens of thousands of civilians have been sheltering at U.N. bases across the country since fighting broke out late last year following a rift between President Salva Kiir and his former vice president, Riek Machar.

The U.N. says more than 800,000 people have been internally displaced by violence in South Sudan, and warns that the upcoming rainy season will put more people at risk of food insecurity.

Source: Voice of America