By Iliya Kure
United Nations Mission in South Sudan has expressed sympathy to the family and friends of journalist Christopher Allen, killed during fighting in the town of Kaya, near the border with Uganda, in circumstances that remain unclear.
“We would like to pass on our deepest condolences to the family, colleagues, and friends of Christopher Allen for their loss. His death while reporting on the conflict in South Sudan is a tragedy,” said the Head of UNMISS and Special Representative of the Secretary-General, David Shearer.
“Christopher Allen is the tenth journalist to have been killed in South Sudan since 2012. UNMISS has repeatedly stated that any attacks on journalists are unacceptable and it calls on all parties to the ongoing conflict in South Sudan to respect the freedom of the press.”
Before moving to South Sudan, Allen had covered the war in Ukraine.
What is the fighting for?
The South Sudanese Civil War is a conflict between government forces and opposition forces.
In December 2013, President Salva Kiir had accused his former Deputy Riek Machar and ten others of attempting a coup d’état. Machar denied the accusation, and publicly criticised Mr Kiir for his inability to tackle corruption, adding that he would challenge him for the SPLM’s leadership. Things fell apart, he then fled to lead the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – In Opposition (SPLM-IO).
Fight broke out between President Kiir’s SPLM and the SPLM-IO, igniting the civil war.
Ugandan troops were deployed to fight alongside the South Sudanese government.
The United Nations has peacekeeping force in the country as part of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
In January 2014 the first ceasefire agreement was reached, but since then, fighting has continued.
Thousands have been killed and hundreds of thousands have fled the Ugandan border area since the conflict broke out in 2014.
