UN agency condemns refugee killing in South Sudan

The UN refugee agency on Friday condemned the abduction and killing of refugees near a refugee hosting area of Lasu Payam in South Sudan's southwestern region of Yei.

In a statement released in Juba, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said shooting and machete attack by armed groups killed two and wounded five Sudanese refugees who were from Sudan's South Kordofan region.

They were released members of the 39 refugees abducted on Oct. 19, according to the UNHCR.

"To date, four women and 28 children are still in captivity in an unknown location," the statement said, adding that efforts were being made to obtain details about their whereabouts and their captors.

According to the UNHCR, armed men freed seven abducted refugees on Nov. 5. The released refugees were then attacked by another group.

"One refugee was shot dead and six others cut by machetes. Before reaching Yei town on foot, one refugee bled to death from their wounds. UNHCR has airlifted the five wounded refugees to Juba for better medical treatment," it said.

"UNHCR urges the government of South Sudan and armed groups in the refugee hosting areas to respect human rights and take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of refugees, create a secure corridor for movement of displaced refugees and free movement of humanitarian actors to reach refugees with much-needed relief aid," said Vincent Parker, UNHCR's Deputy Representative in South Sudan.

It was not the first attack against refugees in Lasu as armed men in September went on a looting spree in the camp, robbing refugee homes and destroying the medical clinic

"This forced thousands of refugees to flee alongside the host community and seek safety in the surrounding dense forest areas," the agency said.

Prior to the September raids, Lasu hosted over 10,000 refugees, mainly from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR). The camp is currently empty, with access to the area extremely challenging due to the ongoing conflicts.