At least 21 people were killed in an airstrike on a village in Nasir County, Upper Nile State, South Sudan, on Sunday night.
Nasir County Commissioner Gatluak Lew confirmed the attack, stating that 17 people died instantly, while four of the five injured later succumbed to their wounds. Among the dead was the local paramount chief, Paul Bol.
The bombing occurred less than two weeks after government forces withdrew from the area following clashes with the White Army, an ethnic militia. Earlier this month, a South Sudanese general was among 27 soldiers killed when a UN helicopter evacuating troops from Nasir was attacked.
Eyewitnesses blamed the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) for the strike, claiming it targeted residential areas and destroyed homes. The attack followed warnings from Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who urged the White Army to surrender or face consequences.
Although Uganda initially denied its troops’ presence in South Sudan, government spokesman Michael Makuei later confirmed their deployment to support national forces. He also acknowledged the airstrike on Nasir.
The fighting in Nasir, near the Ethiopian border, has heightened tensions, threatening to rekindle South Sudan’s 2013-2018 civil war, which caused massive casualties. The government accuses First Vice President Riek Machar’s party of aiding the White Army, a claim his party denies.