S. Sudan Army Repulses Rebel Attack

The South Sudanese army repulsed a rebel attack on Renk, a town in the northeastern Upper Nile State, President Salva Kiir's press secretary said Wednesday.



Ateng Wek Ateng said that government troops still control the town and that the situation will return back to normal in the town within 24 hours.



South Sudan has been shaken by violence since last December, when Kiir accused sacked vice-president Riek Machar of trying to overthrow his regime.



The conflict has already claimed more than 10,000 lives, with the U.N. estimating that a million South Sudanese have been displaced by the violence.



Ateng said that President Kiir had denounced a recent massacre of scores of civilians at the hands of rebel troops in Bentiu, the capital of South Sudan's oil-rich Unity State.



He said around 148 people were intentionally killed inside a church, describing the event as a "crime against humanity".



By Atem Simon



englishnews@aa.com.tr - Cuba