10 civilians killed in fresh South Sudan rebel assault

TVC NEWS [JUBA]- No fewer than 10 civilians have been killed and several others wounded in a fresh rebel assault in South Sudan's oil-rich Upper Nile State, the military said on Thursday.
Army spokesman Philip Aguer said the four children, four women and two men met their fate on Wednesday when rebels allied to former
Vice-President Riek Machar attacked Barliet County, south east of the state capital Malakal.
"These were families just attacked and robbed. They knew they were attacking civilians and just wanted to rob," Col Aguer said.
It was the second time in a week the rebels had been accused of violating a cessation of hostilities agreement President Salva Kiir
signed with rebel chief Dr Machar nearly two weeks ago.
The army said three days ago that rebels had attacked and overran Mathiang, a military base in Upper Nile, last week.
The rebels denied attacking army positions, but claimed they went into the town after the army had withdrawn under mysterious circumstances.
Col Aguer said the fresh attack on Barliet followed a heavy shelling on army positions on Tuesday in Naser County in the same state.
"They used heavy artillery to shell us in Nasser. We regard this as a serious violation of the ceasefire. We are bringing these things to the
attention of the mediators to verify," he said.
However, the rebels denied any engagement with the army at Barliet and instead accused the army of provoking fighting in Nasser.
"What the military governor told me is that the SPLA shelled us in Nasser," rebel spokesman Gen Lul Ruach told the Africa Review.
It was not clear who was in charge of Nasser, a strategic town near to the Ethiopian border.
Sources from Malakal, however, confirmed that there was fighting in Barliet on Wednesday.
Forces loyal to President Kiir and those of Dr Machar have been engaged in armed confrontation since December 15, when a sporadic gunfire broke out in the capital Juba in a failed coup.
President Kiir blamed the attempt on Dr Machar.
The fighting that ensued has so far killed about 10,000 people and displaced some 1.2 million others from their homes.
A peace deal the two rivals signed on May 9 in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa has seen several violations, even as world leaders urge both sides to cease hostilities and allow humanitarian access to about 4 million people at risk of famine