South Sudan crisis: Juba calm, Bor fighting continues, Mogiri base attacked

Fighting near Bor has not ceased, while the military base Mogiri 1 on the Juba-Torit road was attacked by unknown forces. A soldier reported that his battalion was scattered and gathered later during the night in Khor Angreb.  In Bor heavy fighting was reported on Thursday around 7:10. The number of casualties on the side of the regular SPLA forces is unknown. A resident of Bor told Radio Tamazuj that tens of soldiers and citizens were killed as he saw at least five bodies himself. The army acknowledged it lost control over Bor to the forces of the breakaway commander Peter Gadet. He is considered to be loyal to the former vice president Riek Machar, who is still at large. Jonglei’s eastern town of Akobo, which witnessed clashes on Wednesday, was calm on Thursday morning. Juba was mainly calm during the entire night, although sporadic gunshots were heard on several places, including in Hai Malakia and Jebel area. Reporters of Radio Tamazuj noticed that at least five petrol stations in the city of Juba were open. They saw long lines of people carrying jerry cans and cars queuing for fuel. The price remained SSP6 per liter as it was before the clashes broke out. But the retail price outside the fuel stations by people carrying the fuel to the suburbs have increased from SSP8 to SSP10. Several petrol stations remained closed. File photo: A section of the families camping in Bor as they wait for humanitarian assistance in May 2013 (Jacob Achiek Jok)Related: Town of Bor in hands of Machar loyalists as fighting continues in South Sudan (18 December 2013)