It all began on Tuesday after the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces soldiers demanded that the youth surrender a red scarf they were holding, which in the troops’ eyes symbolised battle-readiness. “The armed youth refused to hand over the red scarf to the SSPDF soldiers,” he said. The soldiers argued that wearing a red scarf symbolises someone in combat, and the ensuing quarrel led to the first killings that triggered retaliation from local armed youth. According to Gen Ruai, the two days’ consecutive clashes left 45 SSPDF soldiers and 82 civilians dead. Lul said the thirty-two SSPDF soldiers injured during the clashes were airlifted to the capital Juba and are currently receiving treatment at Juba Military Hospital.

Source: Daily Nation August 12, 2020 15:56 UTC