Hundreds of civilians killed in South Sudan ethnic massacre: U.N.

By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Rebels slaughtered hundreds of civilians when they seized the South Sudan oil hub of Bentiu, hunting down men, women and children who had sought refuge in a hospital, mosque and Catholic church, the United Nations said on Monday. Rebel troops overran Bentiu, the capital of the oil producing Unity State, on Tuesday. More than 1 million people have fled their homes since fighting erupted in the world's youngest country in December between troops backing President Salva Kiir and soldiers loyal to his sacked vice president, Riek Machar. The U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan said that its human rights investigators confirmed that rebels "searched a number of places where hundreds of South Sudanese and foreign civilians had taken refuge and killed hundreds of the civilians after determining their ethnicity or nationality." The U.N. mission, known as UNMISS, strongly condemned the targeted killings on April 15-16 and the use of Radio Bentiu FM to broadcast hate speech.

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