TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A group of camel-riding assaillants ambushed and killed 15 civilians and injured 10 others in Darfur, South Sudan, said local authorities through a statement. The ambush occurred in Hammadeh, around 80 kilometers north of the capital of Nyala state, according to a SUNA report quoted by AFP.
"We have formed a commission to investigate the Hammadeh killings," the Governor of South Sudan, Adam Jar al-Nabi, told SUNA.
One of the injured civilian spoke to SUNA from a hospital in Nyala that he was visiting his family in Hammadeh and was about to return when the attack happened on Tuesday.
"Armed assailants on camels started shooting at our vehicles and killed 13 people on the scene," said a witness who goes by the name Abdul Karim, adding that two more people succumbed to their injuries on Wednesday morning.
The official statement stopped short of detailing the exact number of assailants who were involved in the ambush, as well as the suspects' identities.
Darfur's west have been marred by gross violations of the law since 2003, when ethnic rebels went up in arms to protest their marginalization and resist the domination of the Arab-oriented regime in Khartoum.
The conflict has killed at least 300,000 people and affected another 2,000,000, according to the United Nations (UN). It is known that President Omar al-Bashir and his Defence Minister is currently wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity charges in the conflict-ridden area.
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