UN fears South sudan death toll far higher than estimated

The U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said in a statement from Juba, South Sudan's capital that UNMISS on Sunday noted new media reports estimating that up to 10,000 people may have been killed since the conflict started December 15, when President Salva Kiir said soldiers loyal to former Vice President Reik Machar, dismissed from office in July, launched an attempted coup d'état. On December 26, the U.N. mission estimated that 1,000 people may have been killed in the fighting. "This was based on UNMISS' initial monitoring and investigations in Juba and other relatively more stable locations where its human-rights officers and other staff were able to access, investigate, and document the unfolding developments," the mission said. But after two weeks of subsequent violence, there are now clear indications that the casualty count must be much higher, UNMISS said.