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US Embassy Khartoum

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The State Department has confirmed that a United States Journalist, Christopher Allen was killed in South Sudan on Saturday. The State Department made the disclosure on Sunday in a statement issued by US Embassy.


The statement read;


"We can confirm that U.S. citizen Christopher Allen died in South Sudan on August 26, 2017 while working as a journalist. We express our condolences to Mr. Allen's family. The Embassy stands ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance. Out of respect for Mr. Allen's family, we have no further comment at this time" it added.


CNN reports that Allen was one of 19 people killed during fighting between government troops and rebels in Yei River state. According to the report, Allen had worked for various news outlets before he was killed in heavy fighting in the town of Kaya. Since the country broke away from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan has continued to witness serious security crisis culminating in a civil war.


The crisis started in December 2013, when soldiers from President Salva Kiir's Dinka ethnic group attempted to disarm Nuer soldiers perceived to be loyal to then-ousted Vice President Riek Machar, sparking fighting and inflaming ethnic tensions in South Sudan.


President Kiir is a member of the country's majority Dinka population, while the ousted Vice President is from the country's second-largest ethnic group.


According to recent United Nation report, about 1.89 million persons have already been displaced while over 1.97 million are currently taking refuge in neighboring countries.

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