South Sudanese government and opposition forces on Friday clashed near Renk, the northernmost town in the country. The town remained in government hands after the clashes, though several people were killed.

Emanuel Bargail, a citizen from Renk, told Radio Tamazuj that there was also an attack on Abu Khadra by oppositions forces which started at around 5:00 a.m. and continued up to around 7:30am. 

This was followed by shelling on Renk from the west bank starting at around 8:30 a.m. on Friday.

He estimated 34 bombs were launched against the town from the west bank but only 4 of them exploded inside the town while most of the others fell in the river. 

“A woman was killed and other 5 wounded when a bomb fallen on their house, three of them are children,” said Emanuel.

Most of the citizens fled into the southeast of the town, while others fled toward the Sudan side, to the north, using vehicles.

Reports from Renk suggested that the shelling of the town continued until about 12:30 p.m., but shelling on Abu Khadra continued into the afternoon.

SPLA Col. Philip Aguer, the army spokesman, said the attack the shelling started at around 7:00am and continued up to around 2:00 p.m.

He said there were also clashes at Abu Khadra north of Renk and Majak south of Renk.

According to the army official, 4 civilians were killed and 8 injured from the shelling on Renk town. He blamed the opposition forces for killing these civilians, whom he said were all killed in the town itself.

He further claimed that Abu Khadra remains under the control of SPLA in spite of the clashes.

Gunfire within Renk town  has also been reported in previous nights.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj yesterday, sources from the county said an SPLA soldier shot fire randomly on Wednesday night, saying that man started shooting with heavy machine gun when stopped by some people from attacking the wife of his friend. For his part, the Renk County Commission Kur Chaui Deng confirmed the incident but corrected the version of the story.

Deng noted the SPLA soldier started shooting when he saw something moving at night while on duty.

The commissioner reassured that the security situation is still calm and stable. He also admitted that the random shooting caused panic and fear among the civilians.

 The County Commissioner further revealed that soldier was arrested and is now under investigation at the SPLA military barrack in Renk town.