From Reuters

A mass grave believed to contain the bodies of 75 ethnic Dinka soldiers has been found in South Sudan, the United Nations said on Tuesday, fuelling fears of ethnic bloodletting in the world’s newest state.

President Salva Kiir said on Tuesday government troops had retaken control of Jonglei state capital Bor, a key town which last week fell to rebels loyal to former Vice-President Riek Machar, who was sacked by Kiir in July.

U.N. human rights officers discovered the grave in the rebel-held city of Bentiu, capital of Unity state.

“We have discovered a mass grave in Bentiu, in Unity State, and there are reportedly at least two other mass graves in Juba,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement in Geneva.

The conflict in South Sudan erupted in the capital Juba on Dec. 15 but has spread to oil-producing regions and beyond, rapidly dividing the two-year-old nation on ethnic lines.

Much of the fighting has involved Dinka and Nuer factions of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, with militias and marauding youths also reported to be attacking opposing ethnic groups.

Western powers and east African states, keen to prevent more chaos in a fragile region, have tried to mediate between Kiir, a Dinka, and rebel leader Machar, a Nuer.

Written by Drazen Jorgic | Read more at Reuters