At least 74 mine workers were killed and dozens more wounded when armed gunmen attacked a gold mining camp in South Sudan’s mineral-rich Jebel Iraq area near Juba, in one of the deadliest single incidents of violence in the young nation’s history.
The SPLM in Opposition (SPLM-IO), the party of suspended First-Vice President Riek Machar, alleged that government soldiers were responsible for the security failure, as the area surrounding the mine was under effective military control. The government described the attack as the work of criminal elements operating outside any official command structure.
South Sudan’s mining sector, which includes significant deposits of gold, copper and iron ore, has struggled to establish a regulated and secure system. Illegal extraction operations have proliferated, with thousands of artisanal miners — many from neighbouring Uganda, Kenya and the DRC — working in dangerous, unregulated conditions.
The incident has reignited debate about governance of South Sudan’s mining sector. Activists argue the government has failed to regulate artisanal mining effectively, instead awarding contracts to foreign companies that displace local communities without adequate compensation.
The International Crisis Group has warned that unregulated artisanal mining is creating a new frontier of conflict, with control over mining sites and trade routes becoming another arena for political and military competition.
Neighbouring Uganda said it was preparing to repatriate the bodies of several Ugandan nationals believed to be among the dead. The African Union called for an immediate independent investigation.