Congolese troops last week detained about 41 South Sudanese soldiers who were fleeing a rebel attack across the border, increasing fears of a spillover of the South Sudan conflict.
More than 57,000 South Sudanese refugees have poured into Democratic Republic of Congo this year as fighting between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and various rebel groups inches south towards Congo and Uganda.
“They came with their families – women and children. They remained at the military headquarters until (Monday),” Reuters reports Valentin Ngaito, editor of a community radio station in the Congolese town of Aba, to say, adding that he believed the regional U.N. mission had since transported them to the town of Dungu, about 200 km away.
South Sudan descended into conflict in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his then deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup against his government.
A peace deal that was signed last year between the rival factions has continually been violated, forcing thousands to continue fleeing the world’s youngest nation.
A top United Nations official last month warned of a possible slide into genocide by South Sudan if an intervention is not carried out soon enough.
Machar and more than 750 supporters fled into Congo in August after fierce fighting in the South Sudan capital Juba. They were evacuated by the U.N. mission from northeastern Congo to receive medical care. Most are still staying on U.N. bases.
