Violence in South Sudan escalates

JUBA, Sudan, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- The death of nearly two dozen members of the South Sudanese security forces Friday put the latest death toll at more than 100, a military spokesman said.

Philip Aguer, a spokesman for the military in South Sudan, said 20 members of the South Sudan security force were killed along with at least 30 rebels, the BBC reports. The death toll from post-referendum violence now is more than 100.

Two army vehicles hit land mines in the south of the country during the latest violence, the spokesman added.

The UNHCR said escalating conflicts in the south are putting strain on efforts to address the lingering issues in the wake of a January referendum for South Sudan's secession.

Voters in Sudan overwhelmingly backed a measure giving independence to South Sudan. The January referendum was part of a peace agreement reached in 2005 that ended one of the bloodiest civil wars in the modern age.

Conflict, however, has re-emerged in parts of Sudan as a mutiny within joint north and south Sudanese forces on the regional border claimed up to 50 lives Monday. A minister from South Sudan was killed by his driver earlier this week.