At least 43 people killed in Sudan clashes

At least 43 people have been killed, including seven soldiers, and dozens wounded in clashes between troops and cattle rustlers in south Sudan, a military spokesman said on Saturday. Gunmen attacked a small settlement in the Twic East region of Jonglei state early on Friday, said Major General Kuol Diem Kuol, of the southern Sudan People?s Liberation Army (SPLA). "The men attacked at the settlement of Wernyol at 5:00 am with guns, coming to take the cattle, and to loot and steal. "There was only a small police force based in Wernyol, and they were soon overrun, but nearby SPLA platoons heard the shooting and rushed to the area." Fighting then broke out between around 70 soldiers and the raiders, who are reported to come from the Lou Nuer ethnic group. The people of Wernyol are from the Bor Dinka group.