The South Sudan government has gone on the defensive after an American journalist embedded in rebel troops there was shot and killed.
Christopher Allen, 28, was hit by a large-caliber bullet on Saturday in the town of Kaya – but the government claims that he was not identified as a member of the press when he was hit.
He also entered the country illegally with rebels, army spokesman Lul Ruai Koang claimed, adding that those who stand with the rebels will not be protected by the government.
‘Anybody who comes attacking us with hostile forces will meet his fate,’ he said.
Slain: Freelance journalist Christopher Allen (left in undated picture, and right after death), 28, was killed in South Sudan on Saturday. He was hit in the head during the ongoing civil war
Target: The government (troops pictured) said anyone embedded with rebels – as Allen was – is a target. It also claimed he wasn’t obviously press and entered the country illegally
Allen was in the East African country to report on the civil war there, which has stretched on since late 2013.
He was embedded in Kaya with troops led by Riek Machar, who opposes President Salva Kiir, when he was struck and killed.
Dr Peter Ajak Bullen, the army’s chief medical officer, said he was shot in the head with a ‘large bullet’ but he couldn’t confirm that the American was killed at close range.
It isn’t clear who shot Allen, Koang said, adding: ‘Bullets don’t know color or race.’
But the rebels Allen was reporting on tell a different story: They say he was wearing a large vest emblazoned with the word ‘Press’ when he was shot.
They also claim that troops ‘targeted’ him when they saw him taking photos during the fighting, according to opposition spokesman William Gatjiath Deng.
Allen’s body was handed over by South Sudan’s army to the US Embassy on Tuesday.
Rebels: Allen was embedded with the SPLA rebels (soldiers pictured in 2015), who claimed that he had worn a vest with ‘Press’ written on it. It’s unclear who shot him
The opposition’s deputy spokesman, Col. Lam Paul Gabriel, has said Allen and two other journalists were embedded with the rebels on a two-week mission after coming from Uganda’s capital, Kampala.
One rebel who knew Allen said: ‘We are sad for his family. He came here to tell our story.’
Some 15 other bodies were found around Allen’s corpse, officials said.
The War Zone Freelance Project, which exhibits work by freelancers in conflicts, paid tribute to Allen on its Facebook group.
‘Chris was a dedicated freelance writer and photojournalist driven by his love for people and history and a strong belief in the importance of honest thorough reporting,’ the post said.
‘His desire to share the details of under-reported conflicts and the stories of the people he covered took him to dark corners of the earth regardless of the trending news cycle.’
It added: ‘His energy and independent personality was an inspiration to our whole team and he will be greatly missed by all of us.’
War: The civil war has been tearing up the country for close to four full years now. Pictured are civilians fleeing fighting in a UN base in the town of Malakal in February 2016
He is the 10th journalist and the first international journalist to be killed in South Sudan since 2012, according to the United Nations.
South Sudan is one of the harshest places in the world for journalists, according to press freedom groups.
In the past few months, 15 South Sudanese journalists have been detained, beaten or denied access to information, according to the Union of Journalists in South Sudan, and more than 20 foreign journalists have been denied entry or kicked out.
South Sudan’s civil war is well into its fourth year, with tens of thousands of people killed. It began when Kiir sacked Machar in late 2013.
The fighting, often along ethnic lines, defies peace deals and unilateral cease-fires.
A peace accord was signed in August 2015 and Machar returned to the capital in April last year to share power with Kiir, before the deal fell apart less than three months later and Machar and his supporters fled the capital.
The conflict has forced about 4 million people to flee their homes. Uganda currently hosts more than a million South Sudanese refugees, while over 330,000 have fled to neighboring Ethiopia.
Enemies: South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir (left), is challenged by South Sudanese rebel leader Riek Machar (right) in the ongoing battle