18-year-old Jal Lamu, a South Sudan pupil has narrated his ordeal explaining why they were forced to flee from the UN compound in Juba by the rebel forces.

Children at the UN compound in South Sudan

Children at the UN compound in South Sudan

According to Lamu, they took refuge in the UN compound in Juba following clashes between government soldiers and forces loyal to Riek Machar, the former South Sudan vice president.

He however, claims that they were forced to abandon the UN compound on December 24th following a raid by the rebel forces.

Lamu who spoke with our reporters at Arua Park in Kampala enroute to Kenya claims that during the attack on the UN compound, he saw the rebels kill and take away some children.

He said that as a result of the attack, they decided to flee from the country because they felt even staying at the UN compound was no longer safe for them.

Lamu claims that by the time they left there were no more people in Juba. According to Lamu, he also lost his Uncle in the war, which prompted his father to ask them to head to the camp.

Lamu says they travelled from Juba to Yei by truck and then connected to the Nimule border before they boarded a bus to Kampala and arrived on Christmas at 5:30Am.

He says their route out of Juba was safe and only came across a single corpse along the route. Lamu who was born in a refugee camp in Addis Ababa; Ethiopia and only went to South Sudan in 2006 said that he was heading to Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya with his elder brother Lebu Dolwe and seven others.

Kakuma Refugee Camp is located in Turkana District of the northwestern region of Kenya. Asked why they opted to go to a refugee camp in Kenya instead of settling in Kampala, said they are ignorant about Uganda. Lamu said he didn’t know when the conflict would end to allow him resume his studies.