US freelance journalist shot dead in South Sudan

(29 Aug 2017) The body of an American journalist shot dead in South Sudan over the weekend was handed over by South Sudan's army to officials from the US Embassy on Tuesday.
Christopher Allen, a 26-year-old freelance journalist, had entered the country illegally with rebels, the army said.
They also claimed that there was no indication that Allen was a journalist.
The US consul, present at the handover of the body, said "we understand from searches on the internet and from other reporters that he was working as a journalist in conflict areas."
Allen was killed on Saturday in fighting between government and rebel forces near the Ugandan border.
He was shot in the head, the army's chief medical officer said, but he couldn't confirm that the American was killed at close range.
Dr. Peter Ajak Bullen said his body was brought to Juba for the purposes of identification, and was handed over to the Americans on the basis of "good will."
It is not clear who shot Allen.
South Sudan's rebels have given a different account of Allen's death.
Government troops "targeted" Allen when they saw him taking photos during the fighting, an opposition spokesperson said.
The opposition said Allen was wearing a large vest with the word "Press."
The have also said that Allen and two other journalists were embedded with the rebels on a two-week mission after coming from Uganda's capital, Kampala.
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.
The fighting, often along ethnic lines, defies peace deals and unilateral cease-fires.

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