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South Sudanese rebels seized a strategic oil town last week, separating terrified residents by ethnicity before killing hundreds. Residents sought shelter in churches, mosques and hospitals when the rebels raided the town. In one mosque alone, more than 200 civilians were reportedly killed and 400 others wounded. Before the attacks, some rebel commanders broadcast messages on local radio warning certain groups to leave town. Most of the atrocities occurred on April 15 and 16. In the United States, the Obama administration said it was "horrified" by reports of hundreds massacred. The main reason for violence seems to stem from two rival groups. The Nuer community backs rebel leader Riek Machar while his rival, President Salva Kiir, is a Dinka. The two leaders have been embroiled in a power struggle since December, with the President accusing Machar of trying to oust him through a coup. Since the attempted coup last year, militia loyal to both have battled each others' forces. Violence has quickly spread, with reports of mass killings emerging nationwide.
In Other News • Spanish art dealer Jose Carlos Bergantiños Diaz helped persuade wealthy buyers to shell out millions of dollars for works he claimed famous masters of modern art had painted. U.S. authorities allege the works he sold as Rothkos and Pollocks were fakes painted by an artist he met on a Manhattan street corner. The alleged scheme stretched for nearly two decades, involved several New York art galleries and earned the conspirators more than $30 million. • A massive iceberg with an area almost twice the size of Atlanta is moving into the ocean off Antarctica and could threaten shipping during the Antarctic winter. The ice island, known as iceberg B31, covers 255 square miles and could be almost a third of a mile thick. The iceberg broke away from Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier last November. Since November, B31 has drifted out of Pine Island Bay and into the Amundsen Sea. An iceberg of that size may not melt for around for a year or more. The largest iceberg ever recorded was called B15. With an area of 4,250 square miles -- about the size of the state of Connecticut or the island of Jamaica -- it broke off Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000. B15 has since broken up, but parts of it still exist around the Antarctic today. • Two Pennsylvania men have been charged with widespread drug distribution. Timothy C. Brooks, 18, and Neil Scott, 25, allegedly sold cocaine, marijuana, hash oil and ecstasy at several Philadelphia-area high schools and colleges (including the high schools of Haverford, Conestoga, Radnor, Harriton and Lower Merion as well as Gettysburg, Haverford and Lafayette Colleges). At least eight students were employed by the pair, including two minors, according to the Montgomery County district attorney's office. They face a host of drug, criminal conspiracy and other charges.
