[5] UN human rights investigators said that after rebels wrested Bentiu from government forces in heavy battles, the gunmen spent two days hunting down those who they believed opposed them.
[6] One of those who only barely escaped death during the massacre was the prominent former warlord and pro-government commander Peter Par Jiek.
[7] Many other victims were civilians as well as SPLA soldiers belonging to the Dinka people, an ethnic group which had traditionally supported Kiir's government.
"[9] The massacre at Bentiu greatly increased the animosity of Dinkas against ethnic Nuer in Bahr el Ghazal which had previously been largely peaceful and unaffected by the civil war.
This violence led to the mass desertion of Nuer SPLA members in Bahr el Ghazal who then fled north into Sudan in course of a long march.