JUBA – The United States Embassy in Juba is calling on South Sudan’s transitional government to conduct what it calls credible investigation into the death of journalist Christopher Allen on the the frontlines of fighting eight years ago.
Allen, a freelance photojournalist with dual US and UK citizenship, was killed on 26 August 2017 while covering South Sudan’s civil war fought between then SPLA and SPLA-IO – the latter of which he was embedded.
Documenting the conflict from the rebel side, he had spent approximately three weeks with the SPLA-IO fighters, including during their assault on Kaya, a strategic town located near the Ugandan border.
Following international pressure, the South Sudan government launched an investigation into the journalist’s death, which was published in March 2024.
That report concluded that Allen was killed accidentally in crossfire. “Christopher Allen was unintentionally killed as a result of crossfire,” said David Charles Ali Bilal, head of the Investigation Committee, as he read out the report last year.
“The attack occurred at 5:30 AM, when visibility was extremely limited. It was only after the attacking forces were repelled that soldiers conducted a damage assessment, discovering among the seven corpses a white man,” he added.
However, the investigation committee did not involve Allen’s family in its process and failed to acknowledge or investigate the alleged abuse of his body.
“We renew our call on the transitional government of South Sudan to conduct a credible investigation into Mr. Allen’s death and the disrespectful treatment of his remains,” said the U.S. Embassy in Juba in a statement on August 26, 2025.
SPLA-IO forces claimed Allen was clearly identifiable as a journalist when the fighting intensified that day. According to them, he wore a vest marked “PRESS,” carried two cameras and had no weapons.
Despite this, he was shot multiple times by government troops, including a fatal shot to the head. Photographs taken after his death indicate that Allen’s body was mistreated in ways that rights groups say may amount to war crimes.
