A SERIES of massacres in the south of Sudan over the past two weeks has left at least 58 civilians dead, exposing the impotence of the region’s United Nations peacekeeping mandate.

Families have been attacked in their homes and commuters burnt alive in their vehicles, some close to the main UN base in the city of Juba. In one incident a bus packed with villagers, including women and children, was set alight. No one is sure who is behind the upsurge in violence. They could have been carried out by any one of countless proxy militias formed in the south of the country during 20 years of civil war. Although the war ended two years ago, many militias remain armed.

The mountains and forests make it difficult to track armed groups and the south is awash with guns.

In the village of Garbo, five people were shot in the latest attack on Thursday night. As the dead were laid to rest the following morning, screams from distraught mothers and children mingled with that of shovels. Nearby, a toddler sat stunned in a pool of bloodied water until a policeman came to lead her gently away.

Justinta Keji, a mother of four whose husband was killed, said that the attackers wore army uniforms and demanded cash before shooting some of the men. “The last one, he was about this big,” she said, pointing to a young boy by her side.

Behind her, the family of another victim piled flip-flops, pots and clothes into sheets, preparing for the long walk into town. “No one will sleep here today, they are all afraid,” said Viola John, aged 20.

Despite the violence, there has been progress. The war between the Muslim north and largely Christian animist south is over, although that achievement has been overshadowed by the conflict in Darfur. A rash of new restaurants, catering to an influx of aid and oil workers, has sprung up around Juba. “We have had some minor security incidents, but nothing like last night or the past two weeks,” said Philip Ward, the British operations officer for White Nile, an oil firm. European companies are queuing up to invest in south Sudan, he said.

Sudan exports only a dribble of oil at 330,000 barrels a day because decades of conflict have inhibited exploration. Ward says that seismic tests have been “very positive”. But the diversion of resources to the war in Darfur and renewed violence have hampered rebuilding.

The 10,000 UN peacekeepers in the south say they are there to monitor the peace deal between the government and southern rebels, not to protect civilians.

For Abdel Gadir Musa, whose son was killed in Thursday’s attacks, the promise of security has turned out to be an illusion. “Tell people that our new government cannot protect us,” he said. “Go and say that we are still being killed.”

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