Key military suspect in Juba hotel attack trial found dead

In this May 30, 2017 photo, South Sudanese soldiers accused of a horrific attack on foreign aid workers including rape, torture, killing and looting on the Terrain hotel compound, are assisted to a prison van after attending their trial in the capital Juba, South Sudan. (AP)

JUBA: A military commander accused of overseeing a chilling attack by his men on a Juba hotel in which at least five foreign aid workers were raped, has died in prison, the army said Friday.
First Lt. Luka Akechak was one of 12 suspects accused of murder, rape and looting at the Terrain Hotel in the capital in July last year.
Army spokesman Santo Domic Chol said Akechak was the commander of the unit accused of the abuses, and was found dead a week ago.
“He (Akechak) was reported found dead,” said Domic, adding that the soldier had died a “natural death.” He said no post mortem report had been delivered to the army.
Akechak, a member of the presidential guard, was an important suspect in a case that has highlighted the difficulty in bringing perpetrators to book in a country wracked by almost four years of civil war.