The UN refugee agency UNHCR on Friday temporarily suspended repatriation of southern Sudanese from Uganda following the killing of at least 38 civilians in a string of attacks in southern Sudan.

In a statement issued in Nairobi, the UNHCR said it "Friday temporarily suspended return convoys from northern Uganda to southern Sudan following reports on Thursday that unknown gunmen killed at least 38 civilians in a string of attacks in southern Sudan."

"We will be monitoring the security situation closely before deciding when to resume the repatriation convoys," the statement said.

The Ugandan army confirmed that people were killed in a series of ambushes mounted by gunmen on the wooded roads of southern Sudan, prompting the Ugandan government to halt all traffic destined to the vast region. The Ugandan government blamed LRA guerrillas for the attacks.

Since last December, UNHCR has voluntarily repatriated 14,000 southern Sudanese from neighboring countries, including 4,500 from Uganda.

The signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement in January 2005 ended 21 years of war in the southern Sudan and paved the way for the return of millions of internally displaced people and refugees in surrounding countries.

Source: Xinhua