Late Reporter Christopher Allen in South Sudan. Photograph - Courtesy

The United States has renewed its appeal to the government of South Sudan to conduct credible investigations and hold to account, the killers of journalist Christopher Allen.

Allen, a British – American reporter, was shot dead on the front-line, while covering clashes between the former SPLA and SPLA-IO on August 26th, 2017.

He was killed on the side of the opposition armed group in the southern town of Kaya, near the border with Uganda, and close to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The government of South Sudan has not yet published an official investigation on the death of Allen.

However, information gathered through journalistic investigations and the results of a private autopsy suggests that Mr. Allen was deliberately targeted by soldiers, even though he was not carrying arms.

Today, which is the fifth anniversary of his death, the U.S. Embassy in Juba repeated their call on the government to conduct an inquiry into his death and get justice to his family.

“The U.S. Embassy renews its calls to the Government of South Sudan to conduct a credible inquiry into Mr. Allen’s death and to share its findings with Mr. Allen’s family,” reads the statement published on the Embassy’s social media page.

Ever since he was killed, his parents, relatives and friends have been seeking an investigation into his death but without success.

“It is our fervent hope that such an inquiry will help give Mr. Allen’s family the closure they deserve by holding accountable those responsible for his death.”

Following Allen’s death, a government official reportedly termed the slain journalist, a rebel and a criminal who entered the country illegally.

He is not the only journalist to have been killed during the country’s seven years of civil war.

At least 10 journalists were killed since 2014, amid hostilities in the country.

The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have documented multiple instances of the authorities subjecting journalists – both local and foreign journalists – to harassment, arbitrary detention, surveillance and attacks.