An attack on a town in South Sudan’s Ruweng Administrative Area has left at least 122 people dead, including dozens of civilians, regional authorities said on Monday, underscoring mounting instability in the country.
James Monyliak Mijok, Ruweng’s information minister, said armed youth from Mayom County in neighbouring Unity State entered the town of Abiemnhom on Sunday, triggering hours of fighting.
The violence claimed the lives of the local county commissioner and the executive director, Mijok said. He added that 82 of those killed were civilians, among them children, women and elderly residents.
At least 50 people were wounded in the clashes, with injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening, according to local officials. Many of the victims were buried on Monday.
The cause of the attack was not immediately known.
South Sudan has seen a rise in deadly incidents in recent months as political tensions threaten a fragile peace agreement signed in 2018. The deal between President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar ended a five-year civil war that killed an estimated 400,000 people.
Progress in implementing the agreement has been slow, with rival forces repeatedly clashing over power-sharing arrangements and security reforms. The United Nations has repeatedly warned that renewed political infighting could deepen instability across the country.