At least 169 people have been killed and buried in a mass grave in northern South Sudan, two local officials told AFP Monday.
The latest massacre happened early on Sunday in Abiemnom County near the Sudan border.
“A total of 169 bodies have been laid to rest in a mass grave,” Elizabeth Achol, health minister in the northern Ruweng administrative area, told AFP by phone.
Local information minister James Monyluak gave the same toll, saying it included women, children and elderly people and could increase further as more bodies are found.
A diplomatic source, speaking to AFP anonymously, placed the death toll at 70 but said it could rise.
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The government condemned “the barbaric attack” in a statement, confirming the killing of two senior local officials.
Minister of Information Ateny Wek Ateny said casualties include “both civilians and members of law enforcement” and that the incident would be investigated thoroughly.
Initial reports indicated the attack was carried out by an ethnic Nuer group, potentially in revenge for the killing of some traders, the diplomatic source added, though no group has claimed responsibility.
Humanitarian Workers Hit
Many residents have fled to nearby villages, while others have sought protection at a local UN compound, Monyluak said.
“The security situation has since stabilised, with government security forces deployed and now in control of the area,” he added.
UN peacekeepers were “temporarily sheltering some 1,000 civilians within our base in the area and providing emergency medical care to the injured”, a spokesperson for the UN Mission in South Sudan said.
Clashes between government and opposition forces have focused on Jonglei state in the last two months, where some 280,000 have been displaced, according to the UN.
Humanitarian workers have also been targeted.
On Monday, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said 26 members of staff were missing following an air strike on one of its facilities.
The organisation has suspended medical services in Lankien and Pieri in Jonglei state.
UN rights chief Volker Turk voiced alarm Friday at the country’s deteriorating situation, calling for swift action to avert a return to full-scale civil war.
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