The death toll from a pre-dawn attack in northern South Sudan has risen to 178, according to a senior local official, in one of the deadliest incidents reported in the region in recent months.
James Monyluak Mijok, information minister for the Ruweng Administrative Area, said that dozens of heavily armed youths stormed Abiemnom county early on Sunday morning, catching residents off guard while they were asleep.
He alleged that the attackers came from neighbouring Unity state and were linked to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO), the main opposition movement led by Vice-President Riek Machar. The SPLA-IO has denied involvement and accused authorities of politicising the violence.
According to Mijok, those killed include 90 women, children and elderly people, as well as 79 members of regional security forces, including police officers. Many victims have been buried in a mass grave. At least 73 wounded people remain in hospital, with some transferred to the neighbouring Abyei Administrative Area for treatment.
Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières described the scale of casualties as overwhelming. Staff in Abyei expanded treatment areas into tents and meeting rooms to cope with the influx of wounded patients, with surgical teams working across two operating theatres.
Local officials said the attackers burned homes and markets during fighting that lasted several hours. Among the dead were senior county officials, including the commissioner and executive director. Authorities say government forces have since regained control of the area.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (Unmiss) reported that about 1,000 civilians fled towards its base seeking protection. The mission said it was alarmed by the surge in violence and warned that civilians remained at grave risk.
South Sudan has experienced repeated outbreaks of violence since gaining independence in 2011. A fragile 2018 power-sharing agreement between President Salva Kiir and Machar has come under increasing strain over the past year, prompting the UN to warn that the country risks sliding back into full-scale civil war.
Investigations into what triggered the latest attack are ongoing.
