The authorities in South Sudan have said at least 169 people, including senior officials, were killed on Sunday when a group of unidentified men launched an assault on an area in the north of the country.
Describing the attack as carried out by dozens of armed youths, Ruweng Administrative Area’s Information Minister James Monyluak Mijok alleged that they came from neighbouring Unity state and were linked to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO).
The SPLA-IO has denied any involvement in the attack, accusing the Unity state authorities of politicising the violence.
The UN has repeatedly warned that the country is at risk of sliding back into full-scale civil war.