Death toll in ‘surprise’ attack in South Sudan rises to 178
The number of people killed in an attack in South Sudan on Sunday when a group of unidentified men launched an assault in the north of the country has risen to 178, a local official has told the BBC.
Describing the attack as carried out by dozens of armed youth, 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 authorities of politicising the violence.
The UN has repeatedly warned that the country is at risk of sliding back into full-scale civil war.
Medical aid groups have described the scale of casualties as alarming, even for a region that has experienced repeated outbreaks of violence.
A diplomatic source quoted anonymously by the AFP news agency on Monday put the death toll at 70 but said it could increase.
