Overview
- UNMISS confirms that armed raids around Abiemnom in Ruweng over 48 hours left dozens of civilians and local officials dead and at least 23 wounded.
- Local authorities cite far higher death tolls, reporting 122 to 169 killed, figures that remain unverified and vary by source.
- More than 1,000 civilians have taken refuge at a nearby UNMISS base, where peacekeepers are providing temporary protection and emergency medical care.
- Officials say the assailants were unidentified armed men, as the government deploys troops to the area and announces investigations into the attacks.
- The violence comes as UN human-rights chief Volker Türk warns of intensifying air strikes, targeted killings, abductions and sexual violence following the collapse of the 2018 peace deal and renewed clashes between rival factions.