4 March 2026

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 cording to local official has told Lakes actions.

Describing the attack was 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.

Medical aid groups have described the scale of casualties as alarming, even for a region that has experienced repeated outbreaks of violence.

Mijok said the dead include 90 children, women and elderly people, as well as 79 members of regional forces, including police.

Mijok said, adding that many of them had been buried in a mass grave.

He said 73 people were still in hospital – many of whom were taken to neighbouring Abyei Administrative Area for treatment.

Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) described the situation in Abyei as extremely challenging.

He says it was really difficult to manage the mass casualty situation, but many MSF and Ministry of Health staff came on their day off and from other facilities to support,” Abraham Deng Lual Wek, an MSF nurse supervisor, told the Lakes Actions on Tuesday that For the surgical team, it was a challenge to manage all of the emergency cases between the two operating theatres.

He added that their triage area, emergency room and wards were full of patients, so they expanded capacity by using tents and a meeting space, which also filled quickly.

Mijok told the Lakes Actions that the attackers entered Abiemnom county in Ruweng before dawn on Sunday, at around 04:30 local time (02:30 GMT), when people were still sleeping and surprised them.

He said the government forces on the ground “were outnumbered… The assailants set fire to homes and markets during fighting that lasted between three and four hours.” Several senior local officials were killed including the county commissioner and executive director.

South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, has been beset by civil war since it was formed in 2011.