The victims, including 90 civilians, were attacked in Abiemnom province on Sunday, said James Monyluak, minister of information for the Ruweng administrative area. He said the dead included women and children, as well as dozens of fighters.
The UN mission in South Sudan, known as UNMISS, said in a statement that 1,000 people sought shelter on the base after the attack.
“Such violence puts civilians in grave danger and must stop immediately,” Anita Kiki Gbeho, a UNMISS official, said in a statement. “I urge all involved to immediately cease hostilities and engage in constructive dialogue to address their grievances.”
“Our peacekeepers will continue to do everything in their power to protect civilians seeking refuge at our base,” she added.
The UNMISS statement cited 23 injuries in the attack in Ruweng, as well as concerns over “reports indicating that dozens of civilians and some local officials have lost their lives.”
On Monday, said UNMISS the peacekeepers patrolled the area throughout the night, “to deter crime and protect civilians, demonstrating their commitment to the people of South Sudan.”
“When I joined the army to serve my country, I never realized that I would end up providing security to citizens in another country,” Corporal Amenuvor Mabel of the Ghana Battalion, who led the night convoy, said in a speech. statement. “It makes me feel good that we are serving people and making them feel safe.”
The killings are part of an escalating wave of violence gripping South Sudan, as government forces loyal to President Salva Kiir battle gunmen believed to be loyal to opposition leader Riek Machar.
Stephano Wieu De Mialek, the chief administrator of the Ruweng administrative area, said on Sunday that the attack was carried out by elements linked to the White Army militia, along with forces linked to Machar’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition. Wieu described the attack as a coordinated and organized attack and called it an act of rebellion.
In a statement, Machar’s group denied responsibility for the attack, claiming it “has no military presence in the area in question.”
Machar was Kiir’s deputy until September, when he was removed after facing criminal charges. As his trial progresses, he is under house arrest in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
The US is pushing for talks between Kiir and Machar.
Continued violence threatens a fragile peace reached in 2018 after a five-year civil war. Following that agreement, Machar was appointed South Sudan’s first vice president in a national unity government. A UN investigation has found that South Sudan’s leaders are “systematically dismantling” this agreement.
Machar’s supporters say the charges against him for alleged subversion are politically motivated. His removal from office coincided with a sharp increase in violence.
The conflict escalated in December when opposition forces seized government posts in Jonglei province, an opposition stronghold and a flashpoint in renewed fighting that the UN estimates has displaced 280,000 people.
In December, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell told CBS News that what is happening in Sudan is the “largest humanitarian crisis” the organization is experiencing.
“The challenges are absolutely staggering,” she told CBS News’ Margaret Brennan.
Aid groups have warned that access restrictions to opposition-held parts of the state are endangering civilian lives.
The government has been waging a counter-offensive with aerial bombardments and ground attacks since January, despite an official commitment to the peace deal.
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