Nearly 170 people killed in attack in South Sudan’s Ruweng, officials say

Separately, MSF says 26 humanitarian workers are missing following recent violence in South Sudan’s Jonglei state.Published On 2 Mar 2026At least 169 people have been killed after dozens of armed men attacked a town in South Sudan’s Ruweng Administrative Area, local officials said.A group of unidentified youths from Mayom County in neighbouring Unity ‌state stormed Abiemnhom County on Sunday, the area’s information minister, James Monyluak Mijok, said on Monday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3South Sudan at risk of ‘return to full-scale war’, UN warnslist 2 of 3People displaced by South Sudan fighting wait for aid at remote camplist 3 of 3Are African ‘water wars’ on the horizon as AU puts the issue on its agenda?end of listNinety of those killed were civilians – including children, women, and the elderly – he told the Reuters news agency. The remaining 79 were government soldiers.Fifty other people sustained “major and minor injuries” in the attack, he added.“I would like to sadly inform you that among those killed included the county commissioner and the executive director,” Mijok said.Elizabeth Achol, the minister of health in northern Ruweng, told AFP news agency by telephone that all 169 bodies were laid to rest in a mass grave on Monday.Mijok told AFP “the figure [death toll] may increase further if more bodies are discovered”.The official earlier told Anadolu Agency that the fighting lasted for three to four hours, before the army was able to drive the attackers out of the area. Abiemnhom authorities were now in complete control, he said.“The Government of the Ruweng Administrative Area (GRAA) condemns this barbaric action and policy of extermination in the strongest terms. This human slaughter is equivalent to genocide and cannot be tolerated,” Mijok told Anadolu.He called on the government of Unity state to bring the culprits to justice.The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Sunday expressed alarm over the surging violence in Abiemnhom over the past 48 hours, saying 23 people were injured in an attack there.