At the very least 169 individuals have been killed and buried in a mass grave in northern South Sudan, two native officers informed AFP on Monday (March 2, 2026), because the nation sees a dramatic improve in violence.
South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, has been beset by civil battle, poverty and big corruption because it was fashioned in 2011.
The United Nations warns of a return to “all-out civil battle” as a power-sharing deal between President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival, Riek Machar, has unravelled over the previous 12 months.
The desperately poor east African nation additionally faces persistent ethnic violence and violent cattle-raiding.
The newest bloodbath occurred early on Sunday (March 1, 2026) in Abiemnom County close to the Sudan border.
“A complete of 169 our bodies have been laid to relaxation in a mass grave,” Elizabeth Achol, Well being Minister in northern Ruweng administrative space, informed AFP by cellphone.
Native Data Minister James Monyluak gave the identical toll, saying it included girls, kids and aged individuals and will improve additional as extra our bodies are discovered.
A diplomatic supply, chatting with AFP anonymously, positioned the dying toll at 70 however mentioned it might rise.
Preliminary studies indicated the assault was carried out by an ethnic Nuer group, doubtlessly in revenge for the killing of some merchants, the diplomatic supply added, although no group has claimed accountability.
Humanitarian staff hit
Many residents have fled to close by villages, whereas others have sought safety at an area UN compound, Monyluak mentioned.
“The safety state of affairs has since stabilised, with authorities safety forces deployed and now answerable for the realm,” he added.
U.N. peacekeepers have been “quickly sheltering some 1,000 civilians inside our base within the space and offering emergency medical care to the injured,” a spokesperson for the UN Mission in South Sudan mentioned.
Clashes between authorities and opposition forces have targeted on Jonglei state within the final two months, the place some 2,80,000 have been displaced in response to the U.N.
Humanitarian staff have additionally been focused.
On Monday (March 2, 2026), Medical doctors With out Borders (MSF) mentioned 26 members of workers have been lacking following an airstrike on one among its amenities. The organisation has suspended medical providers in Lankien and Pieri in Jonglei state.
U.N. rights chief Volker Turk voiced alarm Friday (February 27, 2026) on the nation’s deteriorating state of affairs, calling for swift motion to avert a return to full-scale civil battle.
Revealed – March 02, 2026 07:54 pm IST