Authorities in the Ruweng Administrative Area are appealing to South Sudan’s Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management for urgent assistance after recent violence in Abiemnhom County displaced a large number of civilians.
The attack on Abiemnhom County by armed youth on Sunday morning left at least 169 people dead, up from an earlier reported toll of 120, according to local officials. The victims were buried in a mass grave later that day because of the high number of casualties.
James Monyluak Mijok, the information minister for Ruweng, said armed youth carried out the assault, forcing residents to flee their homes and seek shelter at a United Nations base and in other locations.
“The situation in Abiemnhom is worrying. Our people have been forced to run for safety, and they are now in dire need of humanitarian assistance,” Mijok said. “We are calling on the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management and all humanitarian partners to intervene immediately.”
He said displaced residents had scattered to multiple locations, including Abyei, parts of Warrap State, nearby villages, surrounding bush areas and the U.N. Mission in South Sudan base in Abiemnhom town.
“Families are scattered, and many spent the night without shelter or basic necessities,” he said.
Mijok urged the national government to hold officials in neighboring Unity State accountable, singling out the governor and the commissioner of Mayom County.
“The national government must take responsibility and hold the governor of Unity State together with the commissioner of Mayom County accountable for what has happened,” he said. “There must be clear answers as to why this conflict occurred and why civilians have suffered as a result.”
Authorities do not yet have official figures for the total number of displaced people, he added, though some residents have begun returning.
“At the moment, we do not have clear statistics on the number of displaced people,” Mijok said. “However, we have seen some individuals slowly returning to their homes. We are still assessing the situation.”