Dozens of civilians were killed during renewed violence in northern South Sudan over the past 48 hours, the United Nations mission reported Sunday.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan said it was alarmed by escalating clashes in Abiemnom, located within the fragile Ruweng Administrative Area.
Unidentified armed youth attacked the Abiemnom county headquarters near the Sudanese border, leaving at least 23 people wounded amid spreading chaos and fear.
The mission reported that dozens of civilians and several local officials were killed as fighting swept through communities already weakened by years of instability.
Families fled burning homes and uncertainty, seeking refuge wherever possible as gunfire echoed across the town’s dusty streets and surrounding settlements.
UN peacekeepers opened their base to civilians, providing temporary shelter to more than 1,000 people displaced by the sudden surge in violence.
UNMISS chief Anita Kiki Gbeho urged all parties to immediately cease hostilities and pursue dialogue to resolve grievances through peaceful and constructive engagement.
South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation since gaining independence in 2011, continues to struggle under the weight of civil war, poverty, and entrenched corruption.
Recent weeks have seen rising tensions as a fragile power-sharing agreement between rival leaders Salva Kiir and Riek Machar steadily unraveled.
Analysts warn that local clashes increasingly mirror national political fractures, raising fears that unresolved rivalries could ignite broader and more destructive conflict.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk earlier voiced alarm over the deteriorating situation, urging swift international and domestic action to prevent renewed civil war.
For many civilians, peace remains a distant promise, overshadowed by recurring violence that disrupts daily life and deepens an already severe humanitarian crisis.
As night falls over Abiemnom, uncertainty lingers, with displaced families waiting anxiously for calm while the international community calls urgently for restraint.
