Authorities in South Sudan said at least 169 people, including senior officials, were killed on Sunday when unidentified assailants launched an assault on an area in the north of the country.

Ruweng Administrative Area Information Minister James Monyluak Mijok described the attack as carried out by dozens of armed youth, alleging they came from neighboring Unity state and were linked to the Sudan People's Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO).

The SPLA-IO denied any involvement in the attack, accusing Unity state authorities of politicizing the violence.

Mijok stated that the dead included 90 children, women, and elderly people, as well as 79 members of regional forces, including police.

Fifty others were wounded, with the majority taken to the neighboring Abyei Administrative Area for treatment.

Mijok told the BBC that attackers entered Abiemnom county in Ruweng before dawn on Sunday, around 04:30 local time, when people were still sleeping and "surprised them."

He said government forces on the ground "were outnumbered... The assailants set fire to homes and markets during fighting that lasted between three and four hours." Several senior local officials, including the county commissioner and executive director, were killed.

Mijok said government forces had since driven out the attackers and authorities were now in full control.

He also alleged that officials in Unity state "must have had knowledge" of the plan to target Ruweng. Unity state authorities have not responded to this accusation.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (Unmiss) said about 1,000 civilians began seeking protection near its base in the affected area. The mission expressed alarm at the surge in violence in the region over the past 48 hours.

Local reports and AFP news agency said victims of the attack were buried in a mass grave on Sunday due to the high number of casualties and ongoing security concerns.

A similar incident in Abiemnom county last year left more than 42 civilians dead.

South Sudan, the world's youngest country, has been beset by civil war, poverty, and corruption since its formation in 2011.

The UN has warned that an "all-out civil war" could return as a power-sharing deal struck in 2018 between President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival, Riek Machar, has unraveled over the past year.

Source: www.bbc.com