The head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has condemned the “horrific” killing of some 45 civilians in Jonglei state on Tuesday when gunmen believed to be from Boma state attacked their villages in Duk County.

 “I utterly condemn these killings and the abduction of some 60 women and children which accompanied these attacks,” said David Shearer.

Reportedly, the attack left 19 people wounded.

“I urge the leaders of both communities to reign in the youth, show restraint and to put an end to the cycle of revenge killings. It is crucial that the national and local authorities support the community leaders and work to bring the perpetrators of all attacks to account,” he added.

“The perpetrators of this violence have undermined the ongoing peace and reconciliation efforts that [UNMISS] has supported in Jonglei,” Shearer said.

“The engagement that UNMISS has had with both communities has shown that the vast majority of people want to end the destructive pattern of revenge attacks,” he underscored.

The dead included humanitarian workers who, according to the most senior UN official in the country, were “working selflessly for the people of Jonglei.”

Their deaths, he added, are “pointless and utterly contemptible.”