Armed youth launched a pre-dawn attack on Abiemnhom County in the Ruweng Administrative Area on Sunday, killing two senior local officials and displacing an unknown number of civilians, authorities said.
Stephano Wieu De Mialek, chief administrator of Ruweng, said Awarpiny County Commissioner Paulino Wal and the executive director of Abiemnhom County were killed in the attack.
“They were targeted and killed while attempting to defend themselves,” Mialek said in a statement.
The attack began at about 4:30 a.m. and triggered fighting that lasted nearly four hours, he said. Mialek blamed members of the White Army militia from neighboring Mayom County, alleging they were supported by elements of the SPLM-IO.
The full extent of the casualties was not immediately clear. Early reports indicated that homes and local markets were burned.
Mialek described the incident as a “well-organized and coordinated” massacre and compared it to a similar wave of violence that struck the county in April last year.
The Ruweng administration accused authorities in Mayom County of complicity. Mialek called on the national government to hold Mayom’s leadership accountable and to enforce a state of emergency.
“We call on the national government to immediately implement the state of emergency declared by our president last year in Mayom to ensure this situation is contained,” he said.
With markets destroyed and residents fleeing, local leaders appealed for urgent intervention from international aid groups.
“Given the dire situation on the ground, where civilians have been killed and displaced, we call on our humanitarian partners to coordinate a response in terms of food and shelter,” the statement said.
Ruweng, an oil-rich area bordering Unity State, has long been a flashpoint for intercommunal violence and political tensions between rival armed groups.
Authorities in Mayom County could not immediately be reached for comment.