The assault has claimed the lives of several local leaders, according to officials

At least 169 people have been killed in a pre-dawn assault in South Sudan, local officials reported on Monday.

The government of South Sudan released a statement saying the attack happened early in the morning on Sunday in the Ruweng Administrative Area and caused widespread casualties. Officials confirmed that the county commissioner of Awarpiny and the executive director of Abiemnom County were killed during the attack.

According to the UN, the attack was carried out by "unidentified armed youth." So far, South Sudanese officials have not publicly identified the group responsible for the assault or provided details about the attackers.

More than 68 people were also wounded in the violence, which included both civilians and members of law enforcement.

"The Government of the Republic of South Sudan strongly condemns this heinous and cowardly act of violence against innocent citizens and public officials," the statement read.

Officials also called for restraint, saying: "We urge all communities to remain calm and refrain from retaliatory actions."

The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said its peacekeepers were providing shelter to about 1,000 people displaced by the violence and emergency medical care to the injured. The UN representatives urged all parties to end hostilities and protect civilians, warning that the violence poses severe risks to non-combatants.

The attack comes amid escalating instability across South Sudan, where sporadic violence has increased.

Meanwhile, at least 26 staff members of the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) were reported unaccounted for following the violence in South Sudan.

"Twenty-six of our 291 colleagues who were working in Lankien and Pieri [in Jonglei state] remain unaccounted for following the recent violence, and we have lost contact with them amid ongoing insecurity," the MSF stated.

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The organization warned that many of its healthcare workers were forced to flee the violence alongside their families and that several of them may be sheltering in remote areas with little access to food, water or basic services.

RT / RT

(RT.com)