Clashes between communities in Rumbek town in South Sudan's Lakes State have left 71 people dead, the country's interim government said in a statement.
According to the interim Information Ministry, "initial security reports indicate that about 71 people are believed to have been killed," including four soldiers. The exact toll has not yet been verified.
Citing AFP, witnesses said a group from outside Rumbek sought to take control of the town and briefly succeeded. The attackers withdrew when police and military reinforcements were deployed. Two witnesses said the fighting spread beyond the town limits.
The government statement said: "Rumbek town is now under the control of government security forces, and efforts are under way to restore normalcy."
The interim authorities strongly condemned the violence and called on all communities to "exercise maximum restraint and avoid retaliatory acts that could escalate tensions."
Interim government
On September 22, South Sudan's President Salva Kiir dissolved the transitional government, three months before the country's first election since independence in 2011. Kiir appointed an interim administration as the country prepares for the first national election in its history.
His decree ended the power-sharing arrangement set up under the 2018 peace agreement, which had ended a five-year civil war that killed about 400,000 people.
Communal conflict has continued across South Sudan, leading to numerous deadly clashes.
On September 17, 26 people were killed and 82 wounded in days of fighting in a disputed area along the border between South Sudan and Sudan.
In early March, communal violence left at least 169 people dead after dozens of gunmen attacked a town.
