Nearly 170 Killed in Ruweng Massacre: South Sudan’s UN Shelter Overflows as Fresh Graves Dug Monday

By Senior Editor | March 2, 2026 | 08:15 GMT

ABIEEMNHOM, South Sudan – In chilling developments confirmed Monday, officials reveal nearly 170 civilians – including 82 children, women, and elderly – lie dead in mass graves following Sunday’s attack in South Sudan’s Ruweng Administrative Area. James Monyluak Mijok, Ruweng’s Information Minister, exclusively confirmed to AFP that all 169 victims were laid to rest in a single burial site as of dawn today, with fears the toll could rise further.

“Bodies arrived at the county hospital until late last night,” stated Elizabeth Achol, Northern Ruweng’s Health Minister, in a phone interview Monday morning. “We performed a communal burial to prevent disease. This is not just violence – it’s systemic eradication.” Mijok earlier condemned the assault as "genocide" after armed youth from Unity State’s Mayom County invaded Abiemnhom County, killing the county commissioner, executive director, and dozens of non-combatants in a three-hour rampage.

Critical updates from the last 24 hours:

✅ UNMISS Base Overwhelmed: UN peacekeepers now shelter over 1,000 civilians at the Abiemnhom base as of Monday evening – a 400% surge since Sunday’s attack – after locals fled burning homes (UNMISS Spokesperson, March 1).
✅ Death Toll Rising: Mijok warned Monday that “the figure may increase if more bodies surface in remote grasslands,” contradicting earlier claims the area was “secure.”
✅ Medical Collapse: Doctors Without Borders confirmed Monday that 26 staff remain missing after Saturday’s Jonglei violence, suspending all trauma services in Ruweng while MSF facilities were looted (Official statement, 18:00 GMT).

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) issued an emergency alert Sunday night after 23 civilians arrived with gunshot wounds at their clinic. “This isn’t intercommunal conflict – it’s targeted slaughter,” said UNMISS Head Nicholas Haysom in a Monday press briefing, noting attackers deliberately spared livestock while executing vulnerable residents.

Ruweng officials directly blamed Unity State’s government for harboring perpetrators, with Mijok demanding: “Deliver these killers within 72 hours or face GRAA’s independent military action.” Meanwhile, displaced families huddle inside UN compound fences, boiling contaminated stream water as supplies dwindle.

South Sudan’s fractured peace deal hangs by a thread as this attack shatters the 2020-2026 ceasefire in oil-rich Ruweng. With forensic teams still mapping blood trails near Abiemnhom’s market, analysts warn this massacre could trigger retaliatory waves across Unity-Ruweng borders within days.