South Sudan: at least 40 people have been killed in a gunmen attack in Warrap state

South Sudan officials announced that at least 40 people have been killed by armed gunmen in a cattle raid in Warrap state.

According to other reports as many as 100 people could have been killed in the attack on a camp in Warrap state.

South Sudan’s interior minister accused the Sudanese government in Khartoum of arming the attackers, a militia group from Unity State, AFP reports.

Tensions remain high since South Sudan seceded peacefully from Sudan in July after decades of war.

An official in Warrap state told the Paris-based Sudan Tribune newspaper that villages belonging to the Luac Jang ethnic group in Tong East county came under attack early on Saturday.

Madot Dut Deng, speaker of the state assembly, said he had been told by officials that more than 76 people had been killed, with several unaccounted for.

Another state official told the newspaper that local people spoke of as many as 100 people killed.

Interior Minister Alison Manani Magaya said the attack was carried out by a militia group from neighboring Unity state.

“This militia group was armed by the government of Khartoum,” he said, but could not name the specific group responsible, AFP reports.

“The number of wounded is still not clear, but they took a lot of cattle with them,” Alison Manani Magaya added.