Barricade tape for crime scene (Courtesy)

At least seven people including women and children were killed on Sunday during an attack on villagers in Alal County of Abyei Administrative Area, an official said.

Abyei Information Minister Bulis Koch said the violence which claimed the lives of two children, two women and three men, was carried out by armed youth allegedly from Twic County in Warrap State.

When contacted, Warrap Information Minister William Wol Mayom said he was not aware of the attack and was consulting with local authorities to determine the cause of the incident.

In a press statement, Mr. Koch said another young man is nursing injuries at a local referral hospital following the attack.

“The government of Abyei….condemns in the strongest term possible this barbaric killing of innocent civilians in cold blood,” Koch said.

The statement conveyed condolences to the families of victims of the attack.

Abyei also called on the UN Interim Forces in Abyei and the government of Warrap State to investigate the killing and bring perpetrators to justice.

Since November 2023, recurrent inter-communal violence has claimed hundreds of lives, destroyed properties and displaced thousands of people.

In early 2024, nearly 100 people including two UN peacekeepers in a series of attacks by gunmen in different parts of Abyei, according to local authorities.