AT LEAST 169 people, including children, were killed after insurgents raided a village in a remote area of South Sudan, a local official said today.

The victims were attacked on Sunday in Abiemnom county, said Ruwenf Information Minister James Monyluak.

Women and children were among the 90 civilians killed, he said.

The UN Mission in South Sudan (Unmiss) said in a statement that 1,000 people sought shelter at its base after the attack.

“Such violence places civilians at grave risk and must stop immediately,” Unmiss official Anita Kiki Gbeho said in a statement.

“I urge all involved to cease hostilities without delay and engage in constructive dialogue to address their grievances.”

The statement cited 23 wounded and concern over “reports indicating that dozens of civilians and some local officials have lost their lives.”

South Sudan’s conflict escalated in December when opposition forces seized government outposts in Jonglei, a flashpoint in renewed fighting that the UN estimates has displaced 280,000 people.

Aid groups warn that access restrictions to opposition-held areas are endangering civilian lives.

The government has conducted a counteroffensive since January with aerial bombardments and ground assaults, despite an official commitment to a 2018 peace agreement.