More than 80 people were killed today when a group of rebels who defected from the South Sudan military attacked a village in the Warrap State today. The attack sparked a major gunbattle between rebels and villagers.
The governor for the state said that the rebels attacked the village of Apuk with the aim of rustling cattle from the population. The village is populated almost exclusively by cattle herders.
But the attack was foiled by the villagers, who like many residents of the region, are heavily armed in the wake of the Sudan Civil War. The toll included people from both sides, but officials were unclear on how many rebels and how many villagers were slain.
The rebel faction has launched attacks on towns and villages across the south since the vote in favor of secession. The southern government has accused the rebels of having ties with the Sudanese government in the north, but has provided no evidence to that claim.