Dozens killed, wounded as armed clashes ravage South Sudan's Leer County

Dozens of people have been killed and wounded in continued violence in northern South Sudan, according to the United Nations on Tuesday.

The deaths occurred amid armed clashes in Unity State's Leer County, which has seen devastating attacks in recent months, pan-Arab news website Arabi 21 reported.

The county has witnessed people being burnt alive, beheadings and dozens of cases of sexual violence since mid-February, causing 40,000 people to seek refuge elsewhere.

In late April, UN South Sudan chief Nicholas Haysom said: "I am strongly appalled by these horrific attacks on civilians in Leer.

"We must all do everything we can to ensure that victims and survivors get the justice they deserve and receive the care and support they need."

He added: "Impunity on violations of human rights must end and perpetrators [must be] held accountable for these horrible crimes."

The UN's South Sudan mission in the same statement said that "armed youth" from Koch and Mayendit counties, also in Unity State, had been responsible for a wave of violence.

The UN also said it had sent more peacekeepers to Leer.

South Sudan has been plagued by unease since it gained independence from neighbouring Sudan a decade ago.

By 2013, the young country had already been launched into a civil war only brought to a close in 2020.