More than 100 civilians killed in South Sudan cattle raid

More than 100 civilians and soldiers were killed after rebel gunmen raided a village in South Sudan, a government official told AP.

Kuol Manyang Juuk, the governor of Jonglei state, said 14 of the deaths were soldiers with South Sudan's military, known as the SPLA, and the rest were civilians including women and children.

"I have just received the news about it now from the commissioner [of Akobo] that hundreds of people are missing and many others were killed by a mixed element of Yau Yau [rebels] and youths from the Murle tribe," Manyang told UPI.

Jonglei state is a region in South Sudan known for violent ethnic clashes.

The attack took place Friday when roughly 3,000 members of the Lou Nuer ethnic group took their cattle on a yearly migration across the Sobat River, reports AFP.

They were reportedly attacked by a rebel group led by David Yau Yau, a former member of the South Sudan army, Akobo County Commissioner Goi Joyul said.

"The attackers left with cattle and hundreds of children and women who have not reported back to the village," he said. "The army is trying to retrieve the cattle from the criminals, and that will not be easy."

Deputy military spokesman Kella Kueth told AFP that some 500 people remained missing.