Thousands Trapped in South Sudan Town After Rampages, UN Says

About 100,000 people are trapped in a town in South Sudan’s Equatoria region after fleeing “horrific violence” that included targeted killings and mutilations, the United Nations Refugee Agency said.

More than 30,000 have fled surrounding areas into Yei, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) southwest of the capital, Juba, after deadly attacks on Sept. 11 and Sept. 13, the agency said Friday in a statement. They joined other people displaced from nearby Lainya county in mid-July and as many as 60,000 residents who have no means to leave, it said.

Several civilians were hacked to death in the violence, including women and infants, while there are reports of males aged between 17 and 30 arrested on suspicion of siding with South Sudan’s opposition, the UN said. Army spokesman Lul Ruai Koang said by phone that there was no proof of the allegations.

Oil-producing South Sudan has been mired in a civil war that began in late 2013 and has left tens of thousands of people dead and forced about 2 million from their homes.