Horror as 57 killed and 65 injured in brutal slaughter for 5,000 cows

An armed gang killed at least 57 people after a brutal attack on villages following a dawn raid. The incident took place in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State, a local official said.

The attackers struck just after 5.30am, and fired their weapons randomly at residents in the Adong Payam area. Baliet County Commissioner Joseph Deng said 65 people were wounded, 29 of whom are in a critical condition. "A tragic situation unfolded in Adong today,” he told Radio Tamazu. “We are still searching for those who are missing.”

The attackers made off with over 5,000 cattle (Image: Getty)

He said the attackers most likely entered the area from the neighbouring counties of Ulang and Nasir.

Both have seen fighting between government forces and a young people's armed militia known as the White Army.

Deng said the attackers made off with more than 5,300 cattle and that villages had fled their homes in terror.

Despite a heightened security alert, police and army personnel were clearly caught off guard and taken by surprise.

“We have been witnessing recurring attacks from criminals since the violence in Nasir,” he said. “This early-morning raid was not expected by our forces.”

Cattle raiding remains a persistent source of violence in South Sudan, which has a weak law enforcement system. Heavily armed youth groups and long-standing inter-communal tensions have made it difficult for authorities to curb the practice.

It comes as the country was plunged into political chaos on Thursday, after South Sudan's leader dismissed one of his vice-presidents.

Benjamin Bol Mel had been tipped as a possible successor to Salva Kiir before his dismissal.

Kiir stripped Bol Mel of his military rank of general and dismissed him from the national security service.

He also sacked the central bank governor and the head of the revenue authority, both considered close allies of Bol Mel.