Gunmen kill 12 civilians in South Sudan's Yei town

Authorities in South Sudan's southwestern town of Yei have recovered 12 bodies of civilians who were abducted by unknown gunmen early this month, a local official said Thursday.

Athanasio Yongule, a minister in the Yei River State government, said bodies were found in two burnt huts in a neighborhood 3km from Yei town.

He said the deceased were first reported missing by their relatives on November 7.

"Twelve people were killed. Their hands were tied, shot and then taken to two separate houses and burnt. The police identified some bodies and handed them over to their relatives. We buried seven bodies who were burnt beyond recognition at the site of the incident on Tuesday," he said.

The motive of the killing is not yet clear.

The local official advised civilians not to travel to areas contested between government troops and opposition forces.

There has been an escalation in violence in the Equatoria region, where Yei and the capital Juba are located, since renewed fighting between the rival factions erupted in early July.

Last week 12 people were killed and two others injured in an attack by opposition forces in Kaya town, about 48km from Yei.

Unknown gunmen last month also attacked a convoy of vehicles carrying civilians in Yei, killing at least 21 people, including women and children.

South Sudan has been shattered by civil war which broke out in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his sacked deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup, an allegation denied by Machar.

Fighting between troops of Kiir and Machar has since left tens of thousands dead and more than two million displaced.

A peace deal signed in August 2015 between the rival leaders under UN pressure led to the establishment of a transitional unity government in April, but was devastated by the July fighting. Endit