A joint African Union and United Nations team is in South Sudan visiting towns and villages where hundreds of people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced in recent weeks due to rising cases of inter-communal fighting.
Reports say at least 230 people have died over the past two weeks in various parts of the country in incidences linked to ethnic tensions, cattle rustling and criminal attacks.
Among the victims of violence include a priest and a child who were dragged from a church over the weekend and shot dead.
Tens of thousands of people have also been displaced – some multiple times – and are now living in the bushes, with little or no food and water.
Aid workers have also been targeted, forcing some agencies to suspend their operations in a country where millions of people are facing starvation.
Experts warn that the rising cases of killings and violence pose a serious danger to the implementation of the 2018 peace deal.
