Intercommunal clashes killed 71 people in South Sudan’s town of Rumbek, in Lakes State, according to the caretaker government.

A statement from South Sudan’s interim Ministry of Information said about 71 people were reportedly killed, including four soldiers, and that the exact number of fatalities has yet to be verified. Witnesses told AFP that a group of people from outside Rumbek tried to take control of the town and briefly succeeded; the attackers withdrew when police and military reinforcements arrived.