The South Sudanese interim Ministry of Information said in a statement on Friday that, according to initial security reports, approximately 71 people were killed in the violence, including four soldiers. The exact number of fatalities has yet to be verified.
Witnesses told AFP that a group of people from outside Rumbek attempted to seize control of the town and briefly succeeded, before withdrawing when police and military reinforcements arrived. The fighting subsequently moved outside the city limits.
The government statement said Rumbek town is currently under the control of government security forces, and efforts are ongoing to restore normalcy. The caretaker government condemned the violence and urged all communities to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from acts of retaliation that could further escalate tensions.
The clashes come weeks after President Salva Kiir dissolved the transitional government on September 22, three months before the country's first election since independence in 2011. Kiir appointed a caretaker administration, ending a power-sharing arrangement set up under a 2018 peace deal that halted a five-year civil war in which about 400,000 people were killed.
Intercommunal conflict has continued across South Sudan, resulting in multiple deadly clashes. On September 17, 26 people were killed and 82 injured during days of fighting in a disputed border region between South Sudan and Sudan. In early March, intercommunal violence left at least 169 people dead after dozens of armed men attacked a town.