have killed 23 people and wounded 17, according to the region's information minister, Tony Chol Ayat, with the toll confirmed by two police sources. Ayat said fighters from detained former vice president Riek Machar's SPLA-IO force entered Ruweng from neighbouring Unity state, and that more than 100,000 people had fled the fighting—though one police source described the number as "thousands." Residents reported that government forces massed on the front lines and repelled the rebels, speaking anonymously amid fears of further escalation. The army declined to comment, and Machar's forces did not respond to questions. The clashes come as South Sudan—independent since 2011 and one of the world's poorest, most corruption-plagued nations—prepares for national elections on December 22. Hundreds have died in recent weeks in fighting between loyalists of President Salva Kiir and Machar's forces, alongside other ethnic unrest. The two sides fought a civil war from 2013 to 2018 that killed over 400,000 people. The country's first presidential and legislative elections have repeatedly been postponed, and a UN human rights commission—which accuses the elite of siphoning off billions in oil revenues—warns that holding an election amid current tensions could trigger widespread new conflict. (Bssnews)