Local officials on Tuesday reported that inter-communal violence in South Sudan’s Jonglei State has claimed 32 lives.

Tuong Majok Deng, acting governor of Jonglei State, said gunmen from the neighboring Greater Pibor Administrative Area launched an attack on Monday, leading to the death and maiming of civilians.

Majok said in a statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, that the attackers also razed homes and businesses besides driving away from a herd of cattle.

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“The state government and Jonglei communities are still appalled that this shocking news on this attack led to 32 innocent lives taken, 24 people wounded, one missing, 2,600 cattle raided and a number of immovable properties destroyed or burnt,” Majok said.

He said security forces were pursuing the gunmen even as South Sudan grappled with a spike in inter-communal violence specifically in Jonglei and Lakes states.