A weekend fight between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and an armed group in Eastern Equatoria state has left an unknown number of people dead.

Sources have given conflicting views over what sparked the series of clashes in Oguruny village, though it appears government forces attacked military sites suspected to be hiding armed dissendents.

A local lawmaker in the Torit Legislative Assembly told journalists at least 31 people were killed an entire village destroyed in the clashes. He said four police officers and four soldiers were believed to be among the dead.

The legislator did not identify the gunmen, though they are believed to be members of the South Sudan Armed Forces, a new rebel group in the area.

One of the rebels said they were working to topple the government of President Salva Kiir. He said their forces had been attacked initially by the SPLA, which sparked a reprisal attack on a neighboring village.

Colonel Mario Bertino, the spokesperson for the South Sudan Armed Forces, said in an interview that Oguruny had been burned down by government forces following a day-long confrontation.

There were multiple media reports last week of incidents along the Torit-Kilia and Kapoeta roads. Eastern Equatoria state Governor Louis Lobong Lojore vowed to pursue both military and political ends to the violence.