South Sudan is probing circumstances under which over 19 of its nationals died in Sudan’s Western Kordofan town of Muglad.

The country’s Interior minister, Solomon Agok blamed the attack on gunmen.

“We are waiting for a full report from our embassy but the reports we have received from family members at the moment show that the lives of more than 19 people have been lost. This is sad and as government, we have sent out condolences message to console those who have lost their beloved ones and to assure them of the commitment to working closely with Sudanese authorities in the area to find out the truth”, Agok said on Monday.

He added: “Meanwhile we are working with the authorities in Sudan to establish the actual cause and motives because this is quite unusual and not an ordinary incident. Because we are working with the Sudanese authorities to understand what exactly inspired such a large-scale incident. The death of two or three people could be treated as isolated, but an incident of such magnitude is alarming and we have been callings from all over the place, in Sudan, outside Sudan, and here from the family members”. Se

Several sources exclusively told Sudan Tribune that South Sudanese residing in Muglad town of Western Kordofan State were attacked and killed by gunmen on September 22.

Among those killed, eyewitnesses disclosed, were women and children.

In another incident, four domestic workers were reportedly killed in two separate areas outside Muglad town by members of a nomadic community in neighbouring Sudan.

The killings, according to multiple sources, resulted after South Sudanese children clashed with their counterparts from host communities in the Western Kordofan town.

The South Sudanese charge de affairs at South Sudan’s embassy in Khartoum, Kau Nak said he was still trying to establish the actual cause of the incident and would make a full report to the authorities in Sudan and South Sudan so that the matter is addressed.

“This is sad development but as the government and the embassy, we are working hard to ensure the safety of our people in Sudan and in western Kordofan in particular. We are accelerating our contacts so that people there are assured of their safety. I am confident in the ability of the Sudanese authorities to calm down the situation and indeed the situation since Thursday evening has been quiet. We have not received reports of some death.  Incidents we are hearing outside Muglad are being investigated”, he said.

The survivors and families of the victims said they are living in fear because they continuously receive threats from relatives of suspects arrested by Sudanese authorities.

Local reports indicate that Sudanese police intervened and four suspects were reportedly detained to help police establish facts behind the incident.

Relations between South Sudan and Sudan are improving following the efforts of the leadership of the two countries to open a new page of cooperation in pursuit of mutual interest and benefits.   In 2012, two countries signed a Cooperation Agreement allowing the citizens of either country a right to reside, move, seek employment, acquire, own, and dispose property without restriction.

Currently, Sudan is reportedly hosting more than 800,000 South Sudanese refugees who mostly live in its troubled western region of Darfur.