AT LEAST 300 people, including aid workers, are believed to have been killed in a new wave of violence and intercommunal fighting in South Sudan, authorities said yesterday.

The fighting erupted on May 16 despite a peace deal signed in February aimed at bringing an end to almost six years of civil war that have ravaged the country.

The accord saw former rebel leader Riek Machar sworn in as vice-president to his rival President Salva Kiir and the establishment of a unity government.