Fighting in South Sudan's northern Ruweng administrative area has left 23 people dead and thousands displaced, officials said on Sunday, as the country heads towards elections on 22 December. News4Exchange reported that authorities and police confirmed the toll after four weeks of clashes between government and opposition forces in the north of the country.

Government forces and fighters loyal to detained former vice president Riek Machar have been engaged in sustained combat in Ruweng since early October, according to the Daily Monitor account carried by the EIN Presswire South Sudan newswire. Thousands of people have fled the conflict zone, officials said.

Ruweng, an oil-producing administrative area in the north of the country, has seen repeated bouts of fighting in recent months. Local officials reported separate attacks in the area in October in which people were killed, cattle were raided and houses were burned, underlining how insecure the region remains ahead of the vote.

The violence comes at a sensitive moment for South Sudan, which is preparing for elections on 22 December. The country has struggled to hold the fragile peace that followed its civil war, and renewed fighting between government troops and opposition forces has raised fears of a wider return to conflict.

Officials have not yet given a detailed breakdown of civilian and military casualties from the latest fighting, and the number of displaced people has not been precisely counted. Humanitarian agencies have previously warned that renewed clashes in the north risk cutting off communities from aid and forcing more families from their homes.