Clashes between ethnic groups in a South Sudanese civilian protection camp have left 13 people dead and 20 injured, the UN humanitarian agency said on Friday.

A 14-year-old boy from the Shilluk community was stabbed to death on Thursday, triggering “intercommunal violence” at the Malakal camp in northern South Sudan, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

The clashes killed 13 people, injured 20 and suspended the transport to the site of South Sudanese fleeing the conflict in neighbouring Sudan.

Humanitarian activities at the camp “have been hampered due to insecurity”, OCHA added.

South Sudan has enjoyed little stability since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011.

A civil war tore apart the world’s youngest nation between 2013 and 2018, leaving more than 350,000 people dead, while natural disasters have also struck the country.

President Salva Kiir and his rival Riek Machar formed a transitional government and agreed to unite their armed forces to end the conflict.

But armed violence continues and the majority of the population lives below the poverty line despite its vast oil reserves.

The UN mission in South Sudan is one of the organisation’s most expensive, with an annual budget of more than $1 billion and the deployment of 17,000 soldiers.