A local official said on Tuesday that ethnic clashes in the eastern South Sudanese province of Jonglei has claimed 56 lives over the course of four days, with the majority of the victims being Nuer teenagers who attacked another tribal group.
Blood feuds and armed conflicts over cattle and land have plagued South Sudan’s territory since it declared its independence from Sudan in 2011.
According to Abraham Kelang, a representative of the administration in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area, armed Nuer youth started attacking the Murle community on December 24 in Gumuruk County and Likuangole County.
“The government is managing to help the communities, but the fighting is still ongoing,” Kelang told Reuters by telephone. Only five Murle defenders were killed, according to him, whereas 51 Nuer attackers were killed.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission (UNMISS) reported last week that armed Nuer youngsters were being organised in preparation for a possible raid against the Murle.
UNMISS stated that it had increased patrols in and around the affected regions and was keeping an eye on the development of tensions and violence.