A local official reported on Tuesday that fighting in the eastern South Sudanese state of Jonglei has claimed 56 lives over the course of four days, with the majority of the victims being Nuer youth who attacked another ethnic 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 government in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area, armed Nuer youth started attacking the Murle community on December 24 in Gumuruk County and Likuangole County.
Kelang told Reuters by phone, ‘The government is managing to help the communities, but the fighting is still going on.’
Only five Murle defenders were killed, according to him, while 51 Nuer attackers were killed.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission (UNMISS) reported last week that armed Nuer youth were being organised in preparation for a possible raid against the Murle.
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