Tension has gripped Nyirol and Ayod Counties of Jonglei State following inter-communal clashes that left 15 people dead last week, local officials said.
The fierce gunfight was between community members from Nyirol’s Pulturuk Payam and their neighbours in Mogog Payam of Ayod County.
Simon Hoth Duol, the State Minister for Local Government and Law Enforcement Agencies, told Radio Tamazuj Monday that the violence started when an armed group from Ayod County launched an attack on Pulturuk Payam on Thursday morning.
“From the side of Nyirol, four people were killed and three others injured, while 11 people were killed from the Ayod side. According to the report we received, about 2,000 herd cattle have been raided,” Duol explained.
The state government official condemned the attack and said the authorities will engage the rival communities so that the perpetrators can be apprehended.
Makuei Puok Bai, a community representative in Nyirol County, said tensions were high in Pulturuk after the incident.
“As a community, we condemn the attack by our neighbours from Ayod, and we appeal for a government intervention,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Tot Kai, the SPLM Party secretary in Ayod County, said: “Tensions are high. We heard that youth in Nyirol are mobilizing to carry out a revenge attack. The authorities there are working hard to prevent that. Yesterday (Sunday), we held a meeting in Ayod to see how we could resolve these issues along the borders,” Kai said.
Source: Radio Tamazuj