The authorities of Warrap State confirmed that a communal fight in Tonj South County on Thursday left 16 people dead and 16 others sustained bullet wounds and are now admitted to different health facilities in Tonj.
James Ayiek Bath, the Warrap State Minister of Information and Communication, told Radio Tamazuj that the fighting was instigated by cyclic revenge killings and cattle raiding. He added that joint forces arrived at the scene of the fighting later on Thursday to calm the situation, but that there was still tension.
“The communal fight occurred on Thursday morning when the communities of Apuk Jurwiir, Yar, and Muok attacked the Thony Community in Manyang Ngok Payam. 16 people were killed from both sides and 16 others were seriously injured,” he stated. “The situation remains tense, although the government’s joint forces arrived on Thursday evening to de-escalate the tension and stop further fighting.”
“This cycle of fighting is triggered by attitudes of cattle rustling and revenge killings because these are communities of the same county, and they have accounts of grievances,” Minister Ayiek added.
He said Tonj South County was relatively peaceful among the counties in the Tonj region.
Meanwhile, Riing Deng Adiing, the Tonj South County commissioner, confirmed the incident and said it was a coordinated attack by the communities of Apuk Jurwiir, Muok, and Yar against the Thony Community. He said that government security forces intervened and that the situation is currently calm.
“It was a lengthy fight in which we lost 16 armed youth, and 16 people were injured and they are being treated in different health facilities in Tonj South County,” he disclosed. “Due to the hatred between these communities, we decided to separate the patients in different health centers.”