At least seven people were killed and nine others wounded in violent clashes over cattle theft in South Sudan’s Lakes State, authorities said Monday.
The fighting broke out Sunday between members of the Panyar and Waat sections of the Gok community in Cueibet County’s Tiaptiap Payam.
William Koji Kerjok, the state’s acting information minister, told Radio Tamazuj that the violence stemmed from cattle raiding between neighboring communities in Pagor and Tiaptiap Payams.
The wounded were taken to Cueibet County Hospital, with critical cases referred to Rumbek State Hospital for further treatment, he added.
The minister said additional security forces have been deployed to the area, and the situation is now calm.
Asked whether the violence could be a result of a leadership vacuum in the county after the detention of the commissioner, Kerjok denied claims that the suspension of Cueibet County’s commissioner and executive director had created an administrative vacuum, attributing the unrest instead to longstanding tensions.
“These people continue to fight themselves even when the commissioner was there, and that was the reason the commissioner used to stay with them in the bushes to hunt down and apprehend the criminals during his time,” he said.
However, Marco Lueth Manyang, a youth leader from Cueibet, said the county has been operating without local administration since the officials’ suspension, contributing to the violence.
He pointed out that neutral members of the Gok community intervened to separate the warring groups.
Daniel Juol Nhomngek, a national lawmaker representing Cueibet, said fighting continued for two days without government intervention.
“The number of people killed is unclear, but the situation remains tense, and there was no government intervention in the area,” he said.
Civil society activist Daniel Laat Kon urged the state government to disarm civilians, warning that youths are rearming themselves, fueling further clashes.
“The Gelweng youth are rearming themselves seriously, and this needs the government of Lakes State to disarm the civilian population. Everyone is arming himself,” he said.
Lakes State has been plagued by intercommunal violence, often linked to cattle raids and disputes over grazing land, despite efforts by state authorities to control the situation.