Fighting has erupted in Jonglei State’s Duk County between members of the Hol community and their neighbours from the Ayual community in Twic East County.
The fighting began at about 11am on Friday and was continuing by 5pm on the outskirts of Duk Payuel town.
The violence is part of a wider conflict between communities in the two counties that has persisted for several years, with tensions escalating into intermittent clashes in recent weeks.
Duk County caretaker commissioner John Chatim Ruei told Radio Tamazuj that armed youth from Twic East had attacked the area on Friday morning.
“At 11:00, a village along the Jonglei Canal in Duk Payuel Payam was attacked by armed youth from Twic East. These youth had started moving towards our area since last night,” he said.
Ruei said the fighting was continuing and that gunfire could still be heard at about 5pm.
“The scene of fighting is three hours away from Duk Payuel town. Until 5pm, gunshots could still be heard. However, no details of casualties have emerged because there is no network,” he said.
Radio Tamazuj was unable to reach police and authorities in Twic East for comment.
The latest clashes come amid efforts by civil society groups to ease tensions between the two communities.
Bol Deng Bol, a civil society activist and head of the National Civil Society Coalition, blamed what he described as government inaction for the renewed violence and called for grassroots dialogue.
“As civil society, we urged that a comprehensive grassroots dialogue be instituted to engage those youth involved in the fighting,” he said.
He said a recently signed agreement had failed to prevent further violence because, in his view, the government had pressured communities into signing it and those directly involved in the fighting were not represented.
He also criticised the lack of follow-up by the government, saying the initiative had therefore failed to address the underlying tensions.
Bol said civilians continued to be killed in recurring clashes between the communities, with the pattern of violence remaining largely unchanged.
and then