At least one person was killed and 12 others wounded, including a soldier, in renewed clashes between rival communities in Jonglei State’s Bor County, a senior police official said on Wednesday.
The violence erupted on Tuesday evening and escalated into Wednesday despite appeals for calm by local authorities, according to Jonglei State Police Commissioner Maj. Gen. Abenego Akol Ayuong.
Ayuong told Radio Tamazuj that the confrontation began at around 8 p.m. on Tuesday when a group of youths from the Abang community crossed a main road and attacked members of the Malual community as they were eating. Four people were injured in that initial assault, he said.
“Authorities immediately intervened and appealed for calm,” Ayuong said. However, he said tensions flared again on Wednesday when Malual community members carried out a retaliatory attack. “One elderly man was killed and four people were wounded. The Malual community also recorded three additional injuries during the violence.”
A soldier deployed to restore order was also hurt in the clashes, bringing the total number of injured to at least 12, Ayuong said. All the wounded have been transferred to Bor State Hospital for treatment.
The police commissioner said the Jonglei State Security Committee would meet to assess the situation and launch an investigation into the latest outbreak.
The clashes are the latest in a long-running territorial dispute between the Abang and Malual communities over the Malual-Chaat area. Tensions have remained high since late April, when fighting first flared after the creation of a new administrative boma, a move that deepened disagreements over local boundaries and administrative control.
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