At least seven people have been killed in three days in a series of attacks in Eastern Equatoria State’s Budi County, according to local authorities, who blame the violence on communal revenge attacks.
The killings, which include road construction workers and soldiers, have forced a key road project to halt and prompted calls for intervention from state officials.
The incidents took place in the Loriok Payam area, near a construction site in Camp 15.
Joseph Lokripo, chief of Loriok Payam, told Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday that the victims included two road workers, two soldiers, and three civilians.
“The company workers are currently seeking refuge with me, and road work has ceased due to this insecurity,” Chief Lokripo said.
He detailed that the attacks began on 18 November with the killing of a boy, followed by the murders of two police officers guarding road workers on 22 november. Further killings, including that of a woman and two soldiers, occurred in the following days.
Authorities have pointed to suspected youth from the Toposa community as being behind the attacks, which they say are part of a cycle of revenge with the Larim community.
Joseph Kamilo Napengiro, a representative of the Larim community in Camp 15, condemned the violence.
“The youth of Kapoeta South, who identify as Toposa, have engaged in indiscriminate killings,” he said, alleging their goal was to “instigate violence between soldiers and the Larim community.”
He urged community youth to abandon revenge and called on Kapoeta’s leadership to intervene.
However, Kapoeta South County Commissioner Paul Lokale Lomana disputed some details of the reports, specifically denying that a woman had been killed.
“From what we gather, some soldiers were killed, but the claim that a woman was killed is unfounded,” Commissioner Lomana said.
He acknowledged the violence was linked to a “previous conflict between the Buya and Toposa communities, which has now escalated into cycles of revenge.” He stated that the government was organising dialogue between the communities but also warned civilians to resolve their conflicts.
“As a government, we will not tolerate this unacceptable violence,” he said.
Eastern Equatoria State Governor Louis Lobong Lojore confirmed the situation was driven by “tribal conflicts driven by revenge and counter-revenge.”
He stated that a resolution would only be possible if communities were “honest about identifying those responsible for the violence.”
Governor Lobong assured the public of his administration’s commitment to resolving the crisis, despite facing “myriad challenges and limited resources.”
The UN and other aid agencies have repeatedly warned that inter-communal violence is a major threat to stability and development in South Sudan.