The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Tuesday called on South Sudan to take steps to avert persistent intercommunal clashes in Tonj East County of Warrap State.

This had resulted in the killing of 280 people since March.

The violence there has also caused the destruction of homes and widespread displacement.

The deputy special representative (political affairs) of the UN secretary-general for South Sudan and deputy head of UNMISS, Guang Cong, urged the government to act quickly to restore peace in the region.

“Urgent intervention is needed from the national government to prevent the conflict from escalating to catastrophic levels and to bring communities together to resolve grievances peacefully,” he said in a statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

According to UNMISS,since last December, Tonj East has been plagued by a series of violent incidents.

It included cattle raiding and revenge attacks involving large numbers of armed youth from neighbouring communities.

The UN mission said in March more than 200 people were estimated to have died during the intercommunal conflict.

Over the past few days, there has been another surge of violence, driven by attempts to recover stolen cattle and revenge for the previous loss of lives.

This resulted in more than 80 casualties, although the numbers are yet to be verified, UNMISS said.

Mr Cong said that UNMISS increased its peacekeeping patrols and intensively engaging with state and local leaders to calm the situation.

He said peacekeepers experienced significant challenges reaching some of the affected areas due to a proliferation of checkpoints manned by armed youths.

“While UNMISS is doing its utmost to deter further mobilisation and conflict, the government is primarily responsible for protecting civilians,” Mr Cong said.

“We encourage the government to rapidly deploy security services to prevent further violence and create a safe environment for community dialogue and peacebuilding,” he stated.  

(Xinhua/NAN)