The authorities in South Sudan’s restive Warrap State on Tuesday said communal clashes between the three communities of Thony, Yar, and Apuk Jurwiir in Tonj South County on Monday claimed four lives and left three others with severe bullet wounds.

According to Warrap State Information Minister Mamer Bath, the fighting occurred in a swampy area of Wareel Village where the Yar community, backed up by the Apuk Jurwiir community, attacked the Thony community.

“Four people were confirmed dead, and three of the deceased are from the Yar community, and one is from the Thony community, but all three wounded people are all from the Thony area,” he said.

Minister Bath said the cyclical violence in Tonj South County is the result of cattle raids and revenge behavior by armed youth.

“What is always triggering this unstoppable youth violence is the recurring cattle rustling and revenge killings,” he explained. “Armed civilians keep recording these problems, and when they get members of a certain community in isolation, they mobilize and attack the other side. When armed youth attempt to raid cattle and the owners resist, then it leads to full-scale fighting and massive killings.”

The minister added that military forces intervened at the scene of Monday’s fighting and managed to recover the cattle that were raided by the Yar and Apuk Jurwiirc communities. He reassured that the security apparatus restored calm and normalcy.

Meanwhile, John Autiek, the Tonj South County commissioner, said he visited the area on Tuesday in an attempt to apprehend the perpetrators.

“On Monday, fighting erupted in the Toch or swampy area where Yar and Apuk Jurwiir youths attempted to raid cattle from the Thony community during the daytime,” he stated. “The two rivals claimed ownership of cattle in the Toch area, and it resulted in severe fighting, which led to three people killed from the Yar community, and I heard that one person passed away from among the four wounded people from the side of the Thony community.”

“The wounded from the Thony community were brought to Tonj Town for treatment,” Commissioner Autiek added.

He said a huge security force had been deployed in the area to control the situation and arrest the perpetrators.

“The county has experienced relative peace for the last few years, and as government, we will not stop here; these armed criminals will face justice,” he stated. Radio Tamazuj