An estimated 3500 ethnic Nuers left the United Nations POC sites in Souith Sudan's capital Juba and moved into a city suburb following days of hand-to-hand clashes within the protection sites in which dozens of people were injured and one person was killed.

Over the weekend members of the Bul Nuer and Haak Nuer sections living in the POC sites clashed, reportedly triggered by a domestic dispute. The fighting began on the late afternoon Friday in POC1. “The initial disturbances involved an estimated 350 IDPs from the Unity State counties of Mayom [Bul Nuer] and Mayendit [Haak Nuer] armed with machetes, sticks and metal bars,” the UN Mission stated in a press release.

There was more fighting on Saturday. Martin Kueth Gai, secretary of the managing committee at POC3 told Radio Tamazuj yesterday the Bul Nuers were defeated on Saturday inside POC1 and fled to POC3. There they clashed with another section, the Dok Nuer. “You know, after the Bul were defeated within the PoC 1, they went out of the camp angrily and came to the PoC 3, where they also attacked Dok Nuers, which is also another Nuer section,” explained Martin.

UNMISS confirmed the brawling saying, “The clashes resumed on the morning of Saturday, 9 May inside PoC site 3. UNMISS personnel again brought the situation under control until the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, 10 May when fighting again broke out in PoC site involving about 400 IDPs.”

Up to 3,500 of the camp residents left POC3 during the course of Sunday. The UN peacekeepers escorted them from the area with miltiary vehicles, according to the press statement.

Martin Kueth Gai stated that the Bul Nuer were expelled from the UN base by the other Nuer sections.

Speaking again today he confirmed some of them left the area, “There are people who went with their children to Mia Saba. Those are the people who want to stay with the government... the people who want to be among the government, they're all gone.”

Another source, Unity State Information Minister Peter Makuoth, told Radio Tamazuj some others went to the Mangaten neighborhood of Juba.

Makuoth commented, “My concern is that people should not try to interpret what happened inside politically. You ran there for your life and then you cannot go there and cause another war inside... Actually we are really concerned and we hope that people also should develop what we call peace in their mind.”

Meanwhile, UNMISS has sought “assurances” from South Sudanese authorities about the safety and well-being of the IDPs who left the POC sites. “The primary responsibility for the protection of civilians continues to lie with the government of the Republic of South Sudan,” the Mission stated.

Photo: Bul Nuers expelled from the Juba POCs (Facebook)