Local authorities in Warrap State’s Tonj East County reported that on Wednesday of this week, two clans engaged in a violent confrontation in Makuach Payam, resulting in six fatalities and leaving nine others with gunshot wounds.

Last week, a clash involving clan stick fighting occurred in Tonj East County between the Pagor and Panayii clans, resulting in two fatalities and eleven injuries, as reported by official sources.

William Arop, the Tonj East County commissioner, told Radio Tamazuj on Thursday that six individuals lost their lives, and nine others sustained injuries in the county. He clarified that the conflict stemmed from a revenge attack initiated in 2006 when a member of the Panakal clan was killed by the Pan-Lual clan. The Pan-Lual clan clashed with the Pan Akal group in Makuach Payam on Wednesday.

According to a witness from Rumbek North County, Lakes State, who had visited the Pan-Lual clan, the conflict erupted when Pan Akal initiated an attack on Pan-Lual.

“Pan-Lual clan fought with Pan Akal yesterday Wednesday in Makuach Payam, one relative from Rumbek North County of Lakes State had visited a Pan-Lual clan and Pan Akal attacked Pan-Lual,” he said.

The skirmish resulted in a tragic toll, with four individuals from the Pan-Lual clan losing their lives and five others sustaining injuries. On the other side, Pan Akal suffered the loss of two lives and left four individuals wounded. This sombre outcome has left a total of six people deceased and nine others wounded, as the witness solemnly noted: “So four people were killed from Pan-Lual, five were wounded while Panakal lost 2 people and four were wounded making the total of dead to be six and wounded people nine,” he said.

Arop provided a detailed account of the ongoing situation, emphasizing a significant change in the nature of the conflict compared to the previous week’s clash between Pagor and Panayii. In the prior altercation, the primary weapons of choice were sticks, whereas the current scenario has escalated to include the use of firearms. He also informed that the wounded individuals are currently under medical care in local healthcare facilities located within their respective regions.

Commissioner William addressed the origins of the conflict, attributing it to a longstanding grudge due to a tragic incident in 2006 when a member of the Panakal clan was burned by the Pan-Lual clan. In his words, he stated, “The fighting was instigated by revenge killing because a person from Panakal was burned by the Pan-Lual clan in 2006.”

Meanwhile, Moses Madot, Tonj East County’s Member of Parliament, acknowledged the recent incident and emphasized the urgent need for national attention, as local armed youth appear to disregard the authority of local government.

“Yes, there is fighting on Wednesday between Pan-Lual clan and Panakal clan, four people were killed from Pan-Lual and another side lost two people. This is what happened,” Moses said.

He went on to clarify that the reason for the lack of intervention is the urgent necessity for a thorough disarmament process to be carried out at various administrative levels, encompassing the state, county, and local chief authorities. Moses Madot emphasized that the Ministry of Defense is acutely aware of the issue and advocates for disarmament as the optimal solution.

To illustrate this, he pointed to instances where local armed youth demonstrated their ability to outmatch the national army. He referenced the events in Luachjang section in 2020, which resulted in the loss of around 300 SSPDF soldiers, as well as the Rualbet incident in 2022, where local armed youth once again inflicted casualties on SSPDF soldiers.