Authorities in Cueibet County of Lakes State said calm has returned to Tiatiap Payam after inter-communal fighting between Panyar and Waat sections left eight people dead and 20 wounded on Wednesday last week.
The renewed clashes broke out when a young man from the Waat section identified one of his cows which had been raided by the Panyar section.
In an interview with the Radio Tamazuj, the chief inspector of police in Cueibet County, Col. Machar Muorwel who was at the scene of clashes on Wednesday, said that the situation in Tiatiap Payam of Cueibet County was calm.
“I went there to Tiaptiap Payam to bring the casualties to the hospital. Eight people were killed and 20 injured. The injured are now in Cueibet hospital and their condition is not good,” Col. Machar said. “The Waat people are the ones who started the problem. Four youth went to the bank of a river and said they identified a cow of theirs that had been stolen by the Panyar in a cattle raid sometime back. So they immediately attacked the Panyar youth.”
The acting minister of information and communication in Lakes State, William Kocji Kerjok also said the situation there had been brought under control by the commissioner of Cueibet County.
“The good thing is that the current commissioners in Lakes State are very active and they are doing their work. They are not people who tolerate the situation so the commissioner in Cueibet County, with available forces there, managed to control the situation yesterday,” Kocji said. “As we are speaking, that part of Cueibet County is okay but the Southern part of Cueibet currently has clashes with some communities of Rumbek Centre who went there and were involved in raiding cattle from Cueibet County.”