Relative calm and stability have returned to Uror County in Jonglei State after last week’s clashes involving the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA-IO) forces loyal to First Vice President Riek Machar and the breakaway faction commanded by Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual. 

Tang Chatim, the Uror County commissioner, told Radio Tamazuj that calm returned since Friday after an intervention. 

“On Thursday, civilians in Pieri woke to the sound of heavy gunfire at midnight. About 200 families were displaced from their homes. So, as the county authorities with the community support, we managed to de-escalate the violence the following morning,” Tang said.

He added, “As we speak, there is no more fighting. Our mediation led Gatwech’s forces to go to Uror Boma while Machar’s forces moved to the Pieri area.”

The local official assured of stability Uror County and urged the rival SPLA-IO factions to desist from violence. 

Efforts to reach Machar’s SPLA-IO for comment were futile, but Brig. General William Gatjath Deng of Gatwech’s faction confirmed that the two forces ceased hostilities since September 30. 

“The situation has returned to normalcy. I want to assure our people that there will be no war again but we will only fight to defend ourselves when attacked,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Bol Deng Bol, an activist in the state capital Bor condemned Thursday’s clashes as an attempt to derail the peace process and called on the parties to the 2018 deal to commit to peace.