Fighting erupted on Monday morning between the communities of South Sudan's Kapoeta East County of Eastern Equatoria State and neighboring Kenya's Turkana County, officials say.
Kapoeta East County Police Inspector, Maj. Polonia Lokidormoi speaking to Radio Tamazuj said, "There is a mountain called Mogila where the cattle of Toposa graze these side and Turkana graze the other side. So this morning the Toposa opened cattle from the kraal and some youth went ahead for the cattle to follow. As they went further they met with Turkana who were coming to attack the kraals. So fighting erupted and up to now we don’t know how many casualties but no cattle were taken."
Cypriano Lobui Lomong, the payam administrator of Nadapal confirmed the fighting but said it is still difficult to ascertain casualty numbers as the fighting continues.
Lobui accused the Kenyan police of being involved in the fighting which was between civilians of the bordering counties.
“The Turkana came and attacked the Toposa civilians but before it reached 11 am, the Kenya police called Kenya Police Reserve (KPR) came with cars and took over the fighting," he claimed.
Meanwhile, Kapoeta East County Commissioner, Mr. Abdalla Lokeno urged the national government to initiate peace talks with the Kenyan Turkana community for peaceful coexistence.
He adds, "I need the government to form a committee that will facilitate peace between Toposa and Turkana."
Commissioner Lokeno noted that prolonged droughts have caused hunger and he fears that could fuel more conflicts.
Kapoeta East authorities further claim that about 136 cattle were stolen by raiders from Turkana County last Friday. They also accuse their Turkana neighbors of raiding an unspecified number of cattle and killing two people in Nadapal on Saturday.
Kenyan authorities were not immediately available for comment.
The Toposa community of South Sudan and Turkana of Kenya have been involved in a protracted conflict caused by cattle raids and a dispute over water sources.