At least 9 people have been killed in renewed communal clashes in South Sudan’s Western Lakes State last week, a local official said.
William Machar Chol, the executive director of Malek County, told Radio Tamazuj that the violence erupted last Thursday when armed youths from Gok State attacked villages in Malek County of Western Lakes State.
The local official said the assailants made away with 5 cows and 54 goats. Chol added that more than 150 houses have been burnt down in the attacks, which started on 30 January.
Chol appealed to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to provide protection to citizens in Malek County.
"We appeal to the UNMISS field office in Rumbek to offer humanitarian assistance and stable security to the displaced community of Malek County," he said.
He also appealed to the government of South Sudan to disarm civilians carrying guns in Lakes region.
Cattle are a main source of wealth for many communities. Livestock-keeping communities in South Sudan routinely engage in cattle raids, which observers say have become more deadly because the pastoralists switched from using spears and arrows to using guns.