Authorities in Jonglei state said Wednesday that thousands of people have fled their homes after the eruption of a land dispute into violent clashes.
Deputy governor Wal Athiu said the fight occurred in Malek, leaving three people injured.
“There was an incident in Malek. It started on Tuesday between two sections of one community over land issue and nobody had brought it to the attention of the state government until today [Wednesday] when it heightened and some used weapons, resulting in the injury of three people,” Wal said.
“But the situation has now been brought under control. The police and military intervened after the state learned of the incident. The situation has been restored to normal,” he said.
The official downplayed the magnitude of the clash but admitted that local authorities did not do much to contain the civilian quarrel from turning violent.
He said some people have fled their homes but the government was doing the best to restore security for them to return to their homes if the cause of fleeing was out of fear of their safety.
There are many armed civilians in the area. Malek is the site of one of the first missionary posts in the area, established in 1905.
File photo: displaced people in Jonglei