The international medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said on Tuesday one of its local staff members was killed and two more were injured during intense fighting that erupted over the weekend in and around Pieri area in Uror County of Jonglei State.
MSF runs a primary healthcare centre in the area of Pieri.
According to reports, Murle youth from the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) attacked a number of villages inhabited by Lou Nuer in Uror County on Saturday morning.
The fighting, the latest in a series of incidents between the Murle and Lou Nuer, took place in Pieri, Pamai, Dhorganwel and Partet villages.
“We express our deepest sympathy and condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of our staff and all those affected. We condemn in the strongest possible terms the outrageous acts of intercommunal violence that has left dozens of people seriously wounded, and we fear many more dead,” said Steve MacKay, MSF Deputy Head of Mission in South Sudan.
In a statement, MSF said several members of its staff that work in Pieri were among the locals who fled to the surrounding bush and to nearby villages after fighting broke out.
“Hostilities continued until Sunday afternoon, 17 May. By then, some villages in the surrounding area had been burned and homes in Pieri were looted,” the statement reads in part.
MSF said over 50 wounded people, including two of its staff members were brought to its hospital in Lankien, approximately 50 kilometres north of Pieri, where they are now receiving treatment.
“We have reasons to believe that the number of people wounded is very high,” said MacKay. “So far we have received 56 people with gunshot wounds, but we fear that many more could be dead and over 100 wounded in and around Pieri. Our team is very concerned that other wounded people will not be able to access live-saving medical care due to limited access to medical services in the area.”
In the past months in Jonglei State, violence has erupted several times. Just two months ago, in mid-March, the MSF healthcare centre in Pieri received 68 wounded people in less than 12 hours.
The organization said it has been forced to suspend medical activities in Pieri until it receives reassurances for the safety of its staff.
Attacks against aid workers and aid operations have been a common occurrence since the conflict broke out in December 2013.