A man was killed and several others injured following a violent incident at the Malakal POC site in Upper Nile State on Sunday, the United Nations said.

In a statement extended to Radio Tamazuj, the UN Mission (UNMISS) revealed that tensions between communities at a water point inside the Malakal Protection of Civilians (POC) site erupted, resulting in the death of a 32-year-old man and several others injured.

UNMISS urges local leaders to encourage their communities to embrace dialogue and refrain from any violence.
According to the statement, the Mission commended the Governor for meeting with local communities to de-escalate the situation. It added that State authorities have deployed the South Sudan National Police Service and South Sudan People’s Defence Forces around the POC site to strengthen security measures.

“UNMISS has increased the peacekeepers’ strength at the POC site and is conducting overnight patrols, in addition to working with authorities and communities to decongest the site and reduce tensions. To address the needs of vulnerable people, humanitarian organizations have been providing services to internally displaced people, along with providing packages, including vouchers that enable families to return to their areas of origin,” UNMISS said.
The Mission further said it continues to support the government and respective communities to reduce tensions and embrace dialogue and the use of justice institutions to resolve grievances.

“While the primary responsibility for protecting civilians lies with the Government, the Mission is proactively deploying available resources and making every effort to help ensure the safety and security of vulnerable internally displaced communities as well as returnees,” it concluded.

In the last two weeks, one person was also killed and 30 others sustained injuries in a clash among South Sudanese returnees over water in Renk town of Upper Nile State.

The violence erupted in a dilapidated university campus where thousands of South Sudanese citizens who fled the escalating conflict in Sudan were accommodated temporarily.

Since the fighting erupted in Sudan on 15 April, the South Sudan government has registered more than 70,000 people crossing into South Sudan, more than 90 percent of them South Sudanese. The true number is likely much higher.

Aid agencies fear the influx will worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis in South Sudan, where more than 2 million people are displaced and three-quarters of the 11-million-strong population need aid.