The Chief of Mangala Payam of Central Equatoria State has said that normalcy is slowly returning to the area following clashes between armed cattle herders and the host community on Christmas Day.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday, Pio Tombe said movemnet to and from the area has resumed but civilians who fled the attack by cattle herders and later shelling by the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) are yet to return.
“The situation now is a bit calm but all the people around Mangala town are scattered, all the villages around Mangala more than six villages are all scattered,” Tombe said.
About two weeks ago, clashes broke out between cattle herders from neighboring Jonglei State and the host community that led to several deaths.
Subsequently, on the 25th Dec, the SSPDF attacked the area claiming that they fought the rebel group belonging to the National Salvation Front (NAS), a claim the Bari community condemned on the 30th of December saying the army attacked civilians adding that there is no presence of NAS in Mangala.
Chief Tombe said the area has been calm in the last three days with travelers moving freely to and from Juba to Mangala although the area remains deserted.
“Nowadays people have started to move from Mangala to Juba and Juba to Mangala. Before now, the main road from Juba to Mangala was totally shut but now three days ago it is a bit okay people are moving but the area people are scattered and there are just herders looking after their cattle,” Tombe said.
He revealed that those displaced by the clashes are seeking refuge in the Jebel Ladu area and are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
“Most people are scattered to Jebel Ladu because those people were staying on the eastern side of the River Nile but after the displacement, they went to the highlands, and then after the shelling, they moved to the western side of the River in Ladu Payam at a place called Nyuwa, a majority of them are there near the border with Terekeka,” he said. “At a moment those scattered are surviving from the contribution from the locals from here to there and so on. The situation is now very terrible, it needs the intervention of the government otherwise this situation is intolerable because in this way it is difficult for our people to live in peace.”
On Tuesday, the former Mayor of Juba City Council Kalisto Ladu claimed that insecurity continues to rock the area as civilians continue to be killed, women raped, houses burnt and property destroyed.
Ladu further claimed that over 20,000 civilians were displaced from their homes while renewing calls that the cattle herders immediately vacate the area.
Responding to the matter, civil society activist Ter Manyang Gatwech, Executive Director of the Center for Peace and Advocacy called the leaders of Jonglei and Central Equatoria states to find peaceful solutions to the conflict there.
“One of the shortest terms, there is a need for a conference between the residents of Jonglei and Central Equatoria and this conference should be convened by Governor Adil and Governor Denay because these clashes all the time is not good,” Manyang said. “There is a need for a roundtable discussion this is short term, the long term if the flooding reduces in Jonglei I think the cattle herders need to go back to their places of origin to avoid clashes again.”
“The statement made by Bari Community and SSPDF I think the SSPDF statement is not really professional. You cannot just term the citizens as rebels. I think they should verify that statement and that is very serious that is why it sparked the response from the Bari community,” he concluded.