More than 19,000 displaced people from South Sudan’s Terekeka State need food after returning to their homes, a local official said.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Monday, agriculture minister in Terekeka state Angelo Maring said that the returnees were experiencing severe food shortages.

He pointed out that the returnees fled the state due to inter-communal clashes.

The state minister called for humanitarian organizations to assist those citizens with food aid and others that continue to return to the area.

“They returned from Mundri and Juba but there is no food,” he said.

Last week, rivaling communities from Terekeka and Jubek states held a peace conference in the capital Juba. The conference brought together participants from the Bari, Mundari, Pojulu and Nyangbara communities.