The fighting broke out on Monday after an attack by members of the pakam community on a livestock camp at the Cueibet county, triggering a reaction on the part of the gok.

William Machar Chol, administrator of Malek Payam, declared to Tamazuj Radio that 10 gok and 14 pakam were killed during the clashes, and over a thousand cattle heads were stolen during the raid, although the situation is calm at present.

Elijah Mabor Maluac, spokesman for the Lagos Police, confirmed the opening of an investigation into the amount of victims, and stated obtaining any information on it is difficult, since there is no exact data on the number of killed during the clashes.

The coordinator for the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) in the region, Daniel Laat Kon, stated that women, children, and elderly were displaced in the wake of the fighting and are in need of humanitary aid, and stressed the lack of security.

The events took place a week after the deaths of another 20 in the fighting between two communities in the Eastern Rumbek county, also in Lagos, linked to cattle theft by the authorities.

The fighting is also motivated by the dispute between shepherds and farmers in the fertile lands of Southern Sudan, mainly as a result of the increase of desertification and population displacement.

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