A picture of cattle in Equatoria State. | Credit | Courtesy

A civil society activist is calling on the unity government to declare the inter-communal conflicts across the country as a national crises.

There has been a surge in inter-communal and cattle-related killings across the country particularly in the Bar el Ghazal region.

Between 11th and 18th this month, Eye Radio recorded at least forty-two people killed across South Sudan.

Most of these deaths are related to communal clashes, road ambushes, and banditries.

The killings happened in Lakes, Central, and Eastern and Western Equatoria states, and Ruweng Administrative Area.

It is not clear how many more people died in various incidents that were not reported across the country.

Edmond Yakani, who is the executive director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization or CEPO, says the inter-communal violence requires a political solution from the top leadership of the country.

“The Community Empowerment for Progress Organization is fully convinced beyond doubt that the government should declare the on-going deadly inter-communal violence as national crisis that requires official state intervention,” said Yakani in a statement issued on Wednesday.

In 2017, President Salva Kiir declared a three-month state of emergency in Lakes states, where inter-communal clashes intensified.

The decree gave powers to the military to stop the inter-clan fighting and ordered the army to use force against whoever rejected the disarmament exercise.

However, several disarmament exercises have failed to contain the security situation in areas affected by the violence.