Displaced civilians await relief food distribution in Pibor | File photo

The International Committee of the Red Cross has warned that hundreds of people could die and lives could be disrupted by the ongoing violence in Jonglei State.

According to the organization, the renewal of communal violence has so far destroyed livelihoods and thousands of people are being displaced from their homes.

On Wednesday, officials in Pibor Administrative Area said at least 5 people were killed and 12 other wounded in an intercommunal conflict in Gumuruk County.

An attack on a cattle camp in Jonglei state on Thursday reportedly left 9 people dead and four others wounded.

These follow months of counter-attacks between communities in Jonglei and Pibor Administrative area.

The ICRC has expressed worry over reports of armed youths mobilizing to attack their neighbors in the area.

“We have entered a third and vicious round of fighting between armed youth that could – once again – result in hundreds dying, thousands being displaced and homes, crops, and all forms of livelihoods destroyed,” said Wolde Gabriel Saugeron, the agency’s team leader in Bor.

“We are hearing reports of smoldering tukuls in villages after fierce clashes as armed youth are said to be mobilizing across the state to carry out new attacks.”

He stressed that the coronavirus pandemic has limited ICRC’s efforts of carrying out a life-saving humanitarian action in areas affected by violence.

The UN and activists have called on the government not to overlook cattle raiding conflicts which often intertwined with inter-communal violence in the country.

They demand that the authorities investigate and prosecute perpetrators of such conflicts to end the circle of violence in the states.