Hundreds of the internally displaced women and children arrived in Ezo County from Tambura on Tuesday, August 24, 2021 | Credit | Mustafa Bona

Some women displaced by the violence in Tambura County are wondering why the national government is silent over the unfolding crisis.

The women who have fled to Yambio County say there is no intervention from Juba to stop the ongoing killing, looting, and destruction of property.

“In this fighting, I don’t see the government protecting us,” said Colleta, a mother of five.

“The leaders could talk to those fighting not to kill innocent people such as us women, children, and the elderly.”

According to the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission in Western Equatoria State, nearly 28,000 people have been displaced.

They escaped the killings in Source Yubu, Akpa, Mabenge, Kpatanayo, and other locations in Tambura County.

The IDPs are currently in Nagero, Ezo, Nzara, and Yambio.

As of Tuesday, at least 11 people were said to have been killed, including the former Commissioner of Tambura County.

Weeks of fighting have forced mainly women and children to seek refuge in Tambura town and the neighboring Counties.

The women who spoke to Eye Radio by phone say the violence is intense as many have lost their lives and properties.

They called on the transitional government of national unity to live up to its obligation of protecting the lives and property of all civilians.

“This violence should be stopped. We are suffering indeed, and I am not happy. I am very disappointed,” Martha John, mother of seven, told Eye Radio on Tuesday.

The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Tambura-Yambio also agrees that the government security forces are doing nothing to contain the situation in Tambura.

Eduardo Hiiboro appealed for joint efforts to address the security and the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the area.

“To my amazement, which is really a paradox, you see that this violence is taking place – people shooting themselves, but the institutions of the government are in the area doing nothing about it,” Bishop Hiiboro stated.

The Inter-church Council and Inter-faith Council for Peace Initiative in Western Equatoria state have urged politicians to stop manipulating people by using what they term as “irresponsible comments and incitement.”

Meanwhile, those displaced by the violence are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

Francis Juma, acting director of the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission in Western Equatoria State, appealed to the government and humanitarian partners to respond to the crisis.

“We are appealing through the RRC in Juba to coordinate this emergency as soon as possible and send us another partner to intervene together with another one on the ground here so that we respond as soon as possible to rescue the lives of our people here,”

The conflict, which is said to be between local youth and SPLA-IO force in Tambura, resumed on Saturday after the body of an officer of the Criminal Investigation Department was found a day after he went missing.

Local officials say it is being fueled by Juba-based area politicians, including Jemma Nunu (now speaker of parliament) and Patrick Zamoi, former governor.

More than 20 people have now been killed between June and July 2021.

In July, a meeting between the First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar with the political and military leaders from Western Equatoria State resolved to convene a conference in Tambura to address the grievances.

It recommended the relocation of the SPLA-IO forces in Namatina and Zamoi to Rii-Rangu.

The meeting also agreed to relocated forces loyal to General James Nando from Yambio Airstrip and Source-Yubo to Maridi under the direct command of the SSPDF Division Six.

It further agreed to provide food, shelter, and healthcare to the people affected by the violence in Tambura County.