Khartoum by: Nagi Musa Ali
Central Equatoria State now tastes the bitter pill of tribal conflicts which have plagued areas of Jonglei, Lakes and Warrap State in Southern Sudan.
On April 29th 2009, Reuters reported that fighting is ongoing between the Bari and Mundari Community, north of Juba around Jebel Ladu.
In the last few months for instance, frequent clashes have erupted between the Chollo and the Dinka tribesmen in Malakal, over which group will first enter the stadium on the day marking the 4th CPA anniversary in Malakal.
Recently, in less than a month, fresh clashes broke out in Jonglei, claiming 15 lives and displacing 3000. It was reported that the clashes started when one tribal group stormed another tribe's cattle camp at Lukangole looting four hundred heads of cattle
The clashes which lasted three days destroyed the premise of Doctors without Boarders Organization (MSF), the Payam Council's office and a market in the area.
In Pibor County, from the 5th to 13th of March 2009, heavily armed fighters killed more than 200 people in raids in villages in Southern Sudan, where bloody tribal disputes over cattle are jeopardizing peace efforts in the oil-rich region.
The surrounding states of Jonglei, where the oil giants Petronas and Total are active, have long been plagued with tribal violence, often started by disputes over livestock, according to Reuters.
In the recent tribal clash between the Lou-Nuer and Murle tribes, the governor of the Jonglei State, Kuol Manyang, confirmed that (52) people were killed.
The problem is not the inter-tribal clashes alone, as the residents of these areas have become used to tribes and clans fighting over water sources, pastures and cattle, coupled with lack of infrastructural development by GoSS.
Governor Manyang attributes the clashes to the widespread of guns among civilians in the State, says Miraya FM.
Serious damage
The frequent tribal conflicts now pose as serious threats to the national security and development of the country and the states in particular.
It is a serious problem which can severely damage a community politically and economically.
The frequency of the clashes now calls for the urgent action of the State authorities to try and solve the age old problems of the clans.
The South Sudan Legislative assembly has been looking into the happenings and in February it summoned those in charge and governors of states to explain the reasons for the clashes leading to insecurity in their states.