By Jaime Ortega.
More than 300 people have died and thousands of locals have fled to the jungle in the two weeks of fighting between the South Sudanese army rebels and rival tribes in the east of the country last month, as reported by local authorities.
The army faces a rebellion led by politician David Yau Yau in the Jonglei state. Furthermore, the conflict between the Lou Nuer tribes and Muerle has flared up again leading to numerous confrontations. More than 1,600 people have died in a cycle of tribal violence in Jonglei since it took place on the disintegration of Africa’s largest country.
Western powers fear that violence will lead to a civil war, undermining the stability of the young African country. South Sudan is currently in a state where the number of weapons has increased considerably after decades of conflict with the Khartoum region, which led to the split of the state in 2011.
A team of local chiefs, who travel around Pibor County in Jonglei, had reported the death of 328 people, all members of Murle, among whom were women and children, as indicated by Jodi Jonglei Boyoris, representative of the staff.
The number of dead and wounded in Lou Nuer remains unknown.
Boyoris announced he expects the death toll to rise even though the fighting has stopped this month.
State spokesman said that the fight ended almost three weeks ago, but so far, local officials have failed to count the total amount of death tolls and injuries as people had not returned to their homes.
United Nations has said that thousands of people are hiding in the forest outside the town of Pibor, in Jonglei, to avoid conflict between the army and Yau Yau. These justify their behavior by saying that they fight corruption abuses of the army gainst the only political party that exists in South Sudan.
United Nations estimates that 100,000 people have been affected by the conflict.
