South Sudan’s army and local authorities in Lakes State have reported differing death tolls from violence in Rumbek on Friday, October 9, with the military estimating about 40 fatalities and county officials reporting 46 people killed.
The national Ministry of Information last week put the death toll at 71, describing the figure as preliminary.
Army spokesperson Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang told journalists at a press conference in Juba on Thursday that military reports indicated about 40 people had been killed, including 10 to 11 members of the organised forces.
He said the figures are based on information from security personnel and commanders on the ground, adding that the death toll could change as authorities continued to account for those killed, injured or missing.
Koang referred journalists to Lakes State authorities for confirmed figures. He said the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) had deployed troops and established a buffer zone between the rival groups.
The violence in Rumbek Central County involved armed youth from the Pakam and Nyang communities, Koang said. He added that the situation had stabilised and that the chief of defence forces is mobilising reinforcements for Rumbek and other areas experiencing insecurity.
Conflicting accounts
Padhil Maker, executive director of Rumbek Central County, told Radio Tamazuj that 46 people, including three women and a girl, were killed and 65 others wounded in attacks in Rumbek town on Friday.
He said the violence followed clashes between factions of the Pakam community that escalated into fighting involving members of the Nyang community.
According to Maker, tensions began when members of the Lith and Manuer sections of the Pakam community clashed in Nyangkot village. The fighting spread towards villages inhabited by the Nyang community, triggering further confrontations between armed youth from the two communities.
Maker said four members of the Nyang community and three members of the Pakam community were killed on Thursday evening. The deaths angered Pakam armed youth, who mobilised overnight and attacked Nyang residents in Rumbek town on Friday, he said.
The attacks spread through residential neighbourhoods, forcing residents to flee to nearby villages, including Ronga, Cueiadukan and Adol. Shops closed, and a police station was vandalised during the violence.
Maker also said an organised forces commander identified as Madol Muonydhok and six other soldiers were killed on Friday.
Manoah James Mamol, executive director of Rumbek North County, attributed the violence to tensions following the looting of property and goats in Pakam residential areas, including Madol Akoch, Deng Nhial, Yar, Amethic and Wun Abyei village.
He told Radio Tamazuj that armed youth from Rumbek East and Rumbek North counties had looted property belonging to Pakam residents. Local authorities had tried to prevent retaliatory attacks, he said.
Maker said the violence reflects longstanding tensions over security, cattle raiding and relations between communities in Rumbek Central and Rumbek North counties.
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