South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Awan Achiek
The Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), a civil society group, On Monday, urged President Salva Kiir Mayardit to take immediate action to address the escalating communal violence in Tonj East County, Warrap State.
The conflict, which began on Saturday in Nyapagok Payam, resulted in six fatalities and 16 injuries.
The motive behind the incident that occurred around 4:33 a.m. on Saturday in Nyapagok Payam remains unknown.
Edmund Yakani, Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), expressed deep concern over the renewed communal violence in Warrap State.
“I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to His Excellency, the President. The situation in Warrap State requires a robust response because we are losing the innocent lives of our citizens,” Yakani told Dawn in a statement issued on Monday.
Yakani condemned the violence and urged President Kiir to intervene to address the grievances of the conflicting communities.
“We have witnessed the burning of houses in Nyapagok town. These deadly incidents are very concerning, and they force our citizens to pay a high price for issues that do not benefit anyone,” he said.
Yakani claimed that this intercommunal violence and the ensuing revenge attacks are politically motivated.
“As we have seen citizens dying from politically motivated armed violence among the warring parties in South Sudan, we are also losing a significant number of our citizens due to intercommunal violence,” he stated.
The outspoken activist accused politicians of fueling communal violence in Warrap State.
“These incidents are politically motivated and can be more deadly than the armed political violence among the conflicting parties in the country,” he said.
“We have seen the destruction of property, which greatly impacts safety, security, and the protection of civilians in Warrap State.”
He urged the conflicting communities to resolve their differences through dialogue rather than resorting to violence.
“I believe the governor needs to take a proactive role to ensure that this violence is stopped. I urge the conflicting communities in Warrap State to abstain from using violence as a means of resolving their differences,” he said.
