UN peacekeepers patrolling a village in Terekeka County, Central Equatoria State. |Credit: UNMISS|
Following last week’s outbreak of violence in Malakal, Upper Nile state, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) continues to support efforts to protect civilians and maintain calm through intensive patrols and engagement with affected communities.
The renewed communal violence in Malakal town left about 14 people dead and several others dead.
The Mission commended the swift and ongoing responses by state authorities and government security forces to reduce tensions and keep communities safe. The situation is currently calm but fragile.
“We appreciate the coordination and close partnerships with national, state, and local authorities which played an important role in ensuring that further escalations in violence do not take place and that people are able to resume their daily activities safely,” stated Nicholas Haysom, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS.
The Mission is working closely with government partners and has proactively deployed peacekeepers in and around the UN Protection of Civilians Site in Malakal to make sure displaced people are secure, Haysom said.
Speaking to the media at a press conference on Thursday, the Minister of Livestock and Fisheries Onyioti Adego Nyekuec appealed to the security organs to apprehend the agitators of the communal violence between Shilluk and Dinka communities of Upper Nile State.
President Salva Kiir Mayardit also added his voice, directing the Governor of Upper Nile State James Odhok Oyai, and Deputy Governor Deng Joh Angok to unite the people of their state.
