At least 71 people were reportedly killed in violent clashes between rival armed groups in South Sudan’s Lakes State, with fighting spreading into the regional capital Rumbek and forcing residents to flee their homes, authorities said.
The violence erupted on Thursday, October 8, in Nyangkot village on the outskirts of Rumbek Central County, where four people were initially reported killed, before escalating into heavy fighting across Rumbek early Friday.
Armed youths from the Nyang and Pakam communities exchanged gunfire in several residential neighbourhoods, sending families fleeing to surrounding villages as security forces moved to contain the violence.
South Sudan’s Ministry of Information said preliminary security reports indicated that approximately 71 people had been killed, including four government soldiers — a captain and three non-commissioned officers.
The ministry cautioned that the casualty figures remained subject to verification and did not provide a confirmed number of wounded.
Lakes State police spokesperson Elijah Mabor Makuac told Radio Tamazuj that government troops had been deployed to separate the rival groups and disarm armed youths.
The fighting affected several residential areas, including Makuriric, Malual-Akon, Maborngap, Achol-Tim, Malith and Akuac, while displaced residents sought shelter in neighbouring communities.
Wounded residents were transported to Rumbek State Hospital, where civil society representatives raised concerns about the safety of patients receiving treatment for gunshot injuries.
Daniel Laat Kon, the Lakes State coordinator of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, condemned the violence and called for stronger security around hospitals and healthcare facilities.
He also alleged that armed youths had vandalised and looted parts of the Rumbek police headquarters during Friday’s clashes.
South Sudanese authorities later announced that joint security units from the military, police and National Security Service had regained control of the town.
Four armed civilians were arrested and four firearms recovered, according to the government. Authorities said investigations were continuing and appealed to communities to avoid retaliatory attacks.
The latest bloodshed highlights persistent communal insecurity in Lakes State, where cattle raiding, disputes over grazing land and cycles of revenge violence have repeatedly triggered deadly confrontations despite local reconciliation efforts.
On Monday, October 12, South Sudan’s National Civil Society Coalition called for stronger local peace initiatives, warning that widespread civilian gun ownership, unresolved community disputes, hunger and youth unemployment were fuelling violence across several states.
The coalition urged authorities to address the underlying causes of communal conflict, warning that continued insecurity could undermine the country’s political transition.
