Pastor wounded in inter-communal violence in Central Equatoria’s Kajokeji county

June 5, 2013 (JUBA) – At least four people were wounded, some in critical condition, when violence erupted between two sections of Kuku community in Kajokeji county of Central Equatoria state on Monday.

The violence was caused by a dispute over land between neighboring payams as youth took the law into their own hands to settle the dispute in Giri area, according to the UN-sponsored Miraya radio which broadcast the incidence.

The quarrel centred on a counter-claimed piece of land on which a church was built. A pastor was among those wounded in the clashes and the church was burnt to ashes by the angry youth.

Inter-communal violence is common in South Sudan but with varying levels of magnitude in various states.

The most affected by such violence is Jonglei state, followed by the tria-states of Lakes, Warrap and Unity as well as Eastern Equatoria.

The causes of such disputes range from cattle theft, land dispute or water points and grazing land as well as political influences and revenge attacks on past killings.

(ST)