Four South Sudanese refugees have died and others injured in a rival attack between the Nuer and Dinka pastoralists in Kiryandongo District, reveals the District Police Commander (DPC), Mr Joseph Bakireke.
Mr Bakireke told this website on Sunday that the fight broke out after a misunderstanding between the two ethnic groups.
Accounts from witnesses say the fight resulted from a football game played on Wednesday and on the following day one aggrieved group decided to revenge, thus, the deaths.
The DPC said the fight that involved spears and machetes left two dead on the spot while two others died at Kiryandongo Hospital where they had been rushed in critical condition.
The police have since then arrested more than 60 suspects and there is heavy deployment in the camp to deter a resurgence of the fight.
“We have arrested so far 63 people and there is still heavy deployment in the camp to manage the situation,” Mr Bakireke said on Saturday.
The Kiryandongo District LC 5 chairman, Mr Charles Ntairehoki, said that ideological differences between the ethnic groups is wreaking havoc between them.
“They pay allegiance to their country and they had a very small argument which resulted into loss of lives,” Mr Ntairehoki said.
The Dinka and the Nuel had in the past competed for pasture and water for their animals in their home country.
After South Sudanese President, Mr Salva Kiir dismissed former Vice President, Dr Riek Machar in 2013, lots of Dinka and Nuer have fled to Uganda.
