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At least 15 people were killed and 16 injured in Thursday's clashes in Tonj South County of the restive Warrap State in northern South Sudan, a local official said Friday.
The clashes followed an attack on Manyangok Payam by members of the Apuk, Yar and Muok communities, said Ring Deng Ading, commissioner of Tonj South County.
He said the fighting, which erupted in Agama village, resulted in several houses being burnt to ashes, property looted, and families displaced.
"There were some cattle that were raided in December 2024 and January this year, and these communities have never stopped fighting as they go back and forth until today," Ading said.
"Though I sent the South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF) to stop them, they are still manoeuvring around the forces," he said.
Communal clashes have intensified in Warrap State and neighbouring Unity State amid ongoing tensions between the SSPDF and the opposition Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army-In Opposition.
Warrap State frequently experiences deadly communal clashes in the form of cattle raiding and revenge killings.