One person was injured in a communal fight on Sunday in Torit County, Eastern Equatoria State.

According to the local authorities, a 20-year-old man identified as Akure Isiak, was shot and injured in a fight between the area youth.

In an interview with The City Review on Monday, the Hiyalal Payam Paramount Chief in Torit County, Galileo Ohide, said the incident happened along a river commonly known by the community Host.

“The Haforieri people and the Hiyala came to the river and the interaction resulted to an altercation between them, leading to the injury of Akurek Isiak, a youth from Haforieri. He was taken to Torit for further medical attention,” he said.

 “There is a need for the government to come in so that they bring the two conflicting sides together and ask them what their problem is and let them say it out.”

However, Ohide warned that if the situation is not managed well, children, women and the elderly would be the most affected in the two areas.

Meanwhile, Christopher Andrew, the Torit County commissioner confirmed the incident saying he was aware of the clashes between the two communities.

He stated that his administration was working hard to ensure the peace dialogue was conducted to unite the two conflicting communities in the county.

According to the authorities in the area, several attempts to bring the two conflicting communities together were futile.     

Last month, a 25-year-old man identified as Oleyo Lokongorok, a resident of Hiyala Village of Torit County was reportedly shot dead while on a mission to recover the raided cattle and In September, a 20-year-old man was killed in revenge clashes between the two communities.

The conflict between the neighboring communities of Hiyala and Haforieri in Torit County, began in 2018 which created the channel of conflict ranging from revenge killing and cattle raiding of which according to the local authorities, over 40 people have lost lives.

“There is a need for the government to come in so that they bring the two conflicting sides together and ask them what their problem is and let them say it out,” Galileo Ohide, the Hiyalal Payam Paramount Chief in Torit County.