The tragic clash involved two clans; from the girl and the other from the boy, both of whom disagreed over the girl’s pregnancy

By Makur Adut

Fighting over the impregnation of a girl in Rumbek Centre County, Lake State, has left one person dead and six others wounded.

The clashes erupted after the girl, suspected to be pregnant, met with the boyfriend, who hails from another clan in Ayen village on Monday. The tragic clash involved the girl’s clan and the boy’s.

The commissioner of Rumbek North County, Moses Maker Magok, told The City Review that one person from the girl’s clan, said to have been responsible for starting the fight, was killed in the melee. Six people from the man’s  side were wounded.

However, he said the government security forces were able to quell the situation.

“We are looking for the culprits on both sides. The security personnel are still pursuing them, and very soon we are going to apprehend them. Those are the steps we have taken as a government,” Maker said.

The commissioner warned the public against taking law into their hands. “Even if you are grieved and go ahead and take law into your hands, the law will take its course and the law enforcement agencies such as the police, NSS and other security apparatus will have you account for your actions.”

Dr Teran Madit, a doctor at Rumbek State hospital, confirmed that they received about four people with gunshots wounds from Rumbek North County.

“The gunshot wounds are on the limbs. Upon their arrival at the State hospital at around 10:00 am, necessary treatment was done to stabilize them because they had open fractures. We stopped the bleeding and stabilized the fractures.”

He advised relatives of the other wounded persons to seek referrals for their patients to Juba for special medical procedures due to lack of adequate equipment in Rumbek State hospital.

However, he said other wounded patients need further surgical referrals and management in Juba because there is a lack of some equipment in Rumbek State hospital.

He said among the four wounded in the fighting, three are men and one is a woman, all of them with gunshot wounds in the limbs.

A civil society activist, Daniel Laat Kon from civil rights organization, Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) said, “We are urging the community not to retaliate and not to escalate the intention.”

“We need a community-initiated dialogue because community-initiated dialogue is what can last long.”