South Sudan – The authorities in South Sudan say at least 81 people have been killed during heavy fighting between armed civilians and soldiers carrying out a disarmament exercise.
With several million guns thought to be in the hands of civilians and clashes between rival communities common, disarming the population is a huge challenge for the unity government.
It was formed earlier this year after a deal to end a six year civil war.
A spokesperson for the South Sudan military said armed youths attacked an army camp at night twice, where fighting between the two sides went on for many hours. 55 soldiers are counted among the dead.
The violence in Warrap State’s Tonj county is a sign of how hard it will be to disarm civilians.
In a place where cattle are more important that cash, people want to protect themselves against the frequent raids by rival communities. They feel that for as long as the state will not protect them it is likely to be hard to disarm them.
Last week a civil society group warned that if the disarmament is rushed without meaningful consultation, the insecurity could get even worse.
