Death toll rises to 60 in tribal clashes in central South Sudan

JUBA, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- The number of people killed in clashes between rival Dinka tribe clans in central South Sudan has risen to 60, a local official said on Monday.

"The fighting stopped on Friday but the number of dead is around 60," Western Lakes Minister of Information Shadrack Bol told Xinhua. "There is now calm in the area and no more confrontation."

Earlier reports put the toll of the clashes, which started on Dec. 6, between the Rup and Pakam clans, at 45.

The fighting was ignited by the Rup clan, which attacked the Pakam tribesmen who they blame for displacing them from their land located in Malek County, Bol said.

This came after another recent bout of deadly clashes in northern Jonglei State between the pastoral Dinka and Murle tribe that left 69 people dead and scores injured.

South Sudan descended into violence in December 2013 after political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy turned rebel chief Riek Machar led to split within the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), leaving soldiers to fight alongside ethnic lines.

A 2015 peace agreement to end the conflict was weakened after renewed fighting in July 2016 forced the rebel leader to flee the capital. Enditem