At least 20 killed in communal clashes in South Sudan's Jonglei state

JUBA, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- At least 20 people have been killed and 18 others injured in South Sudan's Jonglei State after two rival communities clashed over renaming of a contested village, a local government official said Wednesday.

Jacob Akech Deng, Jonglei State Information Minister, told Xinhua by phone that clashes erupted in Bor South County over the weekend after rival groups disagreed on changing the name of their village.

He said one faction demanded their village's name to be changed to Anuet instead of Panweel, a move that divided the community and resulted into the deadly clashes.

He said calm has returned to the area after the army and police created a buffer zone between the rival factions.

Akech added that seven people suspected of being ringleaders of the violence have been arrested and they would soon be arraigned in court.

"It was unfortunate that a dispute over naming of a village reached to level of confrontations which killed 20 people and 18 injured others in Bor South County," Akech said.

"We have issued warrant of arrest for the ringleaders of the violence. Seven people have been locked up and the police are still doing its work. We are going to implement the law with full gear because we cannot entertain violence in our communities," he added.

The Jonglei region has suffered decades of communal and tribal violence, mainly caused by rivalry over livestock and grazing land. Last month, ethnic violence in the same region killed over 50 people. Enditem