Map of Lakes State. (File photo).

At least five people are reported killed and eight others injured in a communal conflict over the disappearance of a girl in Rumbek North County of Lakes State.

A police official told Eye Radio that the fighting was triggered by the disappearance of a girl believed to have eloped with another man.

The state Police Spokesperson, Major Elijah Mabor says two sections of the Pakam clan turned against each other over the missing girl on Tuesday.

Mabor narrated that after the girl vanished, her relatives accused the other side of eloping with their daughter, prompting them to launch an attack that resulted in the deaths and injuries.

“Regarding the fighting that erupted between two sections of Pakam the day before yesterday, after the girl disappeared that day and immediate relatives of the girl accused the other side and they immediately launched an attack to these people and as a result, five people were killed and eight other wounded,” Mabor said.

Mabor stated that the girl has been arrested, that the police is investigating two main suspects identified as Mayeth Machol and Ater Mayuang.

“This is what happened. The attackers are from the same community from Rumbek North County, and the security forces apprehend that girl and she’s now under investigation,” says the police official.

The incident is the first of its kind after a long-lasting calm in the state, since the appointment of Governor Riny Tueny last year.

The UN Mission in South Sudan reports that revenge attacks and cattle-related killings remain the biggest insecurity incidents after political violence subsided in the country following the signing of the revitalized peace agreement.