A senior government official in Upper Nile state has called on the national government to intervene in the ongoing fighting between Kitgwang factions.

The state minister of cabinet affairs, David Nyang said the fighting has caused a massive destruction, killings, and the displacement of civilians in Panyikany County.

He pointed out that Kitgwang splinter groups have made it difficult for the state government to maintain stability in the area.

He hopes with the graduation of the first batch of the Necessary Unified Forces, more forces will be deployed to the area to help bring to control the security situation there.

David also believes the forces – once well-quipped – massive disarmament exercise would be conducted in the restive Upper Nile state.

“It is not easy to control the situation, we have a problem of forces, where we lack enough forces to take control,” said David.

“Now the Necessary Unified Forces have been graduated, once they are deployed, they will improve the security in the state and I believe not only in Upper Nile, but also in the other states,

“The problem is, the government [state] has not enough ability to control these people. You need to have enough forces that are actually well-equipped to tackle the security issue, so we call upon the national government to intervene.”

David Nyang went on to call for peaceful coexistence in Upper Nile state.

“What is important for people of Upper Nile is the peaceful coexistence, you know there are five tribes in Upper Nile, and Upper Nile was very diverse,” David said.

“We as the government are working to bring back the way people of Upper Nile used to live, where you won’t know who is a Dinka, Nuer, Buony, Kuma or Shilluk,

“People of Upper Nile have a good character, all of them speak the language of other tribes there, if you find children playing, you won’t recognize their tribes, because they speak Dinka, change to Shilluk or Nuer. This is a uniting factor in Upper Nile,

“We the people of Upper Nile need to go back to how we used to live together, let’s forget about the problems we are facing, this is a time for peace and reconciliation. Let peace reign in Upper Nile.”

Upper Nile state has been witnessing a series of conflicts between factions of splinter Kitgwang groups, under General Johnson Olony and General Simon Gatwech.

According to the UN mission in South Sudan, last month, fighting in and around Tonga town displaced over 15,000 people, while flooding was hindering their access to humanitarian aid and safer areas.

It said over 200 of the displaced persons sought refuge at the UN Protection of Civilians site in Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile State.

Many children were reported missing or separated from their families.