Three local chiefs and a payam administrator are under detention without charges after being arrested by authorities in Tonj North County, Tonj State.

The chiefs were arrested on Monday while the payam administrator was detained the following day for their alleged roles in community conflicts. The communal violence which erupted in the area last month left about 24 people dead and 19 others wounded.

The Secretary General of the Marial-Ahou community, Bath Gur Deng, says Payam Administrator Mario Akot Manyiel was beaten before the arrest.

Mr Deng says the chiefs and the administrator were accused of refusing to reveal the whereabouts of “youth who escaped from the county prison” recently.

Eye Radio was not able to reach the county commissioner for comment.

But in statement early, Commissioner Tito Fijin Ayii said the local chiefs were arrested because they failed to cooperate with the security forces.