Downtown Malakal. |Photo by Michael Daniel.

The United Nations Mission in South  Sudan has described the situation currently in Upper Nile’s Malakal town as yet calm but fragile.

UNMISS says in the meantime, it is working closely with government partners  to make sure displaced people are secure.”

At least eight people have been killed and several others wounded, including the Upper Nile state police commissioner, in an outbreak of violence in the state capital Malakal last week.

Following the outbreak of violence in Malakal, Upper Nile state, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said the government alongside the mission deployed forces in and around the protection of civilians’ sites “to support efforts to protect civilians and maintain calm through intensive patrols and engagement with affected communities.”

“We appreciate the coordination and close partnerships with national, state and local authorities which played an important role in ensuring that further escalations in violence do not take place, and that people are able to resume their daily activities safely,” stated Nicholas Haysom, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS.

UNMISS said despite the deployment, the situation remains fragile.

The Mission said it is “working closely with government partners to make sure displaced people are secure.