NAIROBI, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Communal violence in South Sudan has been ignored after the December 2013 violence and yet it mildly drives and feeds off the ongoing fighting in the oil-rich impoverished country, experts have said.
The under reported internal violence has tended to take on an intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic violence triggered by historical rivalry over grazing land, water, child bride abductions and cattle raiding fanned by powerful elites.
In restive states like Jonglei, Lakes and Pibor, people have experienced deadly violence involving youth from the Lou-Nuer, Dinka and Murle communities.
This explains the existence of various guns in the hands of vigilant youth protecting cattle camps like the White Army made up of Nuer community - that went on to back ousted first vice president Riek Machar against troops loyal to president Salva Kiir in the ongoing conflict.
Experts, say hundreds of lives have been killed in what they termed as the 'silent cancer' hitherto kept out of media reach due to the concentration of much of the fighting on the periphery.
They add the long decade civil war of independence from Sudan that birthed South Sudan in 2011, left the civil population awash with guns, hence arming various communities with already violent culture initiated in the minds of the youth.
Philip Aguer, the governor of Jonglei state told Xinhua on phone in an interview on Friday from Bor town, that people are involved in cattle raiding for economic reasons.
Something he explained is prevalent in the dry season usually from December-April, but as of now its rainy season as cattle keepers have unlimited access to water and pasture.
However, Abraham Awolich a Juba-based political and security analyst says this violence is legendary and stems from the culture of traditional initiation of young men into warriors.
"I know of many Nilotic communities when they are being initiated they are trained like soldiers, they are warriors. There are books written from 1900 of Dinka, Nuer, Zande, Murle, Lotuko and Toposa warriors. We are raising armies to fight our neighbors. The young men are told to protect interests of their clans and communities," Awolich said.
Zacharia Diing, senior policy analyst at the Sudd Institute, a think tank, says the violence is fanned by the militarization of the mindset resulting from long decade of civil war.
"I don't think education is a big problem. It is something to do with control of resources, some politics which could happen between the intra and inter -communal violence. But overall it's the military mindset, people have guns and guns are associated with power, especially if you have difficult economic conditions," he explained.
He added all these are related to the inability of the state to extend its monopoly of violence and enforce law and order.
"In the past this was not an issue because people did not have guns but guns are now available. If today you want to buy a gun in Juba you will buy just with your money and intention," he said.
And his views are corroborated by Awolich, when he says in the past rival communities used arrows and clubs, but now with the civil population awash with guns, two people with AK 47 rifles can terrorize a community.
"There has always been communal violence in South Sudan. We are a violent society we have to be honest with that. Look at how our young people are initiated traditionally," Awolich disclosed.
He added that political elites hoodwink and manipulate the unsuspecting population in a bid to negotiate power.
"This social structure is how they (politicians) negotiate power. If one is from a particular community and not considered on merit for a position. The person will say "our" community has been ignored. If it is personal qualifications one is easily dismissed but now with the community backing the calculation is different," he revealed.
But Diing explains that some of the violence is driven by unsettled injustices at community level.
"They are linked to the efforts for peace and stability. They are not necessarily related to the conflict in the country but they are symptomatic indicators of what is gone wrong," he said.
He added: "And to have laws there is need for a system of justice that addresses injustices because weaknesses in the institutions are contributing factors to these."
Awolich advocates for peace education to be inculcated into the education curricula and law enforcement agencies to be equipped to handle the problem rather than involvement of the army.
"What makes it more like it is getting out of control is exposure to media. It used to happen to Rumbek, people in Juba could not know because there was no media," he said.
"Our education system must change these mindsets through integrating peace education for these young people. They should know they are not warriors but engineers, lawyers," Awolich added.
He added that several numbers of unaccounted deaths in the streets of the capital Juba is due to either blood compensation or community rivalry spill over.
"This is a major part of what makes South Sudan unsafe, insecure and this is why the international community is scared," he noted.
