By Parach Mach

JUBA, South Sudan

Fighting between feuding pastoralist communities in central South Sudan has claimed over 170 lives, an official said on Tuesday.

Ateny Wek Ateny, the presidential press secretary, said casualties on both sides could be more than 170 people.

“The number of people killed in the lakes states of Gok, Eastern and Western is worrying; it is more than 170. There are over 180 people injured and thousands displaced according to the information obtained on the ground,” Ateny told Anadolu Agency via phone in Juba.

The army has been sent to control the unrest and to disarm civilians, he added.

Last week, fighting broke out between Rup and Pakam of the lakes region in central South Sudan, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from Juba.

The carnage prompted the president to declare a three-month state of emergency in the region on Monday night.

The military has also been ordered to deploy in the area to quell the ongoing fighting and disarm civilians.

The three and half years of civil war in South Sudan has fueled tribal division and inter-communal violence.