JUBA, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Security forces must be deployed to stop revenge killings in South Sudan, its parliament said on Tuesday after the United Nations recorded that clashes over cattle had killed at least 600 people in a nation that won independence last month.
Ethnic groups in South Sudan have fought each other over cattle -- a vital part of their economy -- for centuries. But the number of deaths is steadily increasing after decades of civil war left the territory awash with small arms.
Analysts say South Sudan, which became independent on July 9, risks becoming a failed state if it cannot control insurgencies and blood feuds that divide its tribes.
The interior minister will attend a security meeting, chaired by the president to urge the government "to immediately deploy security forces ... to avoid any further retaliatory revenge killings", Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin said after a parliamentary meeting on Tuesday.
"This will cut down the vicious circle of revenge killings."
The U.N. mission in South Sudan, known as UNMISS, says that deadly tribal clashes in recent days have wounded hundreds and have possibly displaced more than a quarter of a million people. It said on Tuesday that at least 600 people had been killed.
Local reports received by UNMISS suggest that between 26,000 and 30,000 cattle have been stolen during the attacks and many homes have been destroyed, the mission said.
Benjamin said parliament also urged the government to provide humanitarian aid to the displaced.
"This will mean food, medicines, shelter, and also financial assistance to help those whose houses have been burnt to the ground," he added.
From the beginning of the year up to the end of June, 2,368 people have been killed in 330 violent incidents across the South, according to U.N. data released in July.
South Sudan's government has accused the north of arming rival tribes and provoking insurgencies to try to undermine the region and keep control of its oil. Khartoum denies the charge. (Reporting by Hereward Holland; Writing by Sherine El Madany; editing by Elizabeth Piper)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
