UN Photo/Tim McKulka

Cattle of the Sudanese Dinka people roam through their camp on the oustskirts of Nimule, Jonglei State, South Sudan.

A series of cattle raids and reprisal attacks have left around 600 people dead and about a 1000 others injured in South Sudan's Jonglei state.

Reports indicate that the latest wave of violence was triggered by the minority Murle group when they attacked villages of the larger Lou Nuer group in the Wuror and Pibor counties. In the process they destroyed villages, abducted women and children, and seized approximately 30 000 heads of cattle.

In a country where cattle rustling is often a bloody affair, the latest incident has left many fearing that the cycle of violence could further inflame inter-ethnic tensions in Africa's new state.

Cattle raids pose one of the greatest security challenges for South Sudan, due to their frequency, scale and effects. With many armed civilians and limited alternative sources of livelihood, many in South Sudan resort to cattle rustling for economic survival, food security and for payment of dowry during marriages. The situation is not helped by cultural norms that portray the ownership of cattle as a sign of success. Added to these is competition over grazing land and water resources.

The South Sudanese government, along with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, (UNMISS) and its predecessor the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) have rarely had the logistical capacity or presence to prevent raids and retaliatory attacks.

Despite UNMISS sending in a verification team and promising to "use its military assets to try to deter further escalation", it is, in the short term, doubtfully that UNMISS or the South Sudan government would bring to an end these attacks given the levels of under development and the fact that civilians who possess arms outnumber the security officers.

The situation is also compounded by the poor infrastructure, which makes policing very difficult.

On a different note, South Sudanese president Salva Kiir Mayardit has revised plans to construct a pipeline through neighbouring Kenya. The construction of the pipeline created a great deal of international interest, but, arguably the total financial costs proposed by international oil companies, as well as the security risks, proved to be unsatisfactory to Juba.

South Sudan will, instead, seek to continue negotiations with Khartoum over the usage of existing infrastructure and facilities, an area that has previously generated disputes over compensation and transit fees.