In the early hours of Oct. 9, Rumbek, the capital of Lakes State, South Sudan, was shaken by intense intercommunal fighting. Armed youth from the Nyang and Pakam communities clashed, with violence spreading from Nyangkot village on the outskirts of Rumbek into residential neighborhoods. Preliminary government reports put the death toll at more than 70 people, including four soldiers, although the exact number of fatalities was initially unverified. The violence was rooted in long-standing community tensions, including disputes over cattle, grazing land, and cycles of revenge that have repeatedly fueled conflict in Lakes State.