Others accuse civil war foe Khartoum of continuing to arm one community against the others as it did during the long years of conflict.
“People have guns from the war, but where are they getting the fresh ammunition they are using to kill civilians?” Yol said. “The north supported militias here during the civil war, and that support has not wound down.”
Akobo is isolated. Heavy rains force the closure of roads until December, and the main river route is blocked by enemies upstream.
The UN is flying food in, but it is a costly method and can only deliver limited supplies for the region’s more than 19,000 homeless.
The last attempted shipment by river of more than 700 tonnes of World Food Programme food was sunk or stolen in June during an attack in which some 95 soldiers accompanying the delivery were killed.
At a feeding station in Akobo run by aid agency Medair, mothers patiently line up to have their children assessed by medical staff.
“Many children are suffering from malnutrition,” said Eunice Kavoi, a Medair nurse heading a special feeding program for children. “We fear the situation in terms of nutrition will get worse if nothing is done to fly in more food for the community.”
Officials promise the river will open soon, with some small boats arriving in Akobo from Ethiopia carrying flour and beer, the first to do so in months.
“We are cut off like an island with enemies all around,” said trader Peter Tut, selling bundles of firewood in the quiet market, where basic food supplies have run out.
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