Christian Aid is providing relief to some of the tens of thousands of civilians displaced by fighting in South Sudan.

It has called for a “swift end” to the escalating inter-communal violence in the Pipor area of Jonglei state.

The fighting between the Lou Nuer and Murle ethnic groups was sparked by recent cattle raids and child abductions.

Christian Aid said inter-ethnic conflict in South Sudan was being fuelled by decades of underdevelopment and the proliferation of small arms in the newly independent country's largest state.

The South Sudanese government has declared Jonglei a “human disaster area” and has appealed for international assistance to bring the crisis to an end.

Christian Aid said the emergency in Jonglei was creating a humanitarian challenge for the country.

“There can be no meaningful development or any sustainable nationhood unless fundamental issues which affect the essence of interdependence and peaceful co-existence between different ethnic communities in South Sudan are addressed,” said Yitna Tekaligne Country Manager, for Christian Aid, Sudan and South Sudan.

The UN estimates that more than 60,000 people have been displaced by the latest round of fighting.

Christian Aid and partner organisation the Lutheran World Federation are working together to provide emergency food, clean water, tarpaulins and cooking sets.

It is also assisting the wounded and supporting the reconciliation work being led by the Sudan Council of Churches and Archbishop Daniel Deng.