Cattle being driven somewhere in South Sudan - Photo credit: Courtesy

Authorities in Warrap State say at least eight people, including a 13-year-old child, have been killed and four others wounded following renewed clashes between armed youth from Unity State and local youth in Gogrial East County.

The Acting Commissioner of Gogrial East County, Aduot Ayieny, said the fighting broke out at around 3:00 a.m. on Friday in the Mangol Apuk area.

Ayieny told Eye Radio that armed youth from Mayom County in Unity State allegedly attacked a cattle camp in Mangol Apuk, raided hundreds of cattle, and killed civilians during the incident.

He said the clashes were ongoing at the time of reporting, as local youth pursued the attackers.

“Our situation is difficult, we were attacked by armed assailants from Unity State this morning at 3:00 AM in Mangol Apuk, one of the Payams of Gogrial East. About eight people including a 13-year-old child were killed, with four others wounded and dozens of cattle raided. The fighting is on as we speak, and the number of causalities may rise,” Mamer said.

The acting commissioner called on the national government and authorities in both Warrap and Unity states to intervene urgently to stop the fighting and prevent further loss of life.

He said the cycle of violence must end, urging coordinated action to restore calm and protect civilians.

The latest incident comes amid growing insecurity in Warrap State. Last week, clashes between armed youth from Unity and Warrap states reportedly left several people dead and dozens injured.

On Thursday, authorities also reported that 27 people were killed in a separate intercommunal conflict between the Luac-Jang and Jalwou communities in Warrap State.

The two incidents bring the total number of people killed in recent violence across Warrap to at least 35, raising concerns about deteriorating security in the region.

Responding to the allegations, the Unity State Minister of Information, Nyakenya Yoahanis, said she was aware of the incident but noted that her state had not received any raided cattle so far.

“We heard of the incident which is said to have occurred earlier today morning around 3:00 AM in Warrap State, and the allegation is that these are armed youth from Unity State who went to raid 5,000 cattle, according to Mayardit FM. With this regard, I am still communicating with the commissioner of Mayom, because we have not received any cattle yet in Unity State,” Minister Nyakenya says.

She said Unity State authorities are in communication with the Commissioner of Mayom County to establish the facts surrounding the incident.

Nyakenya added that her office would issue a comprehensive response once a full report is received and cautioned against drawing premature conclusions. She warned that what she described as “joint community armed bandits” could be responsible for the attack, rather than youth from a single state.

“And by the way, there are bandits collecting themselves from communities and are moving around, most of them are armed. We are suspecting them. Otherwise, if we had not received any cattle, the government would have taken action and retrieve back the cattle to the rightful owners,” Nyakenya added.