One of the three poachers seen in this photo sitting on a dead Giraffe they killed somewhere in Akobo County of Jonglei state - Courtesy

The Ministry of Wildlife and Tourism has identified poachers who killed several wild animals in Akobo County of Jonglei state.

Rezik Zechariah Hassan says they are investigating together with SPLM-IO high ranking officials in order to bring the alleged poachers to book.

This comes after photos that surfaced online depicted three armed men beside dead wild animals including an Elephant, a giraffe, and a buffalo.

The photos that were posted under the name Kim Wiyual shocked social media users who demanded tougher action against poaching.

Minister Zechariah says the poachers have been partly identified as members of the organized forces in the opposition-held areas of Akobo.

They reportedly killed the wild animals in April.

Minister expressed concerns about the incident and said the government is working with relevant authorities to address the matter.

“We received those photos with concern and we are actually very worried about such attitudes. The guy who identified himself as Wiyual Puk has killed pregnant buffalos, giraffes and an elephant,” Minister Rezik Zechariah told Eye Radio on Thursday.

“He was not alone. There are three and they are from the organized forces. So we contacted all our security personals, law enforcements within the ministry and we managed to identify the person,

“The photo and the person are in the areas of Akobo. Now, I contacted some of the highest personals from the SPLA-IO to address the case,

“In Akobo, we don’t have an effective office because it is not in our control but as long as we are in the unity government, and we are operating together, we have processed this case with the IO so that we find a solution because such a person need to be apprehended and questioned.”

The SPLA IO was not immediately available for comment.

South Sudan’s six national parks and 13 game reserves cover more than 13 percent of the country’s terrain.

The country has more than 300 mammal species and boasts one of Africa’s greatest annual antelope migrations.

Minister Hassan said the problem with poaching is that the majority of people in the remoter areas do not see it as a crime.