Armed youth walk through a village in South Sudan’s Pibor region. Photo: AFP
Jonglei authorities have accused Pibor youth of being behind a recent cattle raid in Nyolo, but Pibor leaders have swiftly denied the allegations, calling the claims unfounded.
The Deputy Governor of Jonglei State has described the deadly attack on cattle keepers in Nyolo, Eastern Equatoria State, last Friday — which left dozens dead — as an organized cattle raid.
In an interview with Eye Radio, Atong Kuol Manyang, confirmed the cattle raids, women and children were among the victims.
She stated that the attackers believed to be from the Pibor Administrative Area and Eastern Equatoria State, were primarily targeting cattle.
“So far, the information we had is that over 30 were killed, most of them were children and women. Out of 33, which I had in hand, 20 were women and children, and the rest were youth and some elderly people,” said Atong.
“We cannot conclude, that some people might have died in the mountains or wherever they were, running after the cattle. So, the number could be more,” she said.
“There were injuries also, and many people were injured. So, when you look at those, those are just numbers that we know,” she stated.
The Deputy Governor alleged that the attack was carried out by armed youth from a neighbouring community, who were later joined by others.
“The cattle keepers were attacked by youth from Murle and as a result, of course, when they were attacking, they were also joined by some youth, which includes youth from Taposa youth, and the youth of Boya,” she stated.
“The interest is always cattle, and these are cattle keepers and, of course, if there are cattle, then they can decide to raid and get for themselves, this is the information we have,” she said.
For his part, the Greater Pibor Administrative Area Information Minister, Jacob Werchum denied any involvement of youth from the region in the attack.
“We heard that part of our community, particularly the Murle, were involved in that conflict, but there was no official confirmation that they were involved,” Werchum stated.
“We don’t have any clue about what happened there that Murle youth were involved together with other communities from Eastern Equatoria or Central Equatoria,” he said.
“We have no people in Eastern Equatoria. We have no person crossing to go and work together with the youth from Eastern Equatoria to go and attack cattle camps in any site from there.”
For his part, the Acting Minister of Information in Central Equatoria State Jacob Aligo Lo-Lado, clarified that the incident did not occur within the state, but rather in the neighbouring Eastern Equatoria State.
Due to this jurisdictional divide, Aligo clarified that they could not fully report on the events that unfolded across that boundary.
While the CES government lacks official details about the extent of casualties, Aligo noted that reports circulating on social media have suggested there were deaths and injuries.
However, he said the locals in the neighbourhood have no reliable information about the incident.
“This thing happened mostly on the other side of the Eastern Equatorial front wall. And, we cannot report what happened on the other side, because it is outside our jurisdiction,” he stated.
“We have also heard from the social media that there were casualties, how many people killed or injured, nobody has that kind of information, but that’s the nature,” he said.
Despite the unclear reports, Aligo reassured the public that the situation on the Central Equatoria side of Nyolo had calmed down.
While security forces remain vigilant and have taken control of the region, the minister confirmed that no further incidents had been reported within Central Equatoria’s jurisdiction.
Aligo said although calm has been restored for now, the fear and uncertainty lingering in the hearts of residents remain a concern as the region works toward greater stability.
“The situation is calm the way I’ve seen, but still the people are, the citizens are living in fear because they don’t know what happened. Since there are still armed people who are roaming around their area,” Aligo stated.
“They are not attacking it, but they are just afraid of what will happen. But so far, the security also, the security forces are on alert, they are taking control of the area. So far nothing has happened on this side.”
Authorities from Eastern Equatoria State including the national police were not immediately available for comment on the inter-communal violence.
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