In this photo, residents of Baidit Payam in Bor County are seen burying victims of Sunday's evening attack - CREDIT| Jacob Aluong/Eye Radio | January 24, 2022

The Chairperson of Bor Community Youth Association has refuted allegations that youth in Jonglei State’s capital declared an anti-Pibor attackers group amidst reports of the deteriorating security situation there.

This is after media reports alleged that youth in Bor formed an anti–outsider attackers to foster security because the state government has failed to protect the natives.

The report said the formation of New Koryom Batallion came a week after an attack that left 32 people dead in outskirts of Bor town.

Officials blamed the attack on armed youth from the neighboring Greater Pibor Administrative Area.

Pibor youth denied involvement, despite Greater Pibor Administrative Area authorities’ directive to security forces to arrest any suspected criminals involved in the attack on Baidit in Bor County.

Speaking to Eye Radio on Saturday, Dot Panchol, the chairperson of Bor Community Youth Association refuted the claims saying such report should be treated as untrue.

“This is an alleged information, I hope you read the paper and it is not an official letter from my office, therefore an alleged information should be treated the way it is.”

Panchol said his office was not aware of such undertaking.

“If you read the document, you can see exactly it is not a document from my office. It has no stamp and the person who wrote the document has no address, “ adding “the Bor youth has nothing to do with that.”

Earlier this week, senior elders who called the themselves SPLM elders from greater Jonglei met with president Salva Kiir and discussed a range of issues including the security situation and the plight of displaced person in the area.

They include Senior Advisor to President Kiir, Kuol Manyang Juuk; the Chairperson of South Sudan Peace Commission, Chol Rambang; Former governor of Jonglei state, John Koang, and the national Minister of Information, Michael Makuei.

Others are Dr. Baranaba Mariel, the Minister in the Office of the President; Hussein Marnyuot, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management and Deng Dau, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Representatives of the Greater Pibor Administrative Area reportedly attended the consultative meeting.

The veterans pledged to Kiir they would end the vicious cycle of violence in the restive region.