A cattle keeper protects his herd with an AK-47 somewhere in South Sudan. Presence of arms in the hands of civilians is often said to be one of the reasons clashes recur among the pastoralist communities | Credit | bpnews.net

Officials from the Pibor Administrative Area have dismissed allegations of planned attack by its youth on some parts of Greater Jonglei.

There have been reports circulating online that armed young men from Pibor were planning an assault on their neighbors.

But the Secretary-General of the Greater Pibor described the reports as dangerous rumors.

He said they too have received similar reports of an imminent attack on Pibor.

Peter Lokolaka and former Governor David Yau Yau visited Bor town on Monday to meet with Jonglei state officials.

“I want to assure people today as I am now present in Bor that these messages are baseless and unfounded because youth in Buma are now in their areas and aren’t mobilizing,” Lokolaka told reporters in Bor.

For years, the Greater Jonglei region has been experiencing child abductions and cattle raiding.

In May 2018, the then Jonglei and Buma states signed an agreement to end hostilities.

The agreement stipulated that the abducted children and cattle raids would be returned to their rightful owners.

But according to observers, less or nothing has been done to fully implement the agreement.