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

Eleven people have been allegedly killed in cattle-related violence in Terekeka County, Central Equatoria State.

According to an activist there, the incident happened at a cattle camp in Tindilo Payam on the outskirts of Terekeka town on Thursday morning.

The clashes allegedly involved raiders from Terekeka County.

“Eleven people have been confirmed dead, including a girl and a young child. Five other people were wounded,” Activist Manyang Chappa told Eye Radio.

He says about 5,000 herds of cattle were also stolen from the camp that belongs to herders from Awerial County.

He went on to say tensions are still high in the area.

He appealed to the authorities to quickly deploy forces to deter revenge attacks.

“My appeal to the government, more especially Hon. Adil Anthony, is that there is a need for intervention as the situation may escalate. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow,” he added.

According to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, revenge attacks and cattle-related killings remain the biggest insecurity challenges after political violence subsided in the country.

In August, UNMISS said it had documented more than 400 incidents between April and June 2020, involving over 1,600 civilians.