Barricade tape for crime scene (Courtesy)

A police officer from Warrap State was killed on Wednesday while pursuing gunmen fleeing with dozens of cattle stolen from Tonj South County, the state information minister said.

Minister William Wol Mayom said Sergeant Kharsit Manyiel was shot dead at 1:00 AM in Ameth-Cok Payam of Lakes State after following the raiders.

Mayom said the cattle rustlers were armed youth from Cueibet County of Lakes State – accusations that are yet to be independently verified.

“One sergeant police man killed in Amethcok payam of Tonj south county Warrap state and over 70 head of cattle raided by suspected arm youth from Cueibet County of lake states,” he said.

“The assailants are gone with the number of cattle, and they have killed a policeman who attempted to recover the raided cattle.”

Several phone calls to Lakes State government spokesperson Cabiet Ayang for comment went unanswered.

Mayom said he urged Lakes authorities to take swift action to recover the raided cattle and apprehend the culprits.

The deadly cattle-related incident is not the first of its kind between the neighboring states this year.

In February 2024, 38 people were killed and dozens of others wounded during inter-communal fighting between the bordering communities of Luayjang in Warrap State and Pakam in Lakes State, authorities said.

According to the Institute for Security Studies, cattle rustling or raiding is no longer a cultural practice, but a form of organized crime committed by criminal networks and facilitated by the proliferation of weapons.