At least seven people, including five attackers, were killed and ten others wounded during a cattle raid on Thep cattle camp in Akobo County in Jonglei State on Sunday morning, local officials said.
Puok Nyang Tutjiek, the Akobo County Commissioner, told South Sudanese local broadcaster Radio Tamazuj that the attack was carried out by armed Murle youth who are opposed to peace between the Lou Nuer and Murle communities.
He said the attackers came from the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) and clashed with the local youth who were guarding the cattle camp.
“This attack was carried out by armed Murle youth who are still opposing peace between Lou Nuer and Murle communities. Those criminals from GPAA made their way and carried out a provocative attack on the Lou Nuer in Thep cattle camp,” he said.
According to Commissioner Puok, the wounded were taken to a health facility for treatment and the situation is calm.
He appealed to the GPAA authorities to restrain their youth from carrying out such attacks and respect the peace agreements signed between the two communities.
“I call upon the Lou Nuer peace-loving community to remain calm and allow the authorities to address this unfortunate attack peacefully,” he stated. “My appeal to the government of PGAA is that they assert more pressure on Murle youth to immediately leave Lou Nuer territory as we agreed in so many conferences to prevent a relapse to conflict.”
For his part, Abraham Keleng, the GPAA information minister, confirmed the incident, condemned it, and said the attack was carried out by a group of Murle youth who acted on their own.
“This incident is a surprise to all of us, both the GPPA and Jonglei government because as I speak to you now, the youth from Akobo who came to Likwanglei for a peace conference are still with us,” he said. “I will find out from which village the attackers are from.”
Minister Keleng reiterated that the GPAA government is committed to the peace agreement and would take measures to prevent such attacks from happening again.