At least five people were killed and another one injured while several head of cattle were raided following an attack in Greater Pibor Administrative Area’s (GPAA) Verthet County on Saturday, prompting the authorities there to call for intervention amidst escalating violence.
GPAA Information Minister Jacob Werchum Jouk condemned the attack and told Radio Tamazuj that armed youth from the neighboring Eastern Equatoria State’s Kapoeta East County were behind it and urged the government there to intervene.
“On Saturday at 11 a.m., Muur village in Verthet County was attacked, leaving 5 village youth dead and another one seriously injured. 2,500 cattle were raided, but most of them were later recovered, with only about 400 still missing,” he said. “Our youth are still pursuing the attackers to recover the stolen cattle. On the side of the attackers, 36 bodies were found.”
“We are for peace and we want the local authorities in Eastern Equatoria State to stop the ongoing violence because very soon we are holding a peace conference,” Werchum added.
For his part, Eastern Equatoria State Information Minister Elia John Ahaji reiterated that they are committed to peaceful co-existence with their GPAA counterparts. He said he was not aware of Saturday’s incident.
“We are not aware of this attack. For 36 people to be killed in a single incident is a big disaster, and the youth could have reached us very fast,” he stated. “As a state, we are following to find the truth because we are hearing this from the media. Otherwise, GPAA should have called us because fighting crime requires collective responsibility.”