4 days ago
At least 10 killed, 14 wounded in South Sudan cattle raid
At least 10 people have been killed and 14 wounded in a cattle raid in South Sudan, officials said Wednesday, weeks after the United Nations said cattle raids had killed hundreds since December.
The impoverished nation, which gained independence in 2011, is once again seeing politically and ethnically driven violence even as it recovers from a civil war between 2013 and 2018.
Clashes over access to resources and cattle rustling are frequent in the poverty-stricken east African nation, which also faces extreme droughts and floods.
President Salva Kiir also recently declared a six-month emergency in Warrap State and Mayom County after a surge of violent inter-communal cattle raids.
The attack on Tuesday evening by armed assailants in Central Equatoria State's Mangala area targeted herders who had transported some 5,000 cattle to a nearby market for sale.
James Monday Enoka, spokesperson for the South Sudan police service, told AFP that 10 people were killed, including two security personnel deployed to guard the cattle, six civilians, and two attackers.
Fourteen people were wounded, including five of the assailants, he said.
'The attackers ambushed the security forces guarding the traders and made away with an unknown number of cattle, though early estimates suggest more than 3,000 were stolen,' he said.
The incident sparked condemnation and fears of renewed inter-communal tensions.
Enoka said preliminary investigations suggested the attackers may have been armed youth from neighbouring Bor County of Jonglei State.
The police said the assailants claimed the cows were stolen from them, and were now being sold by the traders.
Gola Boyoi Gola, Chief Administrator of the Greater Pibor Administrative Area, condemned the attack.
Such incidents impacted trade, discouraging those who had chosen to peacefully work rather than cattle raiding, he said.
Authorities said the situation was now under control, with officers pursuing the attackers and cattle.
In June, the United Nations said cattle raids and revenge attacks had killed hundreds in escalating intercommunal violence since December.
