The local authorities in the Abyei Special Administrative Area (ASAA) on Wednesday said that armed youths suspected to have come from Ajak Kuac Payam in Warrap State’s Twic County killed a 65-year-old man in Gakyuom Village and stole over 200 goats in Macbuong Village of Rumamer County.

Rumamer County Commissioner Ayuel Kiir told Radio Tamazuj Wednesday that the assailants sneaked into the county, carried out attacks, and fled towards Buombil village in Twic County.

“On Wednesday, criminals came to Macbuong village at around 11 p.m. and raided 280 goats from the home of Makuei Nyok. The same raiders proceeded to Gakyuom village and beheaded an old man called Kuot Deng Leng and raided his 10 goats,” he said. “These armed youth came from one of the villages of Ajak Kuac Payam in a place called Buombil village in Twic County, Warrap State, and the South Sudan People Defense Force (SSPDF) deployed in Agok and Aneet did not immediately intervene when I reported the raid to them.  They later pursued the raiders but did not find them.”

Commissioner Kiir said the presence of SSPDF does not help when there are emergencies because they chased away the Abyei Titbaai (Abyei armed youth) from the villages in the southern areas of Abyei.

Abyei Information Minister Bulis Koch confirmed the attack and said it was orchestrated by armed youth under the command of Gai Mackeik who is based in Twic County’s Ajak Kuac Payam.

“The places where raiding took place are now under SSPDF protection,” he stated.

According to Koch, there has been an improvement in security along the main roads from Wau to Abyei and he appreciated the recent deployment of police forces along the way from Nyin-Deng-Ayuel up to Amiet in Abyei.

Meanwhile, Makut Ayuel, the Twic County director of administration, vehemently denied that armed youth from his area crossed to Abyei and carried out the murder and stole goats.

“The general security situation between Twic and Mayom County in Unity state is normal and people are moving freely. Even at the Twic-Abyei border, the situation is calm because the SSPDF has deployed in Annet, and goods and commuter vehicles are moving freely to and from Abyei,” he said. “This is a lie and thieves are spread everywhere because there is famine and if they get anything, they can take and nobody can say the raiders came from this particular area.”

“As I speak, the living conditions in Twic County are horrible because Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) here are suffering and humanitarian organizations do not want to distribute food aid,” Ayuel added.