At least one person was killed, five others injured and 500 head of cattle rustled during an attack by armed assailants in Jonglei State’s Uror County on Thursday afternoon.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, Jonglei State Information Minister Nyamar Lony said the cattle were raided while grazing and that attempts to recover them were futile.
“Wickol village in Pamai Payam was attacked by Murle youth on Thursday afternoon. One person was killed, five injured, and 500 cattle were raided,” she said.
The minister condemned the attack and said local youth attempted to recover the stolen cattle but were unsuccessful.
On his part, Jacob Werchum Jouk, the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) information minister, said the accusation by his Jonglei State counterpart was baseless and a pretext to justify an imminent attack on Murle areas.
“It is not true that our youth attacked Uror, it is them who are mobilizing to attack us,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Ter Manyang, a civil society activist and the executive director of the Center of Peace and Advocacy (CPA) said trading accusations between officials from Jonglei State and GPAA is a worrying trend and urged tensions be de-escalated.