Two herdsmen were killed and about 12,384 head of cattle were raided in an attack by armed men in Uror County of Jonglei state on Saturday evening, authorities said.
The Uror County commissioner, James Tang Chatiem, told Radio Tamazuj Monday that the incident happened when the local herdsmen were waylaid while returning the animals from grazing in the Pamai area on Saturday evening.
“They attacked our youth while going back to cattle camps. They clashed, overpowered our youth killing two, injured four others, and went away with a herd of 12,834 cows,” he said.
He accused armed youth from the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) of the attack and said they were being pursued by the Uror youth.
For his part, Tuong Majok, a state cabinet minister, condemned the attack and called on the GPAA authorities to help recover the stolen animals.
Meanwhile, Lokali Amae, the GPAA chief administrator, said he was not informed about the incident.
“I have not been informed about the incident. But I cannot deny that our youth might have been involved. The problem sometimes is that if you get your cow eaten up you will always say it is hyena but maybe it is a lion,” he said.