At least 29 people were killed from both sides in clashes between armed groups in South Sudan’s Abiemnhom County, local officials have said.
The attack, carried out by armed youths from Mayom County in neighbouring Unity State on Wednesday morning, left 27 dead and 17 injured in Abiemnhom County, according to Abiemnhom County Commissioner Mario Deng Ayot.
Ayot told Radio Tamazuj on Thursday that clashes began on Tuesday when Mayom youths attacked cattle-grazing areas in Abiemnhom, killing four people and wounding six. The same group returned the following day and seized the county headquarters.
“The armed youth from Mayom County withdrew from Abiemnhom without fighting after they captured the town and burned 10 houses on Wednesday. They went back to their cattle camp, but many people were killed and several others were injured,” he said.
Bodies were collected overnight, and the injured were taken to Abiemnhom Hospital, Ayot added.
He said he had spoken with Mayom County Commissioner James Lily Kuol, insisting there was no prior dispute between the communities.
For his part, Mayom County Commissioner James Lily Kuol said at least two people from Mayom County were killed and several others wounded in Wednesday’s fighting.
However, Commissioner Kuol accused the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) 3rd Infantry Division in Biemkat, led by Brig Gen Garang Lual, of provoking the conflict. He said SSPDF troops and Abiemnhom youths ambushed Mayom cattle herders, stealing more than 300 cattle.
“Cattle keepers from Mayom County were following their cattle when they were ambushed by Brig Gen Garang Lual and the Abiemnom County youth. They raided more than 300 cattle, which led to the deaths of four people from Abiemnhom, including two soldiers from Gen Lual’s forces on Tuesday,” Kuol said.
He also alleged that SSPDF forces and Abiemnhom authorities detained milk sellers from Mayom, including 25 children—18 of them girls.
“After returning to Abiemnhom County headquarters, they detained approximately 25 children, including 18 girls who had gone there to sell milk,” Kuol said.
He stated that the Mayom youths’ attack on Wednesday was an attempt to recover stolen cattle and free detainees. Some cattle and children have since been released, he added.
Kuol said he deployed Brigade 11 of the 4th Infantry Division to calm tensions, and the situation has now stabilized.