At least four women were shot dead and two others injured in an attack by armed assailants in Akobo County, Jonglei State, on Sunday, authorities said.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, Puok Nyang Tutjiek, the Akobo County commissioner, said the victims were among a group of women returning from Ulang County in Upper Nile State where they had gone fishing.
“On Sunday, a group of women was attacked near a village of Buong while returning from Ulang County. The attackers shot dead four and injured two of the women. These women had gone to a nearby pool in Ulang for fishing,” he said. “The attackers were Murle from the neighboring Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) and since Christmas, we have witnessed more than ten attacks in areas such as Dengjiok, Walgak, and Akobo Payam. We condemn these repeated attacks.”
However, Jacob Werchum Jouk, the GPAA information minister, said they were not aware of the attack.
“We are not aware of the attack and our youth were not involved in any attacks,” he stated. “Our youth are within our territories.”
Meanwhile, a civil society activist and the executive director of INTREPID South Sudan (ISS), Bol Deng Bol, reiterated calls for dialogue to address the intermittent revenge attacks.
“Recently, some youth in Jonglei State marched and overtook villages in Pibor in that they were responding to repeated attacks by Murle youth. So these attacks in Jonglei State could also be seen as revenge,” he said. “Our conclusion as a civil society is that the leadership is not willing to end the killing in Jonglei and GPAA. We have been urging our government to prioritize dialogue and put up a buffer zone but nothing has been done. So, we are reiterating the call for dialogue with action.”