A humanitarian aid worker identified as James Aken Majak was on Saturday killed in a road ambush in what Warrap state information minister described as a revenge killing.
Last week, a businessman identified as Akol Majok Aduong was shot and killed by assailants allegedly from Warrap State’s Apuk Giir Thiik section.
On Saturday afternoon, a car traveling from Wau to Kuajok town was ambushed by youth suspected to be from Marial-Wau of Jur River County in Western Bahr el Ghazal State leading to the killing of James Aken Majak.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Sunday, Warrap State Information Minister William Wol Mayom confirmed the incident saying Aken was an employee of World Vision.
“A humanitarian aid worker called James Aken Majakdit who was working in Warrap State’s Tonj North County was ambushed and killed in Tharkueng by a suspected armed youth from Marial-Wau on Saturday,” he said. “Before that, tension developed when a citizen from Marial-Wau was killed by unknown gunmen in Achong-Chong. The following day, another person was also killed by an unidentified person from Marial-Wau inside Manyang and he is from Apuk Giir subsection of Bui-Yar and these reports were reported to the government of Western Bahr el Ghazal.”
“All this led to a buildup of tension and on Saturday, it moved from the side of Manyang to Tharkueng and the youth from Western Bah el Ghazal’s Marial-Wau blocked the road to Tharkueng and targeted the citizens of Apuk Giir by stopping vehicles and identifying whoever was inside,” Minister Wol added.
He said the body of the deceased aid worker was taken to Wau and the Western Bahr el Ghazal State government is making arrangements to transport it to Kuajok in Warrap State.
“Several people are said to have been taken into the bush and as government, we will first investigate and physically find out if any more dead bodies are found and we will update the public,” Wol said. “The two state governments are currently working together to have a joint security meeting on how to resolve the Manayang crisis and have deployed joint forces in the area to restore stability.”
Attempts to contact the Western Bahr el Ghazal State acting police commissioner for comment were unsuccessful but a convoy of police vehicles was seen leaving the state police headquarters at 10 a.m. on Sunday headed towards Tharkueng Boma where the incident occurred.
Meanwhile, a civil society activist and the executive director of Alliance for Land Rights South Sudan, Alfred Angok Uliny, urged the national government to intervene in resolving the crisis.
“We are calling on the national government to intervene in what is happening between Warrap and Western Bahr el Ghazal states because the communities are killing themselves and the two states are slow in responding,” he said. “The conflict started five days ago and attacks have continued from both sides with people being killed, passengers being removed from cars along the roads and killed and we need the national government to intervene very urgently.”