Akoka death toll rises to 23

The death toll from the attack carried out by an armed group in Akoka County of Upper Nile State has risen to 23 after more bodies were recovered in the bushes, a local official has said.

The death toll from the attack carried out by an armed group in Akoka County of Upper Nile State has risen to 23 after more bodies were recovered in the bushes, a local official has said.

Last week, 11 people, including an army colonel, were killed and 10 others injured when heavily armed suspected White Army militiamen attacked and overrun the villages of Pamaikur, Anyangnyang, and Wunanei in Akoka County. 

According to local authorities and the army, the motive of the attack, which started on Tuesday and continued until Wednesday, remains unclear. 

“When you first interviewed me, 11 people were confirmed dead and 10 injured while the rest were thought to be missing. As you know, the attack occurred in the farm areas. So, later between 5 and 7 February, after we carried out searches at the scenes of the attacks, 12 more bodies were recovered. Now, we have a total of 23 dead,” Wai Thielbuong, the acting Akoka County Commissioner, told Radio Tamazuj Thursday. 

He added, “The injured are still 10. Two have been flown to Juba for further medication and three of the injured were taken to Malakal Teaching Hospital, while the rest of the injured people are with us here in Akoka.”

For his part, Chol Atem Jongeth, the state police commissioner, said calm was restored in parts of the county and that the displaced families have started going back home.