Local authorities in Ayod County of Jonglei State have called on their Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) counterparts to recover 3 children abducted last week from Ayod town by armed youth suspected to be from GPAA.
The county commissioner, James Chuol Jiek, told Radio Tamazuj Wednesday that the three boys, aged between 9 and 15 years, were abducted last Thursday while on their way to a water point in the outskirts of Ayod town.
“Galwic Tap Hoth 10, Gattuor Tap Hoth 12, and Mat Kuol Nyang 15 were abducted while on their way to water point where residents go fishing and take cattle for drinking,” Commissioner Chuol said. “We condemn the attack and call on the GPAA government to recover them.”
Simon Manyok Deng, a human rights commissioner in Bor, said the abduction violates the peace agreement between Jonglei State and GPAA and called on the officials there to intervene.
“It is with remorse that we keep learning of such incidents. We condemn it as a human rights violation. We know the top GPAA leadership is tirelessly working for peace but our appeal is to the commissioners in the cross border areas to monitor the criminals’ movement and report immediately in the spirit of peace,” he said.
For his part, Nyany Korok, the deputy head of the GPAA human rights commission, said they are not aware of the incident because the areas bordering Jonglei State are cut off from GPAA.
“Those suspects might or might not be from Pibor. From our side as a government, we are committed to peace and as we speak, there are chiefs holding peace rallies in areas like Likuangole,” Korok said.