The youth in Jonglei State’s Ayod County on Sunday thwarted a raid by armed assailants at a grazing site on the outskirts of Ayod town and recovered 210 head of cattle the attackers had rustled.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Monday, Ayod County Commissioner James Chuol Jiek said the security situation was deteriorating in the county and that six female travelers were abducted last week.
“There have been several insecurity incidents since last week. On 11 July, 3 girls, 2 women, and a child were abducted near Pajiek Payam and were only recovered after a confrontation with our youth,” he said. “On 14 July, a cattle raid was foiled at the outskirts of Ayod town and all 210 stolen cattle recovered while this morning there was attack an in Pajiek but details remain scanty. These repeated incidents underscore the deteriorating security situation.”
The commissioner accused youth from the neighboring Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) of involvement in the attack and warned of escalating violence.
“We are for peace with Pibor, these attacks are not welcome because they will cause inter-communal violence and we urge our Pibor counterparts to stop it,” he stated.
However, Oleyo Akwer Nyalus, the GPAA information minister, said they were not aware of the attacks but promised to investigate the matter.
“We are not aware of these incidents and we are not aware that any of our youth had crossed to Jonglei State to attack,” he said. “We are just hearing these incidents from you but we will investigate with our commissioners to find out.”