South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) Division 4 has recovered approximately 10,000 cattle following clashes with armed youth in Twic County, Warrap State, according to a local official.
The cattle were reportedly raided by the Terchuong armed group from Mayom County of Unity State on 20 February.
Fighting broke out on Saturday afternoon after SSPDF forces attempted to retrieve the stolen cattle. The armed youth, identified as belonging to the Terchuong youth group, had allegedly taken the cattle from Twic County on Friday.
John Mabior, the acting commissioner of Twic County, confirmed the clashes to Radio Tamazuj on Saturday evening. He stated that the cattle had been recovered by SSPDF Division 4 and were now under their control.
“I was informed that the cattle were recovered from the hands of Terchuong, and they are now with SSPDF Division 4. So, I will go and bring the cattle back,” Mabior said.
Mabior added that details of the fighting between the army and the armed civilians from Mayom County were still unclear. He noted that the situation had caused insecurity between Twic County and Mayom County.
James Liyliy Kuol, the commissioner of Mayom County, also confirmed the fighting but clarified that it had not spilled into his county. “The fighting did not erupt in Mayom County; it happened in Twic County. We are still gathering details because our network was down,” Kuol said.
No casualties have been reported so far, but the acting commissioner of Twic County warned that the situation remains tense.