South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that gunmen from the Murle tribe in Boma State had carried out an attack on Ethiopia’s Gambella region and fled along with dozens of children, saying an Ethiopian envoy was in Juba on Thursday to find the abducted children and discuss security issues long the common border between the two countries.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Thursday, the Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mawien Makol Ariik, said the local authorities in Boma state informed the national government that a group of gunmen from the area went and attacked people in the Gambella region.
Makol pointed out that they couldn’t confirm the number of the children who were allegedly abducted, besides the number of people killed.
“We agreed that if there are children abducted by the Murle tribe, they must be taken back to their families as soon as possible before Ethiopia could enter to South Sudan territory for further action,” said Makol.
The South Sudanese diplomat stressed that those involved in the attack will face the law.
Chol Chany, a regional government spokesman on Wednesday, told Reuters that gunmen from South Sudan killed 28 people and kidnapped 43 children in Gambella.
He further said the raids on Sunday and Monday occurred in Gambella’s Gog and Jor areas, which border South Sudan’s Boma state.
File photo: Ethiopian Prime Minister during his visit to the capital Juba in October, 2016 (Radio Tamazuj)