At least three women were abducted and a child strapped on the back of one of the women was killed following an attack by armed assailants in Jonglei State’s Uror County on Monday.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, Thomas Lual Puot, the acting county commissioner, said the victims were waylaid while moving from Partet to Pieri to collect food aid.
“On Monday, a group of eight women and a man was waylaid at the outskirts of Pieri. Two women and the man escaped immediately on the sight of the assailants,” he said. “Five other women including one who has a baby strapped on her back were abducted.”
“While fleeing with the women, the attackers tied one of them to a tree and killed the baby but our youth who were pursuing the attackers managed to rescue one of the women while three others remained in captivity,” Lual added.
The county official condemned the attack which he described as a human rights violation.
“We urge our GPAA counterpart to stop their youth from attacking us,” he implored.
Meanwhile, Jacob Werchum Jouk, the GPAA information minister, said they were not aware of the attack.
“We are not aware of this incident, and there is no evidence to link the involvement of our youth,” he stated.
For his part, Bol Deng Bol, a civil society activist and the executive director of INTREPID South Sudan (ISS), also condemned the abduction and killing and urged government intervention.
“These latest developments are worrying. It adds to the already precarious situation here. Tensions have been building up with reports of alleged mobilization yet the government is reluctant,” he said. “In Jonglei State and GPAA, if a major inter-communal violence is to happen, we often hear counter-accusations, so, we urge government intervention.”