Gunmen raid over 500 cows from Abyei

Gunmen on Monday raided more than 500 heads of cattle in two separate attacks in the disputed Abyei region on the Sudan-South Sudan border, a local official said.

Gunmen on Monday raided more than 500 heads of cattle in two separate attacks in the disputed Abyei region on the Sudan-South Sudan border, a local official said.

Abdel-Karim Minyiel Chol, an advisor on peace and reconciliation in the Abyei Administrative Area, told Radio Tamazuj that the first attack occurred in Mading Thon Village of Alel County.

"They attacked three cattle camps and made away with nearly 400 cows," said Minyiel.

Minyiel further said 189 cows were also raided from Minyang Village by another group of armed men.”UNISFA forces were informed about the incident but the attackers managed to escape,” he said.

The local official has accused Misseriya herders from Sudan of involvement in the two attacks.

Misseriya community leaders could not immediately be reached for comment.

Abyei has been disputed since South Sudan obtained independence in 2011, while there have long been tensions between the Ngok Dinka community and the Misseriya nomads who traverse the area looking for grazing.

A 2005 peace deal requires Sudan and South Sudan to work out the final status of Abyei, but it remains unresolved.

In 2011, the UN Security Council deployed the peacekeeping force to the area after deadly clashes displaced thousands of people.