A herdsman was killed and 21 head of cattle were raided in separate attacks by a group of armed youth in Jebel Boma County in Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) on Tuesday, authorities said.
The Jebel Boma County commissioner, Logony Alston, told Radio Tamazuj Wednesday that the incidents occurred while the animals were being grazed in the Nyat area.
“In the first incident, 18 oxen were raided and when our youth pursued the raiders, they were ambushed, leaving one of them dead, but they managed to recover all the animals,” he said. “Later, in the same area, the same group launched another raid and went away with 21 cows which have yet to be recovered.”
The local official disclosed that the county youth were since Tuesday pursuing the attackers who he suspected to have come from Kapoeta East County in Eastern Equatoria State.
Maj. Gen.Khamis Marjan Mazika, the GPAA police commissioner, confirmed the incident but said calm has since been restored.
“On Tuesday, unidentified criminals raided cattle in Nyat and when the local youth tried to pursue them, they ambushed the local youth killing one of them,” he said. “But the youth managed to recover the cattle and the area is now calm.”
For his part, Angelo Lokeno, the Kapoeta East County commissioner, said no youth left his county to attack areas in GPAA.
“Our Taposa youth listen to us and they do not attack neighbors,” he insisted. “If there was such an incident, I think it was carried out by individual criminals and not organized youth.”