A medical doctor was reported killed and two women were missing in Rumamer County of the Abyei Administrative Area following an attack during torrential rains on Wednesday.
Authorities said the suspected criminals killed Dr John Chier between Gumpeth and Awauyicin villages, as he went to collect the salaries for his staff at the Agok airstrip.
Rumamer County Commissioner Ayuel Kiir said the doctor was carrying a bag in his hand when he was shot and killed along the main road.
The criminals, the authorities added, are believed to have come from Anyiel-Kuach Village in Twic County, Warrap State.
Rumamer County borders Twic in the Ruweng Administrative Area, Aweil East County in Northern Bahr el-Ghazal State, and Gogrial West and East in Warrap State and Mayom County of Unity state.
The County Commissioner said the killing was a major blow to the peace between the Abyei and Twic communities. He blamed the South Sudan Defense Force (SSPDF) of not doing enough to protect the people and their properties at the Abyei and Twic borders.
Kiir said the doctor was yet to be buried, as SSPDF had not collected the body claiming being impeded by the heavy rains.
He accused Twic armed youth of the killing and pointed out that he had appealed to his people to avoid travel until the security situation returned to normal.
“Twic armed youth always attacked our areas on October 10 every year to mark the Daniel Comboni Day, claiming that we were occupying parts of their territory,” he said.
He also said SSPDF had deployed a commander to the Abyei-Twic border, who collected revenues at the Agok airstrip and the local markets, depriving the local government of the earnings.
The Commissioner challenged SSPDF to protect the borders by preventing the armed Abyei youth from crossing into Twic areas and vice versa.
He called upon the people of Rumamer County and the South Sudanese at large to embrace peace and give authorities a chance to think about the solutions to the conflicts.
The Abyei Chief Administrator’s Spokesperson, Bulish Koch, confirmed the killing and urged SSPDF to change the forces at Ayuok, accusing the current ones of sympathizing with the Twic armed youth attackers.
Koch suggested that the commander should transfer all the soldiers related to the Twic community in order to avoid suspicions of favoritism.
Twic County Commissioner Adhar Akok denied the accusations, saying the attackers were rebels and that SSPDF had contained the security situation at the borders.
“Our border relations with Gogrial East and West, and Mayom counties are okay because SSPDF has controlled the situation but were only affected by the floods,” said Akok.