The government of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State on Tuesday ordered all the commissioners of the five counties in the state to mobilize assistance for the victims of the recent Massiriya attacks in Yinh Pabol, Aweil East County.

On 2 January, armed Massiriya tribesmen from neighboring Sudan attacked and killed 4 people and wounded several others in the process displacing hundreds of villagers in Aweil East County’s Yihn Pabol area. The death toll later jumped to 24.

Kiir Chan Wol, the Northern Bahr el Ghazal State minister of local government and law enforcement agencies, on Tuesday told Radio Tamazuj about the assistance mobilization drive after the closure of the monthly performance review for the commissioners.

“I have had a meeting with all five county commissioners over the contributions to support the victims of the Yihn Pabol attacks,” Minister Chan said. “I ordered the commissioners to think big with their chiefs and citizens to find ways to gather the assistances to rescue the victims whose homes and property were set on fire by the Messiriya attackers.”

Aweil Center County Commissioner Peter Natale said he had already engaged the payam administrators and that they are going to sensitize the communities so that they can contribute expeditiously.

“We as the county commissioners have already talked with payam administrators to collect the funds and other items like sorghum, sesame, cows, and goats in kind so that they will be taken to the front-line-affected citizens,” Commissioner Natale said.

A paramount chief who preferred anonymity protested the idea of the common people making contributions and said they could only give groundnuts. He said it is the role of the government to intervene.

“The citizens have nothing to contribute at all except groundnuts which are produced in the highlands where the attacks took place,’’ he said. “We do not have sorghum, but we are ready as of now to collect the groundnuts.”