At least six Misseriya herders were shot dead near Bentiu town in South Sudan’s Northern Liech State on Friday, according to a tribal leader.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Sunday, Al-Sheikh Hassan Yusuf, a traditional leader in Dabab area in Sudan’s West Kordufan State, said six Misseriya tribesmen from Dabab area were killed while grazing their cattle in an area located about two kilometers away from Bentiu

He identified the victims as Osman Adam Al Shin, Mohamed Abdurrahman Issa, Osman Hassan Abdurrahman, Osman Al Tahir and Osman Saleh.

The Misseriya tribal leader pointed out that two others are still missing. He claimed that the attackers took about 237 heads of cattle and went back to Rubkona. Al-Sheikh accused SPLA soldiers of involvement in the incident.  

Hassan called on the government of West Kordofan to intervene and protect the Sudanese pastoralists in order to avoid any tension between the two countries.

For his part, Northern Liech’s Minister of Information, Lam Tangwar, denied any knowledge of the killing of the Misseriya nomads near the town of Bentiu.

However, he promised that his government will investigate the incident.