At least three people, including a woman, were killed in two separate revenge attacks in the Ngauro area of Budi County in Eastern Equatoria State, officials said.
Budi County Executive Director Alfred Odongi told Radio Tamazuj Tuesday that armed Toposa youth carried out the killings on Sunday and Tuesday morning in Ngauro that claimed three lives. He urged the government to intervene because the cyclic attacks were escalating.
According to Odongi, Toposa youth have launched continuous attacks on the Ngauro Community after alleging that the latter killed four Toposa tribesmen.
“One person was killed by the Toposa on Sunday and two others, a woman and man, were killed on Tuesday morning within Ngauro. The Toposa came to graze their animals and they killed these people within Ngauro,” he said. “They (Toposa) say it is retaliation for their four people who were killed. They promised to avenge their people. So, this killing is not something simple and we need the government to intervene.”
For his part, Juma Justine, the executive director in Kapoeta South County, confirmed the incident, denied that three people were killed, and admitted that two people were injured during the attack.
“What I know is that there are only two people who were injured and they were even brought by a local official from Ngauro to Kapoeta Civil Hospital where they are receiving treatment,” he stated. “No one was killed in Ngauro but two people were injured.”
Meanwhile, the medical director at Kapoeta Civil Hospital, John Isaac, confirmed that the two injured patients are being treated at the facility.
“They are not badly off. The woman had soft tissue injury around the arm and the man was shot in the groin,” he said. “They are not badly off, are stable, and they are under management.”