At least three people were killed and more than 4,000 cattle were stolen in a raid in Warrap state, with authorities blaming armed youth from a neighboring county, officials said Sunday.
The attack occurred Thursday and Friday in the Alabek and Lietnhom areas of Gogrial East County, according to Mamer Bath, Warrap State’s minister of information and communication.
“The suspected armed youth from neighboring Unity State have raided over 4,000 cows and around three people were killed and nine others were injured,” Bath told Radio Tamazuj.
Warrap State Deputy Governor Aluel Garang and a commander from the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces visited the area and deployed forces to restore security, Bath added.
However, the government of neighboring Unity State disputed the account. Nyakenya Yohannis Keah, Unity State’s minister of information and communication, said an initial investigation indicated the attackers were from within Gogrial East County.
“We are still investigating the whole thing, but the information I got, the incident has happened within Gogrial East County without involvement from youth in Unity State,” Keah said.
Gogrial West County Police Inspector Brig. Gen. Mabek Monytoc said he was on a security mission and would provide more information Monday.
Cattle raiding is a long-standing conflict trigger in South Sudan, often leading to retaliatory violence that claims hundreds of lives annually.