On Friday, armed men attacked Kapoeta East and Kapoeta North counties, leaving 43 people dead and 17 others injured.
According to officials, the attackers also drove away several heads of cattle, most of which the local youth later recovered.
The Commissioner of Kapoeta East, Abduallah Lokeno, blamed the deadly attacks on gunmen from the neighboring Greater Pibor Administrative Area, an accusation Singaita FM could not independently verify.
“Murle has mobilized their youth and attacked Kauto and Morukomod; they are in collaboration with youth of some tribes in Ethiopia,” Lokeno claimed.
He disclosed that in the Kauto attack, 26 people died from the side of the attackers and six people from the host community.
He added that crossfires killed more than 200 heads of cattle.
Meanwhile, the clashes in Kapoeta North left 14 people dead, according to the county commissioner.
“They came here and attacked the kraals, killing 14 people and injuring 17, and they raided 700 heads of cattle,” said David Nayee.
He urged the administrative area leadership to identify and return the stolen animals to their rightful owners.
He added, “We don’t have any other message to the Greater Pibor than telling them to return those cattle to the rightful owner.”
In response to the allegations, the Information Minister of Greater Pibor Administrative Area, Jacob Werchum Juk, said they were not aware of the attacks.
“As of now, we don’t know anything about it. This may need some information to be collected on the ground—whether it has happened or not,” Juk stated.
The weekend attacks are the first deadliest attacks carried out by Pibor youth in the area since similar incidents were reported nearly a year ago.
In March 2024, 90 women and children were abducted, 32 people were killed, and 22 others were injured in a deadly attack in Kauto village, Kapoeta East County, by suspected youth from Pibor.