Armed attack left at least 2 people dead and two injured in Katiko village of Kapoeta South County, Eastern Equatoria State. two men died, a man and a woman sustained gunshots injuries as another woman narrowly dodged the bullets.
They survivors are now being treated at Kapoeta Civil Hospital.
An eye witness, Nakorot Loregai, narrated how they were attacked in the farm by the unknown attackers.
She said: “We were in the garden with this woman [Nakeno]. we went to the water point to fetch the water and we came back to the farm, it was getting late and I went to her farm so that we could go back home, as I reached there, I did not even sit down but was still standing beside her and one of her children was standing there and the other one was still standing there, and immediately there was gunshot fired at us.”
“…two landed on her and run on the other side but the bullets missed me, the whole place was now full of gunshot firing, I fell down and she [Nakeno] screamed and I was thinking she is already dead and I was now confuse on what to do I just decided to go back and rescued the children,” she continued.
After taking away the children from the shooting scene, Nakorot came back to check on her friend thinking she was dead and found out that she was alive and bleeding, and they attackers took off.
“I come back to the place where she fell, I got she was bleeding allover and the attackers run away and we know went home and that’s when the villagers came to rescue, my brother was also in the garden and they were looking for the attackers but they could not find them.” She explained.
Marko Lokor, a 35-year-old man who sustained the injuries while trying to confront the attackers.
“I was shot in Kormachi, I had gone to visit someone there and so I had the sounds of gunshots and so I run there to rescue and so I was on the right arm I had gone to visit my relatives there,” he said
Kapoeta South County, acting commissioner, Juma Justin, confirmed the attack.
“There was a young man at katiko police post who was sited there and so he went to the nearby bush to help himself. He was shot and killed on spot, another person run to rescue that one was also shot and he died, others came to rescue and one person was also shot and injured on the arm so they killed two injuring one and that same time they shot a woman in Nakwamoru in Kalipus,” Juma said.
This incident bring the death toll of the counter attacks between the youth from Budi and Kapoeta South counties to 12 within the last two weeks since it started on Independence Day with the killing of Kapoeta South residents at the gold mine site.
On Tuesday, two investigation committees set up by the state governor – Louis Lobong – visited the two communities and they are expected to compile and present their findings to the state cabinet and the legislative assembly within seven days.