At least three people have sustained gunshot wounds and six hundred herds of cattle raided last night at Baidit Payam in Jonglei State. Among those injured two are women and a man and over forty cows were also killed in the crossfire. The victims are said to be receiving treatment at Baidit primary health care centre.
Authority says the attackers are believed to be armed youth from neighboring Pibor administrative area, a claim Boma official denied saying they are not aware of such incident.
Sultan Ngong Awan Tiel is one of the local chiefs in Jonglei state. He said the attack happened on Monday night around 11 pm that is when he hear the shooting. He said it was very scary moment at Digiruut cattle camp. Sultan Awan said people are now living in fear, and some people have already ran away crossing to the side of the stream for safety.
He called on the state government to provide security and restore the situation to normalcy in the area.
One of the Cattle trader Panther Majok Aluou said he lost 22 cows and is left vulnerable after his savings for seven years have gone. “Two of my cattle have been killed in the crossfire, and 20 cows raided. I have no hope of getting them back, and my business collapsed,” he said.
He urged the authority to disarmed the local armed youth to allow local people to invest in business.
Hon. Tuong Majok is the minister of Cabinet affairs and currently the acting governor of Jonglei state. He promised to coordinate with his counterpart from Pibor to return the cattle. He said as the state government they responded by sending security forces to the area to calm down the fear and find the attackers. Majok did not specified if the police forces will remain there or return to Bor when the situation return to normal.
Hon. Jay Adingoryia Alual is the Pibor Administrative Area minister of information. He says his government is not aware of any attack carried by youth from Pibor area but pledged to investigate the matter and act immediately. “It is a sad story to learn of raiding at Baidit and we haven’t received any information as Pibor authorities, but we are going to investigate.”
Baidit Payam is approximately 45 kilometers north of Bor town, where some cattle traders are keeping their cattle.
Jonglei and Pibor Administrative Area initiated a peace dialogue conference in 2021 to stop cattle raiding, killings, and child abduction between the two.
Some of the resolutions that agreed during the peace dialogue never implemented, such as creating three community policing stations, and deployment of five hundred troops from each side as a buffer zone to deter criminals along the common border.