Bentiu — About 50 armed youths from Mayom county's Turkey payam [district] in Unity state raided 434 head of cattle in neighbouring Koch county on Saturday.
Area commissioner John Chuol Wang told Sudan Tribune in an interview on Saturday that the attackers were heavily armed with AK47s.
Wang says three men who were guarding cattle in the area were critically injured after raiders launched their attack on Koch county's Mar payam at about 12:00am.
Wang said he had already informed his counterpart in Mayom county about the incident and was told that security forces had been deployed along their common border to recover stolen cattle and return them to their rightful owners immediately.
Youths in Mayom county have become notorious for attacking nearby counties within Unity state and have even carried out raids in other states, including Warrap and Lakes.
The area has also been the scene of frequent rebellions fuelled by armed youths with illegal fire arms.
In an interview on Saturday, an anonymous source from Mayom county told Sudan Tribune that many youths own multiple AK47s, adding that during disarmament campaigns they tended to hand over one weapon, while keeping the others hidden.
"Some of these youths you may find that one person is having more than five AK47s, and when the exercise of disarmament took place they pretend to hand one gun to their local chiefs but [are] keeping others hidden under the ground", the source said.
In June this year, eight polices officers were killed by armed civilians from Mayom county while carrying out their duties in neighbouring Koch county.
Although state and county authorities vowed to persecute the perpetrators once they are caught, the suspects have so far remained at large.
Meanwhile, local chiefs and Guit county commissioner have confirmed that two brothers from Mayom county were murdered in Parieng county on 14 July by a group of 20 armed men in an apparent revenge attack.
Rebels from the South Sudan Liberation Movement, who recently responded to an offer by president Salva Kiir and are currently being hosted in Mayom county, have been blamed for causing instability in Unity state's counties, as well as neighbouring states such as Warrap and Lakes.
Rampant cattle raiding in South Sudan continues to cause unrest across the new nation, as well as hinder free grazing along state borders.
According to the United Nation Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), more than 2,000 people have died so far in inter-communal fighting in the troubled Jonglei state
Area commissioner John Chuol Wang told Sudan Tribune in an interview on Saturday that the attackers were heavily armed with AK47s.
Wang says three men who were guarding cattle in the area were critically injured after raiders launched their attack on Koch county's Mar payam at about 12:00am.
Wang said he had already informed his counterpart in Mayom county about the incident and was told that security forces had been deployed along their common border to recover stolen cattle and return them to their rightful owners immediately.
Youths in Mayom county have become notorious for attacking nearby counties within Unity state and have even carried out raids in other states, including Warrap and Lakes.
The area has also been the scene of frequent rebellions fuelled by armed youths with illegal fire arms.
In an interview on Saturday, an anonymous source from Mayom county told Sudan Tribune that many youths own multiple AK47s, adding that during disarmament campaigns they tended to hand over one weapon, while keeping the others hidden.
"Some of these youths you may find that one person is having more than five AK47s, and when the exercise of disarmament took place they pretend to hand one gun to their local chiefs but [are] keeping others hidden under the ground", the source said.
In June this year, eight polices officers were killed by armed civilians from Mayom county while carrying out their duties in neighbouring Koch county.
Although state and county authorities vowed to persecute the perpetrators once they are caught, the suspects have so far remained at large.
Meanwhile, local chiefs and Guit county commissioner have confirmed that two brothers from Mayom county were murdered in Parieng county on 14 July by a group of 20 armed men in an apparent revenge attack.
Rebels from the South Sudan Liberation Movement, who recently responded to an offer by president Salva Kiir and are currently being hosted in Mayom county, have been blamed for causing instability in Unity state's counties, as well as neighbouring states such as Warrap and Lakes.
Rampant cattle raiding in South Sudan continues to cause unrest across the new nation, as well as hinder free grazing along state borders.
According to the United Nation Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), more than 2,000 people have died so far in inter-communal fighting in the troubled Jonglei state
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