South Sudan: Assault on cattle camps leaves 35 dead
Unidentified attackers launched a raid on cattle camps in southeastern South Sudan leaving at least 35 people dead and 46 others injured, according to a community leader, The New Arab via Reuters reported on February 3rd.
Cattle raiding, driven by competition for limited resources, remains a key source of conflict between ethnic groups in a country heavily armed after years of war.
“On January 31, the Dinka Bor cattle camps were attacked,” said Mayom Ateny, the community leader, in an interview with Reuters on February 1st. He detailed the casualties and confirmed that four camps had been targeted.
He also reported that 11,000 head of cattle had been taken.
The attacks occurred in Magwi county. Neither Olum Pole Pole Ataruk, the county commissioner, nor Elia John Ahaji, the information minister of Eastern Equatoria, gave immediate response to requests for comment.
In South Sudan, cattle hold significant cultural and economic value, serving as a symbol of wealth and status. They are commonly used as a bride price, with the number of cattle given to a woman’s family ranging from less than 10 to several hundred.
Nicholas Haysom, head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), raised concerns over rising violence between keepers of cattle and farming communities in Eastern Equatoria.
“Such attacks and counter-attacks must stop,” Haysom said in a statement condemning the violence and calling on all parties to exercise restraint.
South Sudan’s civil war, which lasted from 2013 to 2018, resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. While the main warring groups have since reached peace, armed groups continue to clash. Violence has escalated to the level that South Sudanese authorities temporarily banned social media platforms, in an effort to curb the circulation of violent footage.
The New Arab via Reuters
