By Hou Akot Hou
Some of the Northern Bahr El Gazal State (NBGs) residents have called on the government to forces at hotspot areas within Aweil Town as crime cases surge.
The resident presented a series of people being robbed in certain areas by niggers or gangs.
This call came in the wake of a hunger period, with some people being forced to rob people within the town.
Deng Madut Nyuol A resident of the Naifasha neighbourhood in Aweil Town, which is the state headquarters, said his cousin was attacked by a group of boys last week, and a similar incident repeated itself, which raised fears among the residents.
Madut said the issue has become widespread, as he heard of some people robbed of their valuables in some parts of the Deng Nhial area, which is adjacent to Naifasha.
“The gangs rob people at night with phones and other valuables such as money as you walk back home,” said Deng.
“A woman who is a relative to me also told me that his son was robbed at gunpoint or with a panga in the dark as he was walking back home on Thursday last week, and the issue is becoming too frequent,” he added.
Another resident, Mary Achol, of the Maper Akot Aru neighbourhood, which is north of Aweil Town, echoes the same matter and urged the government to be proactive.
“The issue of gangs is too widespread nowadays, and we blame it on poor management of local council ineffectiveness to arrest these young boys; some take tramadol and go out looking violent whenever it is even about dusk,” she complained.
In response, the Aweil Town’s Municipal Council Mayor Joseph Ayat said they are working to correct such vices by arresting the gangs locally known as niggers.
“Their issue has come up in the meeting that the state government’s cabinet has been doing, and their arrest is what the police and the security forces are going to do,” he said.
“These groups involve girls in their associations, and they drink and do such acts, and we are watchful,” he stated
He urges the public to avoid staying out late in the market and at night and to be careful as well, as these acts are being committed by young boys who have left dutiful work from their villages and come and grouped themselves up in town to harm the residents.
On a similar note, some residents in most of the counties in Northern Bahr El Gazal state have made complaints about the high rise of thefts of their cattle, particularly at night, which they say they try to trace but never find.
It remains unclear what prompt measures the government would take to prevent or alleviate the escalating situation, which the residents blamed on hunger or economic woes.