By Taban Henry
Authorities in Kapoeta North County have blamed youth from greater Pibor Administrative Area for throwing violence that left 11 people dead including women and children in Lipotala Village of Kapoeta North County of Eastern Equatoria State on Sunday.
Earlier on the 15th of this month, a cattle trader identified as Lokwa Locahwon was shot dead along Kapoeta Boma road by suspected Murle youth while bringing his cattle for sale in Kapoeta.
Communities from Greater Pibor Administrative Area and Eastern Equatoria State had in the past accused each other of cattle theft and child abduction which authorities say have ruined the peaceful co-existence of the neighboring communities.
In March this year, the communities of Toposa, Murle, Jie and Kachipo through a peace dialogue resolved to end cattle theft and child abduction to live peacefully among themselves and the dialogue was attended by the leadership from both Eastern Equatoria State and Greater Pibor Administrative Area.
Speaking in a telephone interview to No.1 Citizen Daily Newspaper, Ephone Lolimo Emmanuel who is the Kapoeta North County Commissioner, confirmed that eleven people have been killed by suspected Murle organized armed Youth. He added that the attackers came from three Payams of Lomoyeng, Jie and Nakwa Payams.
“On the 19th of this month we received information that there was an attack in some Kraals, the following day we investigated till yesterday we were able to confirm that the incident was true. The attackers were suspected to be from Pibor Administrative Area they carried out what we termed as organized raid in a place called Lopitala and this attackers comprises of three Payams that is Lomoyeng, Jie and Nakwa Payams,” he revealed
Emmanuel stated that the attackers launched their attack on the Kraal at night saying that they were shooting randomly and in the process eleven people were killed including women and children.
He noted that they are still looking for the people who are wounded because the road is far and there is no access routes for the ambulance to reach the area.
“My Corridor of Kapoeta North County, my youth do not raid with the youth from Greater Pibor Administrative Area but they only abduct children from our side until of recent they raided cattle from our side till now no youth have responded to go and raid from their side,” he underlined.
The Kapoeta North Commissioner mentioned that whatever incidences that were happening is always in Kapoeta East County, saying they felt bad that they are always being raided.
“When we are traveling to meet with our communities to leave peacefully, we need the leadership of Greater Pibor Administrative Area and their elders to advise their youth to embrace the culture of peaceful coexistence because they are neighbors,” he explained.
Emmanuel further hinted that it’s the first of its kind where such incidences happened in his County, “I am therefore calling on the youth in my county to remain calm leaving the rest of the engagement for the government to put efforts to address” he urged.
Meanwhile Alison Logony Babayero who is the Jebel Boma County Commissioner denied the allegations saying he has no clue about the attack, citing that he does not have any youth who has gone out of his County to raid.
“All the youth are within Jebel Boma and there is no movement of youth going out and raid to a certain place all of them have migrated to their residential areas,” he reacted to the allegations.