By Yien Gattour Mead
A violent raid in Panyinjar County, Unity State allegedly launched by a group of armed youths from Lakes State, resulted in the tragic loss of three lives and approximately 519 cattle taken.
Additionally, one-person sustained injuries during the incident.
Tap Mark Diu, the information director in Panyinjar County, in an interview with the No.1 Citizen Daily newspaper on Saturday said the attack took place in Guel Guol village, Pachar payam of Panyinjar County, at around 6:00 PM on Friday.
“The cattle raiders knew that the cattle keepers had been taking their cattle for pasture in Guel Guol Forest. After they knew that only a few men were herding the cattle, they attacked them, killed three armed Men, including one person was injured and they took 519 cattle with them,” he said.
“We are suspecting that armed youths from Lakes State may have taken part in the cattle raid. We have often advised our youth not to raid cattle from Lake State and Warrap State.”
He stated that the assailants who attacked the armed youth in Panyinjar County were armed youths from Lakes State.
They had crossed into Pachar Payam, Unity State, before launching the raid.
Last year, several agreements were forged among communities in Lakes State and Unity State. These agreements aimed to facilitate the free movement of cattle keepers across different areas, as stipulated in the agreement reached the previous year.