By Kidega Livingstone
Inter-communal conflict and cattle raiding are endangering the lives of people in Gogrial East County of Warrap State, an area Member of Parliament has said.
MP. Mary Atong told the national parliament that people normally come to attack and raid cattle of her community.
“My people of Gogrial are suffering from attackers. Seriously, something must be done by the government,” she said,
In March, 850 cows were raided, and 11 people were killed. In the second attack, nine people were also killed in the same area, according to Hon. Atong.
She revealed that children and women are the most victims of these attacks that are taking place in her constituency, decrying the lack of soldiers in the area to protect the community.
“The attacks have occurred in all the areas in most parts of the country, and the attacks by interstates need to be addressed, but the minister’s concerns about protecting civilians are not in parliament,” she underlined.
Joseph Lual, another parliamentarian, said communities will continue to suffer and get killed if the states and national government cannot intervene immediately to stop this inter-communal violence and cattle raids.
He noted that the practice is a general concern across the country.
He said revenge killing and raiding have been very common not only in Gogrial East but also in some of the states and some administrative areas.
In April 2024, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) brief on violence affecting civilians, covering October to December 2023, documented 233 incidents of violence across the country, with 862 victims affected (406 killed, 293 injured, 100 abducted, and 63 subjected to conflict-related sexual violence).
In comparison to the previous quarter, this represented a four percent increase in incidents (215 to 223) and a 35 percent increase in victims (641 to 862).
UNMISS noted that inter-communal violence by community-based militias or civil defense groups accounted for 86 percent of all civilians affected during the period (740 victims).
The main conflict hotspot, Warrap State, experienced a sharp increase in victims by 87% compared to the previous quarter, from 244 to 457.
More than half of those affected by overall subnational violence were caught up in retaliatory attacks related to the ongoing border dispute between Dinka Twic Mayardit in Warrap and Dinka Ngok communities in the Abyei box, with 263 killed and 186 injured, according to the report.
Recently, UNMISS also deployed additional peacekeepers and launched urgent patrols to two conflict hotspots following fresh inter-communal violence that caused the deaths of civilians, the abduction of women and children, and the mass displacement of vulnerable communities.
In Jonglei, on April 26, a group of armed youth from the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) launched a significant attack on cattle keepers across the border in Kapoeta East County in Eastern Equatoria.
Preliminary reports indicated a significant number of people were killed, many women and children were abducted, and hundreds of cattle were stolen.