Dozens killed in attack on South Sudan cattle camps

Unidentified attackers have raided cattle camps in southeast South Sudan, killing at least 35 people and wounding 46, a community leader says.

Cattle raiding linked to competition for scarce resources is one of the main triggers of conflict between ethnic groups in the country awash with weapons after decades of war.

“On January 31, the Dinka Bor cattle camps were attacked,” community leader Mayom Ateny told Reuters on Sunday, giving details of the deaths and injuries in the four camps targeted.

He said 11,000 head of cattle were taken.

Olum Pole Pole Ataruk, the commissioner of Magwi county, the site of the attacks, and Elia John Ahaji, the information minister of Eastern Equatoria state home to the county, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cattle are an important indicator of wealth and status in South Sudan, and are usually given as a bride price to a woman’s family as gifts ranging in number from fewer than 10 head to several hundred.

Nicholas Haysom, the head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), expressed concern about escalating violence between cattle keepers and farming communities in Eastern Equatoria.

“Such attacks and counter-attacks must stop,” Haysom said in a statement that condemned the violence and urged all parties to show restraint.

A civil war in South Sudan from 2013 to 2018 caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and although the main belligerents have since been at peace, clashes continue among armed groups.