South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Simon Deng
The Chief Administrator of the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA), Gola Boyoi Gola, condemned a deadly attack on Wednesday that resulted in the deaths of eight people, including six Murle cattle traders and two soldiers, and left eight others injured in the Mogiri area of Central Equatoria state.
“On behalf of the government and the people of the Greater Pibor Administrative Area, I strongly condemn this attack and the ongoing criminal activities that consistently occur in Mogiri, endangering the lives of traders and civilians residing in the area,” Gola stated in a Wednesday announcement.
Gola urged the national government and law enforcement agencies to closely monitor the attackers, take decisive action, and recover the stolen cattle, noting that such incidents threaten not only the security of GPAA traders but also the peace efforts between Pibor and Jonglei.
“This reprehensible act of violence reflects a grave disregard for human life and complicates the peace that our communities in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area and Jonglei State strive to build. The continuation of such incidents will impede the peace process,” he said.
Bol Deng Bol, the chairperson of the Jonglei Civil Society Network and Executive Director of Intrepid South Sudan, also condemned the brutal attack on Murle traders in the Mogiri area of Central Equatoria state.
“We strongly condemn this act of violence against traders who were simply going about their routine business. We are calling for the deployment of security forces in the Mogiri area and the immediate arrest of the perpetrators,” Bol stated.
“The laws of South Sudan place the responsibility of protecting lives and property on the police and other law enforcement agencies. This mandate was clearly challenged in this unfortunate incident,” Bol added.
According to eyewitnesses, the majority of those killed were cattle traders from the Greater Pibor Administrative Area, with violence involving cattle traders repeatedly occurring along the Juba-Bor road.
Jacob Werchum Juok, the Minister of Information and Communication for the Greater Pibor Administrative Area, confirmed that the attack targeted a market established by traders from the area.
“The tragic attack occurred yesterday in Mogiri around 7:30 pm local time, resulting in the deaths of eight traders and wounding eight others, while at least 3,035 herds of cattle were looted,” Juok said.
“The identity of the attackers remains unknown, but according to reports we received on the ground, they managed to overrun the area, loot cattle, and were moving towards the Mangala area,” he added.
Cattle-related violence continues to be a common threat in parts of South Sudan, fuelled by longstanding communal conflicts and the widespread presence of firearms among the civilian population.
