Bor attack ‘politically motivated’- Official
A senior official from Jonglei State has said the civilian attack in Baidit Payam was politically motivated.
Tuong Majok Deng, Jonglei State Minister of Cabinet Affairs, said the motive for the attack goes beyond a cattle raid.
The attack happened at approximately mid-afternoon on Sunday, as the residents of Baidit Payam in Jonglei State were peacefully going about their day when the attacker “sprung by surprise”.
Deng told The City Review that the area is familiar with cattle raids, adding, “this attack was unusual because the number that attacked the location is not a normal number.”
“It was more than a thousand youths that attacked that location and drove the whole population of that Payam to the river. That is why they managed to seize over 2,600 head of cattle, and they burned down several households, ” Deng said.
“It’s not normal. “Though they may say these are just criminals, there are no criminals that operate in a vacuum,” he stressed.
According to Deng, the attack lasted about two hours, and the latest calculation shows that cattle raiders burned down several homes and left 33 dead—some of the children—and 27 wounded.
He said due to the severity of their injuries, some people have been transported to Bor and Juba hospitals for treatment.
Deng said, from 2020 through 2021, the people of Bor County have experienced more than 70 attacks, which he blamed on youth from greater Pibor.
“Statistically, it is clear all the time,” he said.
Jonglei State is inhabited by three ethnic groups; the Dinka, the Nuer and the Anyuak but those three ethnic groups have been raiding themselves. They coexist without any incidents. Dinka is not raiding Nuer and Nuer is not raiding Anyuak. The raiders always come from Greater Pibor, it is an indicator all the time and in this recent attack, in Baidit Payam,” Deng explained.
Deng said a large number of cattle raiders on Sunday’s attack makes him believe these were not just criminals. He said there is a motive behind the attack.
“People are saying they are criminals, and they are not known, I deny it. That’s not true. They are people with homes, with a chief, and they are well known, ” he said.
He says, “In fact, there are some criminal youths that used to sneak out of greater Pibor to our area of our county in a very small number sometimes.”
He said, but the attack on Sunday seems to be politically motivated, adding that two attackers’ bodies were recovered, and it was fully clear that the attackers were from Pibor.
Deng urged the national government to put more effort into ending what he called “barbaric acts.” “The people are in panic, they are in fear, and they are mourning.”
