Four killed and nine wounded in Nuer-Dinka cattle dispute

With these recent killings in Payinjiar and Mayiandit counties, is South Sudan's future threatened more by political or tribal conflict?

This last weekend, 4 people were slain and 9 seriously wounded in the latest cattle rustling battle between the Nuer and Dinka cattlemen on the Payinjiar and Mayiandit County roads in Unity State. It was reported that the Dinkas from Lake State attacked one of the Nuer cattle camps in Payinjiar County and took five hundred cattle last month. The Nuer then took revenge for the attack in Payinjiar County with an attack in Lakes State reportedly taking five thousand cattle back to Payinjiar.

Nuer and Dinka tribes dispute the ownership of thousands of cattle across South Sudan.

In a second apparent revenge attack this weekend in Liethni Bridge, the Dinka cattle raiders ambushed a bus carrying 30 people heading to Mayiandit County. Four were slaughtered at the scene and nine were seriously wounded with gun shot and machete wounds. Speaking with one of the victims in Leer Hospital by mobile phone, Mr Mawichar Jiech, he told me that his mother and the brother were shot dead in front of him. He described how his head had been cut with a panga (machete) and five of his ribs were broken. The driver of the lorry had been shot causing the vehicle to overturn. Since this attack in Liethni Bridge, merchants are stopping the transportation of goods and citizens are understandably scared of travelling between Lakes and Pazinjiar counties.  

The state authorities have pledged to deploy more police along the road to try and bring an end to the hostilities between the Dinka and Nuer cattle raiders. In an effort to end the cattle rustling the authorities are rounding up stolen cattle from both states. The difficulty is that this crime has become almost a local tradition over many decades. In an exlusive interview with sudanvotes on Tuesday, the commissioner of Panyjiar County, Lony Biel, said I am collecting cows raided particularly from Pagarew and Chambek. They will be returned to their owners". The alleged owners of these cows have come with their commissioner and are now waiting in Payinjiar. They say up to 5.000 cows have been stolen. So far Lony Biel has collected 500 cattle.  Lony called upon the Lakes and Unity State governments to urgently deploy more police along the border to try to bring this tribal conflict to an end.