At least 58 killed in S. Sudan tribal clashes – U.N.
JUBA (Reuters) – At least 58 people were killed in clashes between tribes over cattle in South Sudan, a United Nations spokesman in Juba said Saturday, a further sign of instability weeks after the region gained independence.
Ethnic groups in South Sudan have fought each other over cattle — a vital part of the indigenous economy — for centuries. But the numbers of deaths are increasing after decades of civil war left the territory awash with small arms.
Analysts say South Sudan, which became independent on July 9, risks becoming a failed state if it cannot control insurgencies and blood feuds that divide its tribes.
The U.N. spokesman said violence between the Murle and Lou Nuer tribes broke out Thursday.
“There were around 28 casualties at one location and 30 at another site. We also witnessed a number of burnt Tukuls (huts),” he told Reuters by telephone.
“There were several other locations that the U.N. has not been able to get to. We are relieved that calm appears to be prevailing.”
From the beginning of the year up to the end of June, 2,368 people have been killed in 330 violent incidents across the South, according to U.N. data released in July.
South Sudan’s government has accused the north of arming rival tribes and provoking insurgencies to try to undermine the region and keep control of its oil. Khartoum denies the charge.
(Reporting by Hereward Holland; Writing by Sherine El Madany; editing by Elizabeth Piper)
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE77J1LO20110820
| Many killed in South Sudan tribal clashes |
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Murle and Lou Nuer tribes fight over livestock in the state of Jonglei, say UN and government officials.
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| Cattle are a vital part of the Sudanese indigenous economy, often becoming a motive for tribal clashes [EPA] |
Nearly 60 members of rival tribes have been killed in disputes over livestock in South Sudan, officials said.
Fifty-eight bodies were found in two separate locations and a number of burnt tukuls, or huts, were identified, a United Nations spokesman told Reuters on Saturday.
The deaths were believed to be a result of clashes that broke out on Thursday between the Murle and Lou Nuer tribes in the Bier sub-county of the state of Jonglei, according to the UN and South Sudan government officials.
“There were several other locations that the UN has not been able to get to. We are relieved that calm appears to be prevailing,” the spokesman said.
Kuol Manyang Juuk, the governor of Jonglei, gave a different figure, saying 38 bodies, including those of women and children, were found in Bier. Local media put the number of killed in the hundreds.
Juuk told the AFP news service further investigations could see the number of casualties rise as high as 50.
Murle tribe members were suspected of attacking five villages of the Lou Nuer tribe in Bier and burning down some homes, the governor told AFP.
“They have gone away with cattle. Some children were also abducted, and women,” he said.
“It’s known that Jonglei state tribes have been fighting [among] themselves and mainly for cattle.”
The violence signals further instability in South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, which gained independence on July 9.
South Sudan’s government has accused the north of arming rival tribes and provoking insurgencies to undermine the region and keep control of its oil. Khartoum has denied the charge.
Ethnic groups in South Sudan have fought each other over cattle – a vital part of the indigenous economy – for centuries.
The numbers of casualties has increased in recent years after decades of civil war left the territory awash with small arms.
Between January and the end of June, 2,368 people have been killed in 330 violent incidents across South Sudan, according to UN data released in July.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/08/201182017173399473.html
Murle attack Uror county and burn it to ashes!
This morning, Murle community had attacked Uror county. They had burn down Pieri, Dhoarganwell, Guanchad, and all those villages lined up in the area across. The fighting happened early in the morning and all children, women, and those individuals with physical disabilities were all killed and burn down to ashes as they are unable to escape. While we were speaking with the survivors who had phones with them; they reported that Murle chased people upto Nyakor close to Pulchol and Chuadok.
After they burn down all those villages and killed children, men and women; the survivors regrouped themselves around Nyakor and expelled the enemy from the villages at around 1:00PM. The casualities are not reported yet but all children, women and disable groups were confirmed dead but the numbers are not yet counted.
The SPLA stationed in Waat, Yaui close to those villages did not involve or help the civilian. The civilians were slaughtered by the enemy who come to kill the people than looking for cattle. Its very sad news for as the families and the entire South Sudan to see this ongoing community conflict.
The government failed to the maximum to prevent the civilians not to kill themeslves. All MPs from the communities are just stationed in Bor town without making any reconciliation between the tribes, community and villages. Its a great surprise to what the government want if they failed to protect civilians and mediate disputes in community. The number of casualities will be reported after the villagers collected the data. Almighty God will comfort all the families in Lou Nuer areas!
Regard,
Peter Reat Gatkuoth
Secretary General,
South Sudan Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture.Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Giant Technologies Ltd
Juba, Southern Sudan
Tel: +256477122462
+249957122462
E-mail:sdeng@giant-technologies.net
akueideng@yahoo.com
(AFP) – 3 hours ago
JUBA — At least 38 people, including women and children, have been killed in intertribal violence in South Sudan, the governor of Jonglei state told AFP on Friday.
“An attack was launched yesterday (Thursday) at 5:00 am that went on throughout the day in Bier subcounty,” Kuol Manyang Juuk said.
He said 38 bodies had been found in Bier so far, including those of women and children, but that the number of casualties might rise to 40 or 50 once authorities complete investigations.
“The wounded are reported to be 50 to 100,” he said.
He said Murle tribe members were suspected of attacking five villages of the Lou Nuer tribe in Bier subcounty that left some houses burnt down.
“They have gone away with cattle. Some children were also abducted, and women.”
“It’s known that Jonglei State tribes have been fighting (among) themselves and mainly for cattle.”
South Sudan ‘cattle raids’ leave dozens dead
At least 40 people, and possibly many more, have died in fighting in Jonglei state in South Sudan.
Jonglei state has a reputation for frequent fighting between different ethnic groups, often over cattle.
South Sudan has been independent for slightly more than a month, and security is one of its greatest challenges.
The attack, on the town of Pieri and surrounding villages, happened in the early hours of Thursday morning.
According to the governor of Jonglei state, Kuol Manyang, and a witness on the ground, the attackers were from the Murle ethnic group, while the area is largely inhabited by the Lou Nuer.
The eyewitness told the BBC at least 40 people had been buried so far in the town. He believes at least another 50 people were killed in a village nearby. Much of Pieri has apparently been burnt down.
Mr Manyang said he knew of at least 50 deaths and thought the final death toll was likely to be higher.
He told the BBC the attack was a cattle raid, and a consequence of poverty and competition over resources. Both men said the Murle had taken away herds of cattle.
“People need cattle for their own survival, for food security and for marriages – and there is competition over land and water resources, because of underdevelopment,” said Mr Manyang.
The eyewitness said they had also abducted an estimated 70 women and children, though the governor says it was possible they were merely hiding in the forest.
The Murle are often accused of stealing children, allegedly because they do not have many of their own.
The attack is the latest in a string of deadly incidents between the Murle and the Lou Nuer, each of which requires revenge. Hundreds of people die in inter-ethnic clashes in Jonglei state each year.
The police and the army do not have the resources to provide complete security, in part because there are so few good roads.
But a representative of the Lou Nuer community expressed his anger, saying the government of South Sudan was failing to provide security for its people.
38 killed in cattle raid in South Sudan
At least 38 people have been killed in armed cattle raiding between two rivaling tribes in South Sudan’s Jonglei state, officials said on Friday.
Jonglei state governor, Kuol Manyang Juuk, said the raiders, suspected to be elements within the Murle tribe of Pibor County in the state, attacked Uror County at dawn on Thursday and overran the villages.
He said the Lou-Nuer inhabiting Pieri village where the fighting was concentrated resisted, resulting into an outright violent confrontation.
“They attacked these villages and over ran them. The Lou fighters had to regroup themselves and fight back. They have gone with unknown number of cattle and there are reports that children and women were abducted,” Kuol said.
The number of dead is expected to rise as a clearer picture of what happened is brought to light.
“They buried 38 bodies in Pierri and there are still also bodies around the town of Pieri which are yet to be collected. So the number might go well beyond 30, beyond 40 and wounded are now evacuated by MSF,” Kuol said.
“When fighting is taking place, it is difficult to round up people immediately, it takes time to know but 60 were reported wounded and the number is likely to increase,” he added.
The two tribes have a long history of fighting each other over cattle. The recent such violent incident was when the Lou-Nuer attacked the Murle weeks in June, resulting into death of at least 68 people.
Police in the area were unable to halt the fighting. “We had no police. The small police in the area could not even stop this attack and could not challenge the attackers and may be the police have lost their lives also,” Kuol said. Pibor County MPs in the national parliament said they were not aware their youths had gone to raid and said those involved should be treated as individual criminals.
August 19, 2011, (BOR/JUBA) – At least 640 people have died, 861 injured and 208 children kidnapped in an attack on Uror County, in the north of Jonglei state on Thursday, local South Sudan officials say.
- Remains of burnt houses in Bor County, February 2011. (Photo: John Actually/ST)
Around 7,924 houses have been set on fire and over 38,000 heads of cattle stolen Sudan Tribune has been told.
The attack is believed to have been launched by neighboring Murle tribesmen, when armed groups infiltrated into Peiri and Pulchuol Payams [districts] at about 5:00am on Thursday.
Most of those who died were children according to a team of Jonglei state officials who visited the area on Friday afternoon. The team included the state minister of Public Service, Recheal Nyadut, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Gabriel Gai Riem, the Minister of Animal and Fisheries, Nyang Lul, two MPs of Uror County, Moses GatKuoth Lony and Moses Mayul Bol among others.
The attack is understood to be a revenge operation against the Lou Nuer tribe after an attack on the Murle last June in which many deaths were reported and cattle stolen.
At Bor Airport on return from Uror, Moses Gatkuoth, who is the chairperson of Peace, Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs committee in the state parliament described it as a “devastating attack launched by criminals”.
Gatkuoth said that women and children were the major victims of the clashes.
According to Gatkuoth, in Peiri Payam, the death toll stands at 257, out of which 150 were women and 107 were either children or the elderly. He added that 347 people had been wounded and 132 children abducted.
- Dinka cattle moving near the Bor-Mundari border in May 2011. (Photo: John Actually/ST)
As well as burning an estimated 3,431 houses “the attackers have also partially burnt the Hospital ran by Medecins Sans Frontieres [MSF] including their car”, Gatkuoth said. Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without borders) is an international independent humanitarian medical organisation that delivers medical aid.
Gatkuoth was visibly emotional as he described what he saw on the fact finding mission to the effected area.
He said that in Pulchuol 138 people lost their lives in the fighting, while 284 were injured, 39 children were kidnapped and around 4,208 houses burnt to ashes.
In Muotot, part of Pulchuol Payam 245 killed, 230 wounded, 37 children abducted and 285 houses burnt. According to the teams report, a total of 383, people died in Pulchuol Payam, 514 wounded, 76 children abducted and 4,493 houses were burnt.
Gatkuoth added the attackers had also killed the deputy administrator for Pulchuol.
Jonglei’s Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Gabriel Gai Riem described what he saw as “devastation” in the villages and towns.
“Towns and villages have been devastated. Most of the houses have been burnt down and many other houses looted”, he said. “So many people are wounded, this is what we have seen”, he continued
Riem said the state government is working for peace and it will take majors steps to reduce tribal fighting. “The government always work[s] for peace and will continue to press on and to take majors that will curve down these undesirable activities”, he said.
The minister pledged that peace will come to these communities to live in harmony in the future, saying the government’s plans for peace will not be derailed by tribal conflicts.
“We will not be derailed as the government. We will not be derailed from the peace process. We will continue to press on to bring our communities together. They will have to come together and find ways under which they can coexist and live together”, said Riem.
None of the fact finding team were able to give a figure for the number of attackers killed and whether they are still being pursued although they reported the seizure of some guns.
The minister of public service, Nyadut Paul, who led the team to Uror walked to her car and drove away without a comment.
Moese Bayul Bol, one of the Uror MPs who visited the area said the attackers were armed with rocket launchers with which they destroyed the county headquarters from a distance before they arrived. The number of attackers remains unknown.
Local authorities in series of interviews with Sudan Tribune on Friday attributed the “massacre”, to the old and the long-running tribal tension between the Lou Nuer and Murle ethnic groups.
Speaking to Sudan Tribune from Bor, capital of Jonglei State, Tut Puk, the Uror county commissioner described the situation as “pathetic and unacceptable”.
“I visited the area today and the situation in which I found our people was shocking. 138 people have been identified killed and the whole area is destroyed. It is a real massacre”, explained commissioner Puk who sounded upset.
“A lot of people, particularly women with small children and the elderly people were pitilessly killed. They carried out everything and destroyed crops. Local clinics are cleared. There is nothing, not even a single bandage is left”, he said.
Charles Majok Bol, a senior official in the government of South Sudan said in a separate interview with Sudan Tribune in Juba on Friday that it was sad to hear of the attacks so soon after South Sudan’s independence in July.
“Innocent children who are our future are being killed. This is a terrible tragedy, our government must do something remedy this situation now than later”, said Bol.
He observed that inter-tribal conflicts in Jonglei have been downplayed and not taken seriously by the state and Juba-based government.
“So far, I am not aware of any disarmament that I know to have been carried out successfully. I have also not heard of anyone brought to book due to raids carried out by Lou Nuer against Murle, or those carried out by Murle against Lou Nuer. No serious prophylactic measures were taken to prevent future raids”, he explained.
He claimed that in June, Lou Nuer carried out a massive offense against Murle in Pibor County, killing many Murle, including children and women, burning hundreds of villages and taking thousands of cattle.
“As usual, it was expected that Murle will hit back. This is exactly what has happened. It is also a matter of time before Lou Nuer revenges. Murle too will do the same and the practice will continue [unless] either of the tribe is cleared or else something is done to avoid extinction of the other”, he warned.
“Can the government intervene so that lives of the innocent civilians are saved”, he asked.
(ST)
http://www.sudantribune.com/Hundreds-killed-in-South-Sudan-s,39887