57 People Dead: Murle launches counter attack in Uror County, Jonglei State
January 11, 2012 (PAYUEL) – The cycle of violence in Jonglei state of South Sudan has continued today with youth from the ethnic Murle community launching a counter attack on Uror County, burning down villages, in which many people died, according to a local official
- Displaced people from Payuel Payam in Jonglei State of South Sudan fleeing violence that reportedly displaced around 60,000 since it started on 23 December (ST)
The attack, which occurred at 5pm local time, targeted Wek and Panyok villages in Tiam Payam [district], aSudan Tribune reporter said.
According to one of the local administrators of Wek Boma, Tip Chuol, the attackers were heavily armed and overran the villages, rustling a large number of cattle in a round of fighting that continued until midnight.
Lots of women and children are reported to be dead but there is no exact death toll, Chuol said.
The affected area is just about 10 km from the Pajuk, an area visited by aSudan Tribune journalist just 2 hours before the attack took place.
Flames from the burning houses were seen and lots of gun shots heard by Pajut residents this morning, according to a local radio station in Mareng, the headquarters of Duk county administration.
Around 60,000 have been displaced by the violence between the Murle and Lou Nuer, which began on 23 December and lasted until last week, the United Nations has reported.
Pibor County’s Commissioner Konyi has estimated that over 3,000 people have died in the violence, but this has not been independently verified.
(ST)
http://www.sudantribune.com/BREAKING-NEWS-Murle-youth-launch,41270
Murle attack three villages in Uror and killed 30 people plus the chieft of subsection of Uror!
It was confirmed through mirraya FM report and through the villagers
that the defected Murle SPLA soldiers had attacked this week the
villages of Week, Panyuok, Tiam in Uror county at 5:00PM-7:00PM. They
had killed the chieft of villages of Maikiir subsection of Uror county
with 30 people. Many children were missing and women as well. God
bless the victims of those who were killed. The day before yesterday,
they attack Diror, Padoch of Akobo county, and killed many people.
They burn all villages to ashes in Western Akobo while get away with
children. I think it become just like hunting animals to these tribes!
God have mercy on dead human!
Peter
37 Killed In Uror County Of Jonglei State
37 people including a paramount chief have been killed, seven others wounded and over 100 herds of cattle raided in a fresh attack in Uror County of Jonglei State by a group of Murle youths from Pibor County.
By Pow James Raeth
BOR, 12th January 2012 [Gurtong] – 37 people including a paramount chief were killed yesterday, seven others wounded and over a hundred herds of cattle raided in a fresh attack in Uror County of Jonglei State by a group of Murle youth of Pibor County.
According to the Commissioner of Uror, Mr Simon Hoth Dol the attack happened yesterday at 6:00pm in two villages namely Weck and Panyuok of Urol County, where several houses were burnt and 37 people killed in the melee mostly defenceless women and children including the head chief.
Hoth has called upon the State and National governments, local and international NGOs, to access the affected areas and provide humanitarian assistance since the villages were burnt to ashes hence no shelter to the displaced persons and to deploy security forces for civilian protection.
The Commissioner blamed the National government for neglecting other areas of Lou Nuer and instead heavily deployed forces in Pibor County leaving other conflicting areas vulnerable to attacks.
The Lou Nuer occupied areas have so far suffered a series of attacks in Walgak, Diror, Dengjok, Padio, Yidit and Waat claiming over 100 people in 2012 alone since the withdrawal of Lou youths on the 2nd January 2012 from Pibor headquarters.
Wiechyol Nyang, the deputy head chief in Weck village, where his boss was killed told Gurtong via phone from Weck that, the attackers were heavily armed, dressed in the Sudan People Liberation Army (SPLA) uniform and estimated the number to be around 600 youths.
Urol County is one of the three Counties of the greater Lou Nuer (Greater Akobo) that has suffered most of the consequence of the Lou Nuer – Murle conflict, in Agust 2011 Urol County lost over 600 people who were killed in Pieare payam mostly women and children according to a United Nations report.
In a statement to Gurtong media, Gabriel Duop Lam, the Jonglei State Minister of Law Enforcement said that, the extra police force sent from juba in addition to the already 3000 armed police in Jonglei are still not enough to cover the vast areas of Jonglei State.
Duop added that, the Sudan People Liberation Army is also being deployed to join the South Sudan police and the UN troops in patrolling conflict-prone borders.
Uror County cannot be accessed by land or water from Bor, the State headquarters, and has no telecommunication network, hence making it difficult to provide security in the shortest time possible.
In another development, a policeman who was among the 2,000 extra police force sent to Pibor by the National government to protect civilians, Mr. Tut Kecth, was yesterday evening found dead, killed in cool blood just a few meters from Pibor main market, .
Mr. Tut happened to be from the Nuer community of Nassir, Upper Nile State.
The Commissioner of Pibor Mr. Joshua Konyi said, he learned of the incident and said the police authority in the County are investigating what led to the death of Cdr. Tut Kecth.
http://www.gurtong.net/ECM/Editorial/tabid/124/ctl/ArticleView/mid/519/articleId/6303/37-killed-In-Uror-County-Of-Jonglei-State.aspx
Murle Army Attacked Uror County and killed 57 people
(JUBA – UNT) Minister of Information Dr. Benjamin addressed the reporters today at the nation capital (Juba). He said, “ the new ethnic clashes in Jonglei State have left 57 people dead.”
Dr. Benjamin said that in the latest clash “57 people got killed, and most of them are women and children. The men among them are only 11.”
He added that on Wednesday 53 people were wounded in the attack on Wek village in Uror County.
“Around 60 members from the Murle tribe dressed in military uniforms carried out the raid, taking over 20,000 cows from the rival Nuer tribe area as part of an ongoing cattle vendetta,” according to the Minister of Information
“The Murle attacked from 1700 hours (1400 GMT) until midnight. That’s why so many families got killed in their homes,” Benjamin added.
South Sudan declared Jonglei a national “disaster area” while the United Nations has said it will launch a “massive” emergency operation to help some 60,000 people affected by the violence.
In December about 6,000 Nuer Youths Army marched on the remote town of Pibor in troubled Jonglei state, home to the rival Murle people, who they blame for cattle raiding and have vowed to wipe out the entire Murle Tribe on the face of the earth as the only solution to guarantee long-term security of Nuer’s cattle.
There are more than 1,000 people have been killed in ethnic clashes within South Sudan this year, with Jonglei one of the states worst affected by the violence. Thousands more civilians have been displaced from their homes.
“This is a revenge attack — definitely they are coming to attack the Lou Nuer,” Benjamin said of the most recent attack.
Medical charity Doctors without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres – MSF) said it had airlifted 12 people to its hospital in Nasir, in neighboring Upper Nile state for urgent surgical treatment.
“Five adult women and one adult man had gunshot wounds and the remaining six patients were children under five, with beating or gunshot wounds,” MSF said in a statement.
The statement said the group’s head of mission Jose Hulsenbeck “expressed shock at the number of women and children injured in this latest round of violence.”
Benjamin said 100 troops were already on their way to the remote area in northern Jonglei from a base in Wat, 50 kilometres (35 miles) away, and more would soon follow.
After an attack on a Nuer area on Sunday that reportedly killed 24 people, Jonglei governor Kuol Manyang warned that a Murle captain had “deserted with 30 people” to take revenge for his people.
UNTIMES
http://untimes.org/index.php/south-sudan/item/545-98765467897655678865788
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