Bor County Report: Trails of death, atrocities and destruction by the Murle, 2005-2012

Bor County Report: Murle killed 793 people, abducted 276 children, raided 57,127 livestock and wounded 398 people from 2005 to 2012

By Mach Samuel Peter, Bor, Jonglei State

February 22, 2017 (SSB) — The office of the governor has released the atrocities committed by Murle between 2005 and 2012. Another report covering Duk and Twic East Counties will be released soon or later. In a long document entitled Bor County Peace conferences (Murle incidents from 2005 to 2012) Murle killed 793 people, abducted 276 children, raided 57,127 livestock and wounded 398 people from 2005 to 2012 in Bor County. This is the summary of the atrocities committed by Murle in Bor County from 2005 to 2012 in five Payams of Kolnyang, Anyidi, Jalle, Baidit and Makuach.

Summary of Kolnyang Payam data for Murle incidents from 2005 to 2012

Summary of the people killed, people injured, abducted children, cattle raided, goats and sheep in Anyidi Payam from 2005 to 2012 was combined. However the summary of the people killed are 53, 26 wounded, 11 abducted children, 2,468 herds of cattle raided and 764 goats and sheep stolen.

Meanwhile in Makuach Payam, the summary of the people killed, people injured, abducted children, cattle raided, goats and sheep from 2005 to 2012 was 224 people killed, 165 people wounded, 83 abducted children, 6,769 herds of cattle and 4,935 goats and sheep stolen. The date was collected by Ayuen Deng Guut, Chief Nyok BiorThich, Chief David Wuoi Kelei, Chief Achiek MayenJok, and Chief Dhor Riak Kheer.

In Baidit Payam, 44 children were abducted, 77 people killed, 27 others wounded, 9591 cattle raided and 2143 goats and sheep stolen. The data was collected by paramount Chief Gideon Alier Aluong.

In Jalle Payam, 45 children were abducted, 138 people killed, 76 people wounded 22,168 herd of cattle wounded and 1,556 goats and sheep raided.

Because the Murle attacks to Dinka Bor land persisted for nearly 150 years, records of those killed or affected could not be easily recorded for many reasons of which illiteracy by the time could be one of them plus the fact the Dinka did not take Murle as their enemies. The only enemy by the time was Khartoum which continued through centuries to drive the wedge of hatred and differences among the communities of South Sudan.

Onlookers may be suspecting Bor Dinka to have aggressed Murle in one way or the other in the past but why is Murle aggressing all the neighboring communities to Pibor the document reads. Murle have and continued to cause havoc to the Bor, Twic East, Duk, Ayod, Uror, Nyirol, Akobo, Pochala, Kapoeta, Budi, Lafon, Juba, Terekeka, Maiwut, Boma Payam and Ethiopia.

Patriot from Bor were among those who spear head the capturing of Pibor garrison in 1987 at the time when many Murle sons were collaborating with the enemy and deployed to shelter the Sudan armed forces SAF and their associates the Mujahideen.

Peace should be the first dividend of our long struggle. Without peace in the family, lineage, section, clan, tribe, county, state and the whole nation, the hard earned independence of south Sudan is meaningless. Bor County is one of the first among those counties which suffered the atrocities of the neighbors Murle who have never been provoked, antagonized, aggressed or aggrieved in any way or the other by the people of Bor County.

With the attainment of south Sudan independence, the people of this region have stumbled and suffered since day one of the implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement CPA. There are no contacts areas between the Dinka and Murle especially during the dry season. No water point, reservoirs, ponds, streams or water catchment where cattle camps can converge during the dry season as t is the case with other areas and communities.

There is a large empty plain between the furthest Murle settlement to the west and Dinka Bor settlement to the East. The border south/west between Bor and Pibor is approximately 150 kilometers making it the longest separating border between the counties in the whole state of Jonglei if not in the whole of the South Sudan which make it porous for the infiltration of Murle invaders.

No historical or inherited grudges between the two communities that can continue to surface from time to time and ignite disputes. In the long history of our neighborhood and relations with Murle people of Bor never migrated to Murle land in search of water and grazing. Instead, it is the Murle who on many occasions migrated to Bor in search of those resources.

And to the most recent and freshest migration in mind was in 2003 and 2004 where the Murle were hospitably received throughout the county by the people of Bor County. And to gauge the extent of hospitality, they were allocated specific areas and boreholes for their drinking and that of their livestock.

John Market the former Director of USAID witness the tour f the Murle cattle camps within Bor County in March 2003. It was very unfortunate at their return at the onset of the rainy season that they killed many people and went off with cattle they robbed.

With all the hospitality and generosity accorded to the people of Murle by this county, Bor people have suffered many attacks and atrocities in the hands of Murle and to cite a few of the many unrecorded in sequence of periods.

BherAdhouny later known as BherAnyidi

(Bher is the terminology used by Dinka sometime in referring to Murle. At the beginning of 19 century, approximately in 1820, Murle attacked dancers at Anyidi and killed 28 people. Though followed by the other attack on Anyidi in July 1983 which took 82 lives, people still refer to that attacks of 19^th Century as the most terrifying and brutal.

The killing of wife of Ayath at Ajakgeer in 1953

That was the first incident a woman was killed by Murle tribesman. That act of killing a woman forced the community to move westward in order to avoid such kind of brutality.

Immediately after the revolt of Battalion 105 in Bor in 1983

Successive attacks were carried out on Bor people which resulted in loss of many lives, abduction of children and looting of many lives.

Attacks after the implementation of CPA

With implementation of peace, Murle landed on Bor people killing, robbing and abducting children. The most terrifying is the attack at Pagook cattle camp where 37 people were killed and thousands of cattle raided.

Attacks after the independence of South Sudan

Bor County experienced 37 attacks that resulted in the death of 57 people, injured of 42, abduction of 6 children and burning of 114 settlements. Most brutal was the attack on Akoot village in Jalle Payam on 5^th of December 2011 where 39 people were killed among them women and children and killed children were flunk into the flames of the set ablaze settlements

Attacks after the beginning of disarmament

It was thought with the disarmament of progress, everybody was going to bury his head down, but the Murle defiantly continued penetrating the SPLA lines and forces to kill, abduct loot and rob cattle. During the disagreement period of over three weeks, Murle killed 7 people, injured 4 and robbing over 400 heads of cattle.

From now, the people of Bor present these simple demands to the Murle and the government of Boma state.

1. Return of all the abducted children to parents or relatives and the criminals taken to books.
2. Return of all stolen cattle to owners
3. Blood compensation by Murle for all the Bor Dinka people killed. Immediate establishment of Joint police to patrol the borders of Murle and Dinka and Murle community to apologize for the atrocities committed on Bor people.

For more information, you can call or email Mach Samuel Peter at machsamuelpeter@gmail.com or call 0955437877.

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