Unity state commissioner returns Meseriya’s stolen cows
February 27, 2015 (BENTIU) – The Mayom county commissioner in South Sudan’s Unity state, John Bol Mayak has returned 68 herds of cattle stolen from the Miseriya nomads in January 2013.
The commissioner said the handover took place at a meeting with Messeriya leaders on Friday, during which he warned his area youth to desist from grabbing cattle from the Sudanese nomadic groups.
Mayak said the youth who stole cattle from the Miseriya were victims of a shoot-out between the Miseriya and Bul-Nuer communities in Tumor and Tor-Abieth areas, located northwest of Mayom county.
“The groups who raided cattle from Sudanese nomads were among those victims killed by Miseriya tribe in 2013. Their cows were taken by the Miseriya before the conflict [and] that is why they want to revenge,” Mayak told Sudan Tribune Friday.
According to the commissioner, the Unity state administration wants to restore calms between the Meseriya and Bul-Nuer communities.
Meseriya leaders signed several agreements during the former administration of Taban Deng Gai, which allowed them enter Unity state territory as the local chiefs from both Rubkotna and Mayom counties and would sit and agree on their duration of stay.
Cattle raiding in Lakes, Unity and Warrap states have been a common practice among these communities for years even before the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
(ST)