Jonglei: Man killed in retaliatory attack between Adol subclans
March 13, 2013 (BOR) – Tensions are high in Pan-Pandiar village of Bor County after a man was shot dead in an attack by a man from another section of the Dinka Adol ethnic group.
During the fighting the son of a South Sudanese-American citizen, who was a suspect in the fighting, also died only a few minutes after he was released from a secret army prison, where he had been held for over a day and a half.
On Monday a Jonglei state court ordering the family of Keer Amol to pay 50 heads of cattle to the family of Chol Alier, who died in the fighting.
Because Chol Alier was killed in a fight between two sections of the Adol community rather than a fight between people, the court found Keer guilty of manslaughter rather than murder.
However Chol Alier’s family insisted that Keer Amol should be hanged rather than handing over cattle as compensation.
Following the court’s decision a cousin of Chol Alier, Thon Akuol, appeared to take the law into his own hands on Wednesday by attacking the home of Keer’s brother Deng Amol.
A witness told Sudan Tribune that Thon Akuol, who was wearing military uniform but is not a soldier in South Sudan’s army, attacked the house at around 7am while Deng was sitting outside with his parents. He was initially shot in the leg before he was shot four times in his chest.
“When neighbours saw the approaching soldier, they recognised him as Thon [Akuol], and they immediately called us, “Deng, get up, danger, somebody with gun”, then, we turned around and saw him ready to shoot. Our dear son stood up and he was shot on the leg, we ran to different directions”, his distraught mother told Sudan Tribune.
“My son did not die on spot, but the killer rushed in and shot him four bullets on the chest, that is how he was killed”, his mother said as the tears rolled down her face.
Members of the Adol section which comes from, retaliated by setting a number of the houses in the village on fire before the police arrived.
(ST)