Attempted cattle raid “foiled”, says Jonglei MP

September 27, 2013 (JUBA) – An attempted cattle raid in South Sudan’s Jonglei state was halted on Friday by local residents with no casualties reported, according to a local MP.

Some cows were driven away by gunmen in Yicnhom, a village located about 10 kilometers south of Bor, the capital of Jonglei state.

“All the cows are returned and their raid was easily foiled,” local lawmaker, Philip Thon Nyok, told Sudan Tribune.

“These activities of raiders are not stopping,” Nyok, who represents Bor town in the Jonglei state legislative assembly, said on Friday.

The attack comes a week after a man was killed in a suburb of Bor town and his two daughters abducted.

In separate incident on Tuesday, another person was shot dead by patrolling armed men in what authorities say was an accident.

Jonglei’s minister of cabinet affairs, Gabriel Gai Riam – who acted as the caretaker governor while deputy governor Hussein Maar was in the UK on medical leave – says the overall security situation has improved over the last month.

In a briefing to reporters on Wednesday to reporters in Bor, transcript of which Sudan Tribune obtained, Riam described the recent insecurity incidents in Bor town as “isolated.”

“This question of question abduction and killing of innocent is an issue that needs security attention in this state and the country as a whole. Otherwise the situation in the months of September is better than July and August,” said Riam.

(ST)