S. Sudanese rebels blame armed youth over Jonglei’s Twic East killings

April 4, 2014 (JUBA) – The spokesperson for South Sudanese opposition forces claimed they had no hand in Jonglei’s Twic East county attack in which five people died and two were injured.

The commissioner said Thursday that an armed group believed to be part of the rebels known as the SPLM-in-Opposition, carried out the Twic East attack.

The raiders, he added, attacked Kiir-Adhiok cattle camp, situated north of Duk county.

Akoi further claimed one of the raiders killed in the clash belonged to the Luo Nuer tribe and was identified by his distinctive facial scarring.

“The deceased had six parallel lines running across his forehead,” he observed.

But the SPLM-In-Opposition spokesperson dismissed the commissioner’s claims.

“Commissioner’s Akoi argument and only confirmatory proof that the deceased must have been from the Luo Nuer tribe simply because of facial scarring and six parallel lines running across the forehead is a pure layman’s reasoning and not sufficient given shared cultural marks and other commonalities between Dink-Nyarweng and Hol of Duk county,” Koang said in a statement to Sudan Tribune.

“Akoi is unknowingly becoming the latest victim of Philip Thon and Deng Dau’s team campaigning to instill fear among the peoples of Duk and trying to drag them into war that is not theirs,” he added.

Jonglei, the country’s largest state has witnessed serious upheaval since conflict began in mid-December following a split in the South Sudanese army (SPLA) and the ruling party – the SPLM.

A total of over one million people have been displaced, including 803,200 within South Sudan and 254,600 who have ?ed to neighbouring countries, since the fighting began in Juba.

The United Nations says the conflict has left 3.7 million people at high risk of food insecurity.

(ST).