Armed Murle militias attack Sobat state, kill 24: official

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

January 30, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – Armed men dressed in a uniforms similar to those of South Sudanese National Security officers attacked Makak payam in Sobat state, killing 24 people, an official disclosed.

Armed men indiscriminately opened up their machine guns firing their live bullets on the residents after tactically positioning themselves at all corners of the village, said Tiem, also secretary for information.

The majority of those allegedly killed, he said, were women and children, amidst unconfirmed reports that the dead were buried into mass graves.

At least 25 people, Tiem said, were injured with seven of them critically.

The attackers allegedly also abducted two children aged between 4-7 years. Seven other children are said to have gone missing after the attack.

The attack is said to have lasted for about an hour giving the attackers the time they needed to take all cattle in the villages, estimated at about 800.

“The nature and the character of the incident undoubtedly attribute this merciless act to Murle tribesmen,” Tiem told Sudan Tribune Saturday.

Late last year, a similar attack on Bukteng village, about 10 miles away south of Makak, left 19 dead, eight children abducted and many injured.

“Sobat state’s authorities see both Bukteng and Makak successive attacks on civilians as a new front to the ongoing crisis in the country sponsored by the government of Salva Kiir in Juba,” said Tiem.

While condemning in the strongest terms possible to the attacks, authorities in the state called upon international human rights partners and the United Nations to take notice of the shift in the South Sudanese war.

Meanwhile, state officials also appealed for immediate humanitarian support in the form of food, medical supplies, and non-food items, among others to assist the survivors of the Makak payam attack.

(ST)