Tension rises in Mapel town after man killed

March 28, 2017 (TONJ) – There was tension in Mapel town of Wau state between the Luo and Dinka communities after the former accused the latter of killing a man in a village west of the town.

A man, identified as Bol Akot, is suspected to have carried out a revenge attack after five of his relatives were allegedly killed by rebels as they cut bamboo in the same village on Sunday.

Kwajiena county commissioner, Barjuok Ucu visited Mapel town on Monday to quell down the situation between the two communities.

An eyewitness faulted members of South Sudan’s military for taking sides during intervention, a situation, he said, spark condemnation from other high ranking officers within the armed forces in Mapel.

“What we need is for Bol Akot to be arrested and taken to face the law. This will give us hope that he will face the law over his action of killing our brother and if the government does not want to arrest him, then we will revenge on Bol,” the eyewitness told Sudan Tribune.

“Our people are now suffering twice, the Dinka are targeting them on another side, the rebels are chasing civilians away from their homes and abducting youth, what can they do if the state government itself is not capable to protect the citizens,” he added.

Sudan Tribune was unable to establish if the suspect was eventually arrested.

(ST)