50 dead in South Sudan tribal raids

Newly arrived refugees from South Sudan queue in line waiting to be registered on November 11, 2016 at Kuluba Reception Centre in Koboko District, Uganda. Fifty people were killed in raids by a tribal militia in eastern South Sudan, the latest in a series of attacks between rival communities. PHOTO | ISAAC KASAMANI | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Rival pastoralist communities in South Sudan have a long and bloody history of tit-for-tat raids in which cattle are rustled and property looted, and women are commonly raped and children abducted, adding fuel to revenge attacks.

JUBA

Fifty people were killed in raids by a tribal militia in eastern South Sudan, a local official said on Wednesday, the latest in a series of attacks between rival communities.

Dut Achuek, a state minister, said eight people died in an attack on Monday in Jonglei state, while a follow-up raid on Tuesday left "23 women killed and... 19 men killed."

RAIDS

Most of the victims were civilians whose homes were burned and livestock stolen, Achuek said.

Both attacks, by armed men frBoma Stateom the Murle ethnic group, targeted Dinkas living in villages around 150 kilometres north of Bor, the state capital.

Kudumoc Nyakurono, information minister for neighbouring Boma State, confirmed the involvement of Murle militia from the area.

"We know that these youth went there from Boma State," he said, adding that investigations were underway to work out the exact circumstances of the attacks.

TIT-FOR-TAT

Rival pastoralist communities in South Sudan have a long and bloody history of tit-for-tat raids in which cattle are rustled and property looted, and women are commonly raped and children abducted, adding fuel to revenge attacks.

In one of the worst such cases, more than 3,000 people were killed when members of a well-armed Nuer militia attacked the Murle in 2012.