52 cattle stolen in separate incidents in Cuebet County

RUMBEK – Local authorities in South Sudan’s Lakes State on Friday reported two separate incidents in which at least 52 cows were stolen in Cueibet County.

Speaking to Sudans Post, Lakes State Police Spokesperson, Maj. Elijah Mabor Makuac, said that while the security situation in Lakes State is generally normal, there have been a few reported incidents.

He said the first incident occurred on Thursday evening when suspected criminals from Tonj attacked a man transporting cattle from Tonj to Yirol at Malou-Pech area before going away with at least 49 herds of cattle.

“One incident occurred around 5:00 PM when a civilian traveling from Tonj to Yirol was driving a herd of 49 cattle,” he said this afternoon.

“Upon reaching the Malou-pech area, the individual was intercepted by criminals who raided all 49 cattle, along with 500,000 SSP and a mobile phone,” he added.

According to Makuac, the perpetrators are believed to be from Tonj, Warrap State.

“The victim, identified as Achol Malual, was left empty-handed. He had purchased the cattle for business purposes and was returning from Tonj, where many individuals procure cattle to sell in Lakes State and even as far as Juba,” he added.

The victim, accompanied by others, was traveling on foot when they encountered the criminals.

“Unfortunately, the raiders took everything, including the money reserved for emergencies along the journey,” he said.

“The criminals fled the scene, but they were identified as originating from the Thony section of Tonj in Warrap State,” Makuac added.

Makuac issued a message to the people of Warrap State, particularly those in Tonj East County bordering Lakes State.

“I urge them to cooperate with authorities in Lakes State to apprehend and bring to justice the criminals responsible for disrupting security and peace along the border of these two sisterly states,” he concluded.

The state police officer said that 3 cows were stolen in a second incident where unknown gunmen attacked villagers at Alel-Tiel of Abiriu Payam of Cueibet County.

He said the theft occurred in the early hours of February 9 when criminals descended upon the village, firing shots, causing panic among the residents, before making off with the cattle, without any reported casualties.