CEPO’s Yakani condemns Eastern Equatoria violence

JUBA — The Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) Edmund Yakani has condemned yesterday’s killing of 22 people at a cattle camp by unknown armed men in Eastern Equatoria state.

Yesterday, a group of armed and unidentified civilians attacked a cattle camp belonging to Bor community cattle herders in Mugali of Magwi County killing 22 people and displacing over 10,000 others.

In a statement, the CEPO condemned the incident and called for an immediate government intervention to avert what is feared to be an escalation of sub national violence.

“Community Empowerment for Progress Organization in strong terms condemned the incident and it is serious incident of human rights abuse that requires immediately government intervention,” the CEPO statement reads in part.

“The slow act of the government on matters of resolving frictions between farmers and pastoralist in Magwi County is turning bad,” the statement added.

Yakani said the Juba “government should demonstrate concrete primary responsibility for mitigating these continuous deadly armed communal violence that is claiming human lives and destroying properties across the country.”

“The statistics of deadly communal violence is totally increasing and commitment of serious human abuses is becoming uncontrolled by the government.

“Incidences of human rights abuse per week across the country is alarming Government should act now and faster on preventing the occurrence of these deadly armed and political motivated communal violence in Magwi County through ensuring the frictions of farmers and pastoralists is resolved.

“The government watching the human rights abuses occurring in their day light eye without responding is bad.

“CEPO is calling upon the central government to urgently act on the situation of Magwi County. Several calls were made on this situation on the best approach of mitigating the situation but it seems the government is silent.

“Finally, CEPO is urging the national government to response concretely on the negative development in Magwi County.”