Pibor youth deny involvement in Baidit deadly attacks

The Greater Pibor youth have distanced themselves from the attack that left 32 dead in Baidit Payam of Bor County in Jonglei State on Sunday.

Twenty-one others were wounded and 2,600 cattle were raided during the incident, the Jonglei State government revealed.

In a statement signed on Tuesday by David Ngiro Yangkon, the Secretary-General for External Affairs of the Greater Pibor Administrative Area Youth Union, the youth condemned those who blamed the attacks on them.

“With great concern, we have learned and seen a lot of accusation statements issued by several stakeholders accusing Murle youth of attacking Baidit Payam, Bor County, Jonglei State on January 23, 2022, in which they claim that 34 people were killed in the incident,” he said

“We are here to condemn this false allegation levelled against Murle youth in the strongest terms possible. The attackers are believed to be the supporters of the two bishops who are fighting over ECSS leadership in Bor, Jonglei State, not the Murle youth who attacked them,” the statement read in part.

Jonglei State and Pibor Administrative Area have been witnessing horrific human rights violations, including killings, and kidnappings of women and children, in recent years.

Though no party has claimed responsibility, some people from Greater Jonglei have accused Murle armed youth of carrying out the attacks.

Over 120 lives have been lost so far, with many others unaccounted for; hundreds of women and children abducted, and thousands of herds of cattle raided since 2012, despite several attempts by leaders to quell the conflict.

Last year, President Salva Kiir called on the people of Greater Pibor to shun all forms of hostilities, including child abduction, for both communities to coexist and focus on development after an unsuccessful reconciliatory attempt by Vice President Dr James Wani Igga in 2020.

However, both the national and state governments have yet to come up with a realistic roadmap to resolve the protracted conflict that has also displaced thousands and destroyed communities’ livelihoods in both regions.