Seven people killed, over 700 cattle raided in Owiny ki-Bul
At least seven people were reportedly killed in a deadly clash between unknown armed cattle raiders and herders in Owiny ki-Bul, Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria State.
An estimated 800 cattle are said to have been raided during the Monday incident.
Sources from the county reveal that the cattle raided were not part of the livestock that recently arrived in Magwi County.
They said the cattle belonged to one of the army generals based in Owiny ki-Bul and that they had been grazing in the area for quite a long time.
Area Chief, Obany Michael, who confirmed the incident, said the raid had triggered fear, hence displacing the local people.
“Some people, we do not know where they came from, came and raided cattle from Owiny ki Bul. This is the cause of the displacement here,’’ Obany said as he explained that the issue happened at the military site.
“You know civilians fear whenever an incident like that happens. The cattle were taken and about seven people were killed [from the cattle owners],’’ he further said.
Meanwhile, Magwi County Executive Director, Ocheng David Tokwaro, also confirmed the incident and said that the communities, especially children and women, are hiding due to fear of retaliation by the cattle owners.
“People are estimating that it [the number of cattle] is 700 to 800. People are in fear now, especially women and children, who are in hiding because they fear may be the owners of these cattle may retaliate against them, “said Ocheng.
Residents in fear
He told the herders not to revenge on the residents since the raiders were not from Magwi County.
“The people who raid these cattle are not the people of Magwi, they normally come from far away.” So their intention is just to acquire wealth the way they know is good for them, but now the retaliation is in the host community, who are not even raiders. So these are the kinds of unnecessary problems we are in, “he said.
The executive director encouraged the local leaders to console the population to avoid dragging them to the displacement camps in the neighbouring countries as a result of the conflict.
“The leadership there should have meetings to encourage people to stay calm, especially the army who are there and the chiefs. They have to immediately conduct the meetings to give assurance to them,” he said.
“If they keep quiet, they will not be certain of their future and this will displace people either to Uganda or elsewhere, which is unnecessary, and now people are supposed to prepare their gardens for planting as the rain is starting now,” Ocheng added.
