The assault, which resulted in the seizure of the two, left at least 27 people dead, including a child, two women, and 12 others wounded.
Speaking to Sudans Post this afternoon, Abiemnom County Commissioner Mario Deng Ayot confirmed that the youth withdrew yesterday, but the attack left a trail of destruction and death.
He also stated that while the Mayom County Commissioner visited the area, he stayed for only 30 minutes and did little to assist with the situation. Deng described how the attack unfolded.
“As I told you yesterday, there was an attack by Nuer youth from Mayom County. They attacked Abiemnom the day before yesterday at around 4:00 PM. They took about 37 goats, and cows were also taken. I immediately called the Mayom County Commissioner, and he kept telling me he would come, but he didn’t,” Deng said.
He also noted that the Mayom Commissioner failed to act when the youth surrounded Abiemnom on Tuesday, despite warnings from Deng.
“The attack took place, and the commissioner kept telling me that he had spoken to the youth, but the attacks continued,” he said.
The initial death toll from the attack was 26, which included one child and two women. Deng reported that 13 people were wounded, but one of them died on Wednesday morning, bringing the total death toll to 27.
“So, as I speak to you, the number of people who died is 27,” Deng added.
Deng further explained the limited role played by Mayom County Commissioner, General James Liyliy Kuol, who arrived in Abiemnom briefly.
“The youth withdrew last night after the Mayom County Commissioner came, stayed for 30 minutes, and then left for Mayom,” Deng said.
He clarified that the attackers were part of the White Army, an armed group linked to Mayom County, with some wearing military uniforms and others dressed in civilian clothes.
“These are armed youth, they are the White Army, and some of them are wearing military uniforms, while others are in civilian clothes. These are criminals. The claim that the SSPDF instigated the attack is false. No SSPDF soldier was involved or took a single cow,” Deng stated firmly.
Mayom commissioner speaks out
Mayom County Commissioner, General James Liyliy Kuol, provided his account of the incident, explaining in an interview with Sudans Post that the fighting erupted when a group of Mayom youth living in Abiemnom tried to move their cattle from grazing areas to a camp.
According to Liyliy, the youth were approached on Tuesday by a group of people, including some from Abiemnom and possibly South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) soldiers, who then surrounded their cattle.
“After a few minutes, these people from Mayom were expelled from where their cattle were, and two military land cruisers arrived, took the cattle, and transported them to Abiemnom. Around 5:00 PM, fighting broke out because they wanted to recover their cattle. Two people from our side were killed, and I don’t know how many were wounded on their side,” Liyliy explained.
Liyliy also mentioned that after the fighting, some women from Mayom, who had gone to Abiemnom to sell milk, were arrested by the Abiemnom police, further complicating efforts to resolve the matter.
“People started asking why the cattle were being taken with military approval. I spoke to the commissioner, saying the cows and girls would be returned, but the whereabouts of the cattle remain unclear,” he said.
Liyliy said that yesterday’s attack happened when he tried to intervene by going to Abiemnom, but was attacked outside the town, forcing the youth to attack and take control of Abiemnom County headquarters.
“I left yesterday to resolve the issue, but I was attacked on the way with heavy weapons, including RPGs,” he added.
Liyliy criticized the influence of the military in the conflict, saying the SSPDF commander in the area was behind the escalation.
“The government was speaking very nicely with me, but the commissioner was acting under the influence of the military commander in the area. If it weren’t for the military commander, no fighting would have happened,” he said.
The violence between Mayom and Abiemnom reflects deeper ethnic and territorial tensions in South Sudan. Both counties have experienced peaceful co-existence and have stayed away from cross border raids often driven by cattle raiding and accusations of collaboration with rival factions between Mayom and Twic of Warrap State.
