Fighting in Fangak as armed youth from Pigi attack county headquarters

JUBA – Opposition authorities in South Sudan’s Fangak county of Jonglei state are reporting fighting in the area after heavily armed youth from Pigi County of Jonglei state launched fresh attacks on several villages.

Nhial Keak Kong, an opposition spokesman in New Fangak, said in a statement to Sudans Post this evening that the fighting began on Thursday morning when armed youth from neighboring Pigi county launched surprise attack against several villages in Fangak county killing three people.

“Yesterday Pigi County Armed youth came and attacked Phom El Zeraf, the headquarters of Fangak County area at 9:30 PM. In that incident three people have been killed one young man,  two women and one small child sustained injuries in the village called Tuongdiok,” Nhial said.

The local opposition official said the latest attack comes a week after similar incident in which armed youth from Pigi County attacked civilians in different villages there killing, he said, ten people.

“Secondly, last week Pigi County armed youth killed other 10 people in different villages,” he said.

He added that two humanitarian workers who works at Padum in Korwai went missing saying they also killed a local community chief.

“In the yesterday night’s attack they also burned down some houses to ashes in Wuntur village, just 2 kilometres away from New Fangak HQs. The Armed youth also seized 100 heads of cattle in different call Door village,” he said.

“Those steps were done by Pigi County armed youth under the command of caretaker commissioner Gatwich Puot Gatdang who declared through Radio last week, to fight people of Fangak County,” he said.

He further urged the government in Juba to “look into this looming conflict otherwise New Fangak will defense its position to protect the civilians under these multiple deadly attacks carried out by Pigi armed youths.”