Mayom commissioner accuses SSPDF of instigating Abiemnom violence

BENTIU – The commissioner of Mayom County in South Sudan’s Unity State on Wednesday accused the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) of triggering violence in neighboring Abiemnom County by ambushing cattle herders.

The commissioner, James Lily Kuol, alleged in a statement extended to Sudans Post that an SSPDF brigade commander from the 3^rd Infantry Division ordered the ambush, leading to a retaliatory attack by armed youth from Mayom who briefly seized control of Abiemnom.

Abiemnom County Commissioner Mario Deng Ayot told Sudans Post he fled to a nearby forest during the attack.

Ayot said the violence began on Monday when Mayom youth attacked cattle grazing areas, killing four people and wounding six. He said the same group returned on Tuesday and seized the town.

Kuol, however, blamed the SSPDF’s 3^rd Infantry Division Brigade in Biemkat, under Brigadier General Garang Lual, for instigating the conflict. He said SSPDF forces and Abiemnom youth ambushed Mayom cattle herders, stealing over 300 cattle.

“Cattle keepers from Mayom County were following their cattle when they were ambushed by Brig. Gen. Garang Lual…and Abiemnom County youth. They raided more than 300 cattle, which led to the deaths of four people from Abiemnom, including two soldiers from General Lual’s forces,” Liyliy said in the statement.

Liyliy also accused the SSPDF and Abiemnom authorities of detaining milk sellers from Mayom after the ambush. He said the subsequent attack by Mayom youth was to recover the stolen cattle and free the detainees, including 25 children, 18 of whom were girls.

He did not confirm a full seizure of the town.

“After returning to Abiemnom County headquarters, they detained approximately 25 children, including 18 girls who had gone there to sell milk,” Liyliy said.

He said he was communicating with Ayot, and some cattle and children had been recovered.

Liyliy said he deployed Brigade 11 of the 4^th Infantry Division to de-escalate the situation, and that it had since returned to normal, a claim Sudans Post and residents of Abiemnom cannot confirm.