Two men who were fishing along the Kolom River, north of Abyei Town in Amiet County, were ambushed by suspected Misseriya armed men, leaving one dead and the other seriously injured.
The victims were reportedly members of the Aweil community residing in Abyei, where many engage in livelihood activities such as fishing and brickmaking.
Tong Kuot Tong, the spokesperson of the Aweil Community Association in the Abyei Administrative Area, told this publication in an exclusive phone interview on Wednesday that the attack was carried out by suspected armed Misseriya elements who infiltrate the forests of Amiet, where locals conduct fishing and charcoal production.
Tong described the incident as shocking, noting that one man, identified as Malith Deng, was killed instantly at the riverbank where he had gone to check his fishing net.
“Malith was shot dead at the riverbank where he had gone to check his net and passed away immediately. Meanwhile, another man, Akol Akoon from Rumaker village in Aweil East County, was shot in the stomach and rushed to Ameth-Beek Referral Hospital in Abyei, where MSF is attending to him. He is responding well,” he said.
Tong added that relatives of the injured victim, Akol Akoon, have been notified, but the family of the late Malith Deng has not yet received the information. Efforts are underway to reunite Malith’s 15-year-old son with his relatives in Wunlang Payam, Aweil East County.
“We buried Malith Deng yesterday in Amiet. We are now trying to reach his family so they can come and collect their 15-year-old boy. His wife is said to have travelled to Aweil during the repatriation process, leaving Malith with his son until this tragic incident occurred,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Abraham Ariath, the chairperson of the Aweil Community Association in Abyei, linked the attack to an earlier incident in which locals apprehended a Misseriya man for allegedly disturbing fishermen by tampering with their nets.
“What people suspect triggered the attack is that the local community captured an Arab man accused of repeatedly removing their nets from the river. He is currently detained, and other Arabs may have assumed he was killed, which could have led to the killing of Malith and the shooting of the other man,” Ariath said.
He urged residents to remain calm as investigations continue to help maintain peace between the Misseriya and the Dinka communities living in Amiet and across the Abyei Administrative Area.
Ariath further described the security situation in the greater Abyei Administrative Area as chaotic and confusing, with multiple unaligned armed groups present.
“When you enter Amiet, which is a border point, you find unknown forces everywhere. It is infiltrated, and nobody knows the status or allegiance of these armed individuals,” he said.
“Young people are armed with knives and move around at night. Such issues can only be controlled if the security elements are properly monitored.”
The incident underscores the recurring pattern of revenge and tribal violence involving armed militias from the Misseriya and Ngok Dinka communities. Ariath noted that a peace monitoring committee between the Misseriya and Dinka Ngok was re-established last week following attacks on local farmers at Amiet Market.
