KUAJOK – Authorities in Warrap State say armed youth from neighbouring Unity State launched a pre-dawn attack on a cattle camp in the Luacjang community of Tonj East County, but failed to drive away livestock amid resistance from local forces.
The assault occurred at around 2:20 a.m. on Thursday, according to Warrap State’s Minister of Information William Wol Mayom Bol, who described the incident as a coordinated raid involving youth from Koch, Panyijiar, and Mayiendit counties in Unity State.
He said the attackers targeted cattle camps in the area but were ultimately repelled before they could seize any animals.
“The wounded people are still to be identified, including those who may have lost their lives,” the minister said, noting that authorities were still assessing the full impact of the attack.
Mayom added that despite the scale of the raid, “the raiders did not succeed in taking cattle from the Luacjang community.”
Accounts from individuals identified as part of the raiding group offered a conflicting narrative. One member of the armed youth anonymously told Sudans Post that they had entered the cattle camps but encountered resistance from government forces in Tonj East County, forcing them to retreat.
“The government of Tonj East County and Warrap State fought us when we attempted to raid cattle. There were injuries, but we do not know the number,” the source said, adding that the group was returning to Unity State after failing to secure livestock.
The incident underscores persistent cross-border cattle raiding and intercommunal tensions between communities in Warrap and Unity states, where armed youth groups frequently carry out retaliatory attacks.
Although economic motives and cycles of revenge often drive cattle raids, they have increasingly involved organised and heavily armed groups, raising security concerns.
Local authorities have not yet released an official casualty figure, and it remains unclear how many people may have been killed or injured in the latest violence. Efforts to verify details from both sides are ongoing.
The attack comes just weeks after a similar raid in the same area reportedly resulted in the loss of a significant number of cattle, highlighting the fragile security situation and the recurring nature of such incidents in the region.
