103 people are dead in a cattle raid in South Sudan. On Feb. 10, ABC News reported that more than 100 people died when one tribe attacked another in the violence-prone Akobo county. The cattle were being moved at the time of the clash. Over a dozen military members were killed in the fight.
"The attack took place during a yearly migration in which members of the Lou Nuer ethnic group were driving cattle across the Sobat River. The commissioner said survivors of the attack saw the assailants use rocket-propelled grenades in addition to machetes and spears 'thus overwhelming an SPLA force accompanying the people,'" ABC News reports.
The 103 dead in the cattle raid were part of a larger group of injured people. The Red Cross sent emergency personnel to the area to help treat those who were harmed in the attack. According to Akobo County Commissioner Goi Joyul, the attackers were believed to be a rebel group led by David Yau Yau, "a former member of the South Sudanese army from the Murle ethnic group."
Although moving cattle isn't generally "dangerous," this attack may have been pre-meditated -- and it sounds like the rebels were successful. Unfortunately, the area is prone to attacks and something like this could easily happen again in the future.
The 103 dead in the cattle raid will add to the growing number of deaths due to violence in the area. From Jan. 2011 - Sept. 2012, over 2,600 people died in violent attacks.
© Effie Orfanides 2013
