An injured child from Weck in Uror County being airlifted to hospital [©Gurtong]
By Pow James Raeth
UROR, 15th January 2012 [Gurtong] - The death toll of people killed on the 11TH/1/2011 in Uror County of Jonglei State has risen to 55 as others died in hospital and abducted children found dead and 53 were seriously wounded, 21,930 herds of cattle raided and 43 children are missing.
This is according to a report presented by the government assessment team, sent to Weck and Panyuok Bomas of Uror County, to the acting governor Diing Akol (Minister of Local Government). The report also explains that over 40,000 people were displaced to Pathai west of Yuai the County headquarter.
“Two Bomas in Uror County fell under heavy attack by heavily armed Murle youth on last Wednesday evening. Those wounded receiving treatment in Leer hospital in Unity State and Nassir Hospital of Upper Nile State. Among the dead are mostly women, children, elderly and the disabl,” the County Acting commissioner Mr. Abraham Jok Akuiny (Executive Director) said.
An eyewitness reported that the attackers use machetes and knifes to kill the defenceless women and children. “They don’t waste their bullets on weak people, they killed them using knifes and sticks,” an old man who narrowly escaped in Weck narrated to Gurtong.
One of the women whose foetus was chopped off from her womb survived and is currently undergoing medical treatment at Leer hospital in Unity State with MSF experts from Holland
The displaced people are without food, water, shelter and medicines, their camps are located around and inside Paithai centre which is swampy and vulnerable to disease like malaria and sleeping sickness because the area is infected with testes fly and mosquitoes.
Commissioner Akuiny said that the attackers brutally murdered innocent people without resistance because most of the youths were on their way back to Lou Nuer territory after withdrawing from Murle territories almost two weeks ago.
While speaking to the media in Bor County, the newly appointed Commissioner of Uror County Mr. Simon Hoth Do blamed his State government of failing to deploy the already added 2,000 police force to the State to conflict venerable areas like his Bomas.
He called upon the government and international organisations to help the displaced starving people.
Hoth added that, “the outside world should understand the root cause of this conflict and should not just conclude that -the minority are being killed by the majority; the Minority on daily basis.”