The governor of South Sudan’s Boma State, David Yau Yau has promised to return the cattle raided from Jonglei state to their owners.

Last week, an armed group of cattle raiders from Boma launched two separate attacks in Duk Payuel and Jalle areas in Jonglei State. The attackers killed 14 people and raided thousands of cattle.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Monday, Governor Yau Yau said local authorities in Boma were monitoring the situation and that the cattle raiders will be arrested when they arrive in the state.

The top state official urged his counterpart in Jonglei to cooperate with him in tracking cattle raiders by deploying joint security forces along the common borders.

For his part, Jonglei governor Philip Aguer Panyang expressed his readiness to cooperate with Boma authorities to recover the abducted children and cattle.

Meanwhile Juuk Othana, the executive director of the civil society Jonglei Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development (JIPDD) called on political leaders from Jonglei and Boma states to show the political will for peace to prevail in greater Jonglei.

“Cattle raids and child abductions among communities in greater Jonglei have been continuing for so many years. People have been calling for peace, justice and accountability but our politicians always talk of condemnations, so people should not continue losing their lives,” he said.

Juuk urged the national government in Juba to carry out a disarmament exercise and deploy armed forces along the common borders to stop inter-communal conflicts.

The communities of Jonglei and their neighbors in Boma State have for long been wrangling leading to cattle raids and child abductions. In 2017, the two sides signed a peace agreement to end hostilities, but the deal could not hold.