Youth and community police have agreed to patrol the grazing lands in Twic County of Warrap State to protect them from cattle raiders, after a meeting with state officials last Thursday.

Community chiefs, youths and state authorities meeting on Thursday discussed “how they are going to patrol the border areas to protect civilians and their animals,” reported Mayardit FM.

Governor Nyandeng Malek says she is not forcing youth to protect the areas, but the government is asking them to volunteer. “I want to let you know that youth are backbone of this country and if you don’t want to protect civilians, who will do that?” 

“I’m worried of security if youth don’t know roles being youth in the community. Also I want to inform you that this time youth need to sleep at the side of river” to watch for raiders, she said.

Turalei executive chief Garang Nyuol says the youth have “agreed to deploy community police. He says they have accepted to play their roles as community members,” the station reported.

The governor says the government will provide them with supplies like food. 

Fighting in Tonj East

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the state, four people were killed and 16 injured during a cattle raid in Akok in Tonj East County, according to the commissioner.

County Commissioner Madhol Chol says the youth of Apuk Jurwiir of Tonj South County and Luachkoth of Tonj East County joined together to raid two cattle camps belonging to Akok community of Tonj East County.

He said the fighting erupted at noon and ended at 7:30 in the evening. Two Akok community members were killed and two raiders from Luachkoth. Sixteen people sustained bullet injuries.

File photo: A young cattle herder from the Dinka tribe carries his AK 47 rifle near Rumbek, capital of the Lakes State (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)