Juba – Officials said 22 people were killed while 17 others were injured when armed youths attacked a cattle camp in north-western South Sudan on Monday.
State Minister David Laku Jombe told newsmen that the youths, numbering 100, from Eastern Lakes State stole about 90 cattle under gunfire in the village of Tidilo in Terekeka State.
“We have confirmed 22 people dead, including women and children,’’ Jombe said.
According to the state minister, four cattle raiders were among the dead.
Cattle raiding have occurred for centuries in the East African nation and children are sometimes abducted during raids to be used as domestic slaves.
The raids often carry an ethnic component.
Monday’s attack was carried out by the Dinka tribe against the Mundari tribe.
In spite of the signing of various peace accords, South Sudan is in the midst of a bloody civil war that has taken tens of thousands of lives since a 2013 split between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar.