At least 49 people were killed in a raid on a cattle camp in South Sudan's Warrap State, three weeks after another deadly attack in the same area. Juba also summoned four ambassadors over a joint statement urging inter-party dialogue before the December election. The security and diplomatic developments expose the country's fragility as the election timetable draws closer.
Gunmen attacked the Machar-Pakuek cattle camp and Mading Juer Boma in Tonj North County in South Sudan's Warrap State early on Thursday. State spokesperson William Wol Mayom Bol said at least 49 people were killed and 33 wounded. He attributed the raid to an armed cross-border criminal network without naming a group. The official allegation was not reported as an independently verified finding of responsibility.[1]
A similar attack in the same area three weeks earlier killed 60 people. Cattle raids linked to competition over grazing land and water recur across South Sudan. President Salva Kiir declared a six-month emergency last year as inter-communal violence escalated. Anita Kiki Gbeho, who heads the UN mission in the country, also recently expressed concern about the cycle of communal conflict in Warrap.[1]
South Sudanese Foreign Minister James Pitia Morgan summoned the ambassadors of Germany, Japan, Norway and the United States. The four missions had called for the immediate start of authentic inter-party dialogue after meeting Vice President Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior. The ministry called their joint statement inappropriate and divisive, while Morgan reaffirmed the government's commitment to the 2018 peace agreement. The National Elections Commission has scheduled the general election for 22 December 2026.[2]
