The Commissioner of Panyijiar County was Ambushed in Lake State

The Commissioner of Panyijiar County was ambushed in Lakes state

3/22/2008

The Panyijiar county commissioner Captain James Gatkoi Ter was ambushed on March 17, 2008 by armed civilians in Lake state while heading a delegation to assess the insecurity issues with the bordering county Commissioners of Rumbek East, Central and Akot. He leave Panyijiar for Rumbek when forty Five herds of cattle was raided by armed Dinka civilians from lake state in Pachar Payam. The raiders wounded three helpless civilians who unsuccessfully resisted using spears.

The commissioner says it was last year in June when the commissioners of bordering counties met in Rumbek to discuss the disarmament issue of their communities for peaceful coexistence amongst the people of Panyijiar and bordering Lake state counties. He says in the month of August last year he did peaceful disarming of civilians in Panyijiar County in which six hundred and nine [609] rifles were collected. The Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) commission were invited to witness the disarmament process from Bentiu but due to the lack of transportation and communication net work that connects Panyijiar County to the State capital, they never turned up .

The Panyijiar County Commissioner is requesting H.E the governor of Lakes State Lt .Gen Daniel Wet Akot to disarm his civilians and return the raided cattle on 14/03/08.This will create good coexistence among the neighboring communities. On this trip he was accompanied by the county clerk Major Ruot Goah Teny who is also an advisor on development issues. Ruot said that since December last year the county was affected by the insecurity from the neighboring state. He says our ambush on 17/03/08 in Timwut area gives us clue of the rampant insecurity.

It is estimated that Panyijiar Commissioner Office receives two to five cases of complains in regard to cattle raids by neighboring communities from Lake State every month.

In addition, the commissioner was also going on a trip to assess marram in Rumbek that could be use to construct a road that connects the two states. This was a request from the Unity State Governor, Brigadier Taban Deng Gai. Unity state is plain area which survive from the metamorphic rock from Southern Kordofan and this seem to cost for the state which her civil servants never receive salaries for four month.

By Gatluak Pech Dak - Journalist

Public Information Officer

GOSS - Juba

0129342559 or 091449823