AKOBO, 21 July 2009 (IRIN) - Tutlow Ruot has yet to come to terms with the death of his two children, who drowned in a river as his village fled an attack by cattle raiders from the Murle community.

"They attacked us at 5am, burnt our tukuls [houses], killed some people, especially women and children, and took our cattle," he said. "My three- and four year-old children could not swim and were carried away by the Pibor River."

The 18 April attack on the Lou Nuer in Nyandit and other payams (sub-divisions) of Jonglei State of Southern Sudan was one of the bloodiest and most coordinated Murle attacks in recent times, according to aid workers.

About 16,000 people were displaced, 17 villages destroyed, 28 children and some women abducted and a school burnt in Nyandit. An inter-agency assessment conducted by the Sudanese government, NGOs and UN found that by 22 April, 250 victims had been buried.

The International Medical Corps treated at least 40 injured, including eight children under 10, for bullet wounds.

"It was a revenge attack," Peter Yien Jal, administrative officer for the Nile Hope Development Foundation (NHDF) NGO said. "But it was the first time in the history of the Lou Nuer and Murle clashes that so many women and children were killed or abducted."

The Sudan People's Liberation Army boosted its presence in Akobo after the raid, but almost three months later, many of the displaced people are still afraid to return home.

Tradition versus revenge

Violent clashes between the Lou Nuer and the Murle, and Lou Nuer and Jikany of Nassir County, had subsided after the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended war between Southern and Northern Sudan, locals in Akobo said.

They were often triggered by cattle raids and disputes over grazing pasture and water, according to aid workers. However, in recent years, said observers deployed by the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS): "The conflicts have become politicized", fuelled by small arms.

"Cattle raiding is part of the culture in some of the communities here," a UNMIS official said. "But politics and weapons have become factors. There is an intricate web and network of supply of small arms, like AK47 rifles. It is like an arms race between these communities."

According to the Small Arms Survey, a Geneva-based NGO, gun possession "has become a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood" among the communities in this region.

The April raid could be traced to earlier events, according to John Ter, Akobo County information officer. In February, the Murle raided some cows belonging to three Lou Nuer chiefs in Akobo west.

On 18 March, Lou Nuer youths carried out a revenge raid on Lekuongole in Pibor County. According to the Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC), more than 450 people were killed, 133 children went missing and 5,000 people fled their homes.

A month later, the Murle struck, attacking Nyandit and Deng Jok simultaneously. Then the Lou Nuer attacked Torkech in Nassir on 8 May, leaving 71 dead.

"All sides have guns - the Lou, Murle and Jikany," an aid worker in Akobo said, "The interesting thing is the communities are neighbours … [and inter-marry]."

Another attack http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=85184 by the Jikany Nuer on boats http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=85196 carrying food aid in Nassir occurred on 12 June "to punish their enemies, the Lou Nuer", a source said. That attack forced the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to suspend food deliveries to Akobo by boat.

"The boats were carrying supplies to our enemies," a Jikany youth, Peter Gatwech, who was recovering from bullet wounds at Nassir hospital, told IRIN.

The attack on the WFP boats prompted Human Rights Watch to warn on 21 June that the violence across Southern Sudan could intensify in coming months.

Simon Buony, NHDF education project manager, said the pastoralist nature of the communities was a catalyst. The Anyuak, neighbours to the Murle, had not suffered as many attacks because they had adopted more settled farming lifestyles, he added.

Land and disarmament

The conflict between the Lou Nuer and the Jikany has also been fuelled by land disputes, especially after returnees started heading back home following the CPA, UNMIS observers said.

From December 2005 to May 2006, the Lou Nuer were partially disarmed by the government, yielding over 1,400 rifles, machine guns and other weapons. Later, however, they realized the Murle had not handed in their weapons.

"The Lou found themselves exposed and re-armed," an UNMIS observer said. "Then you have the Jikany, who distrust both the government and the Lou." 

Ruot said the Lou also did not trust the Jikany because the latter did not want them to settle in Nyandit. "Even if we decided to go home, the fighting will still be there," he told IRIN at the makeshift camp in Akobo peace conference centre, where he was living with a wife and six other children.

To safeguard their remaining livestock, the Lou Nuer have moved most of their remaining herds to communal grazing grounds east of Akobo, guarded by armed youth.

A local resident in Akobo said comprehensive disarmament could reduce the violence between communities. "Without a gun, you cannot easily kill," local trader Deng Gony said. "The solution is total disarmament."

There is, however, one challenge, according to the Small Arms Survey. The CPA has provisions for the disarmament and demobilization of armed groups, but provides little guidance on disarming civilians.

"There are clear grounds for concern about the security situation in and around the city of Malakal, eastern Jonglei and the Sobat River corridor," David Gressly, UNMIS Coordinator for Southern Sudan, told reporters in Khartoum on 8 July.

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