SPLA Raiding Cattle of Dur Community in Panyikango County

On May 3, 2011, at 1:00 PM, a large number of SPLA soldiers stationed in Owaci, Kaldak and Pakang villages converged on an island in Dur where cattle of the community are usually shifted for dry season grazing.

The cattle numbering several thousands were divided by the SPLA soldiers and swam across the river as their looted properties.

On April 6, 2011, SPLA soldiers stationed in Owaci engaged in a heavy fight with forces of Collo Youth under the command of Johnson Olony, in Dur village. The Collo Youth Group armed themselves voluntarily in 2009 in order to defend the vulnerable civilian population from persistent atrocities by the SPLA. The fight on April 6, 2011 sow the defeat of the SPLA by the Youth Group and on April 7, 2011, the SPLA turned on the civilians and killed many of them by shooting, burning with fire and drowning in the river. The dead bodies remained unburied for about a week, until the UN and the Red Cross intervened. The rest of the community deserted to seek sanctuary in Malakal and elsewhere. Dur became a ghost village and cattle on the island remained without people to herd them. These are the circumstances under which the SPLA finally raided the cattle of the community in Dur.

According to reliable source, there is a huge movement of SPLA soldiers in Panyikango County, on the west bank of the river Nile, with heavy weapons mounted on several vehicles. The source mentioned that the SPLA force which was stationed in Pakang is being relocated to Tonga in the extreme west of Collo Kingdom. Other units in Owaci and Kaldak may as well be on transfer to other locations. The SPLA in Pakang is relocating to Tonga with the loot from Dur. In fact individuals in SPLA have already moved away from Collo Kingdom unjustifiably owning large herds of cattle.

Source: http://gsmconline.info/news-details.html?rsnpid=866

Now that almost every Collo village is occupied by the SPLA, it is not known what will happen to the remaining cattle and other movable properties of civilians when SPLA soldiers are relocated to where-ever?