South Sudan awoke to grief and renewed fear on Sunday May 11, after a brutal night raid by unknown armed assailants left 12 civilians dead and 17 others wounded in Lakes State.
According to William Koji, the region’s acting Information Minister, the attackers descended upon a community around 1:00 a.m., opening fire indiscriminately on sleeping residents. Among the victims were two girls and two children, underscoring the tragic toll the violence continues to exact on innocent lives.
The assault, suspected to have been orchestrated by armed youth from neighbouring Unity State, was reportedly linked to a cattle raid—a common trigger for intercommunal violence in the region. Although the perpetrators managed to make away with an unspecified number of cattle, Koji confirmed that some of the livestock was retrieved with assistance from the South Sudanese army. These recurring attacks highlight the fragile nature of peace and the persistent challenge of containing armed groups in the country’s hinterlands.
Koji issued a strong condemnation of the raid, calling on authorities in Unity State to clamp down on the criminal elements operating within their borders. “This is very serious,” he declared, expressing frustration at jurisdictional limitations that hinder cross-border enforcement. His statement reflects a growing urgency among local leaders to address South Sudan’s endemic insecurity, which continues to undermine national reconciliation efforts and the broader quest for stability.