26 May 2011
Bor — Jonglei state officials received delegates from the UN Security Council led by US ambassador to the UN, Suzan Rice at Malou, Kolnyang district, Bor county to receive a security report from the state authorities, 25 May.
Governor Kuol who was accompanied by minister of local government, Diing Akol Diing and the commissioner of Bor county, Maker Lual Kuol among others.
Susan Rice said the team intended to asses the security situation in the region since 2009, of which law enforcement minister, Duop Lam gave an account.
Lam said in 2009, 2,043 people were killed, 438 wounded, 346 children abducted were 848,339 cattle raided. In 2010, 220 people were killed, 176 wounded, 55 children abducted 11,863 cattle raided. So far in 2011 Lam said 1,257 people killed, 592 wounded, 10 children abducted and 41,002 cattle and 2,179 goats were raided.
Governor Kuol told the delegation his state is facing both insecurity and a lack of food due to long droughts and floods.
“Every times there is either drought, famine or flood it prevents crops from growing, and also causes the death of cattle. Those who lost wealth to any of those natural disasters, choose cattle rustling as their means of gaining success and for those raiders to get cattle, they have to kill the owner of the cattle before they take them otherwise they face resistance.
“Now with the victimised or raided group, they can either go for revenge to recover their cattle and they may get killed or kill somebody to take back their cattle. This culture increases insecurity in the state to extend that people who live on crops can’t cultivate any more for the fear of death from these illegal activities and consequently, it triggers poverty”, Kiuol said.
Kuol said cattle rustling and child abduction practices are not politically motivated and are carried out for financially reasons.
“Those criminals, who abduct children, sell them to those who either happened to have no children or those who need more with 40 cows per child. As such problems are basically for financial reason and not politically motivated”, said Kiuol.
Kuol said his state has 8,000 ill-equiped policemen and poor roads linking the counties and the state for the movement of security forces and goods both of which are major problems facing the state, adding that the current roads become impassable during the rainy season.
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