The commissioner of Unity State’s Panyijiar County confirmed that the SSPDF carried out aerial attacks in parts of the Ganyliel area on Monday morning.
Panyijiar County is a stronghold of the opposition SPLA-IO, led by detained First Vice President Riek Machar.
Commissioner Gabriel Magok Bol said that he was surprised by the gunship attacks and suspects that they might have been targeting local armed youth who raided cattle from neighbouring Lakes State in the recent past.
He said he was yet to get casualty figures as the aerial attacks happened in remote areas.
“We are surprised that the government is bombing innocent communities,” Commissioner Magok said.
“The areas where the bombardment happened do not have a telephone network, so I still do not have the figures of the dead and injured, but I will give them to you when I get there. The bombardment occurred at 10:30 a.m. local time.”
“I think the reason for the bombardment is linked to cattle raiding from Lakes State, but it is not the whole community that raided the cattle, and there are armed criminals who cause insecurity between Lakes State and Panyijiar County who should be held accountable,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ruai Kueth, a resident of Panyijiar County, urged the SSPDF and the government to stop the indiscriminate aerial bombardment of innocent people.
“We call on the government to stop the bombardment because it is not right to bomb citizens,” he stated. “It should be used on other countries that attack South Sudan.
