At least 12 people were killed and 13 others injured during a cattle raid in South Sudan's eastern state of Jonglei on Monday evening, a local government official said Wednesday.

Jonglei State Information Minister Jacob Akech Dengdit told Xinhua by phone that the attackers ambushed a cattle camp in Duk County, leaving 12 people dead, including four attackers.

Dengdit blamed the attack on raiders from neighboring Buma state. Youth from both regions have previously engaged in brutal cattle raids that have killed hundreds of people and thousands of cattle stolen.

According to the official, at least 25 people were killed and 12,000 cattle raided since last December, while the 56 children adducted in 2016 from the same area remain missing.

War-torn South Sudan is one of the countries with the largest number of cattle in Africa. According to official data, there are 11.7 million cattle in the East African country. But due to high proliferation of arms in the hands of civilians, pastoralists often stage violent inter-tribal cattle raids.

source: Xinhua