Juba, Apr. 2, (dpa/GNA) – At least 24 people were killed in armed attacks by cattle thieves on two villages in South Sudan on Monday, according to the authorities.

Members of the Murle ethnic group first attacked the village of Walgak in the state of Jonglei, village headman Simon Gatluak Lam told dpa.

They killed 10 civilians and three policemen and stole around 300 cattle, Gatluak Lam said. He said five other civilians were shot.

Also on Monday, another Murle group attacked the village of Ajara in the same state at gunpoint, according to Olung Peter Owite, an area administrator in Jonglei.

Eleven people were killed in the attack, and a further nine were injured. The attackers also abducted 14 children and stole dozens of cows and goats, Owite said.

Livestock farming is one of the most important sectors in impoverished South Sudan, which has a population of around 11 million.

The nation is home to around 12 million cattle and roughly the same number of sheep and goats, according to the United Nations. There are repeated attacks and power struggles between rival groups as each seeks to capture livestock.

GNA