Local authorities in Pibor Administrative Areas have confirmed the killing of 56 people and wounding of 17 others in an ethnic violence between armed youth from the administrative area and Jonglei State, South Sudan.
The Pibor Information Minister Abraham Kelang Jiji said the fight started at 7:00 am on December 26, 2022, in Lanam village before it later spread like wildfire to Gumuruk town, Kongore Payam, in Lekuangole county.
This fight came just a few days after the United Nations Mission in South Sudan warned against violence following mobilization and preparation for an attack by armed youth and militia groups from the two areas.
History and Conflicts in Pibor
Pibor County is one of two counties that form the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA), bordering Jonglei State to the north and west, Eastern Equatoria State to the south, and Ethiopia to the east.
It comprises the lowlands of the Lotilla plain in the northwestern part of the county, while the highlands and hills of the Boma plateau are in the southeastern part of the county.
According to the 2018 report from FAO and WFP, there are two varied livelihood zones in this region: the southeastern semi-arid and the pastoral zone.
This report clearly stated that several households engage in agriculture and pastoralism as the main sources of livelihood in Pibor County.
The communities in the lowlands of Lotilla plain to the northwest part of the county practice pastoralism, such as rearing animals like cattle and goats, sheep, and chickens, among other poultry.
Meanwhile, the communities in the Boma Plateau practice agriculture, such as growing sorghum, maize, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, okra, and groundnuts.
Additionally, during the rainy season, communities throughout Pibor fish and collect wild fruits during the lean months.
Even though climatic conditions such as droughts and floods sometimes affect their activities in Pibor County, they have always had their foods and other goods bought in their local markets.
However, it’s only that overall trading activities are being limited in the county due to challenging road access and scarce resources.
The county is decked with several gold mines and other mines around Boma and other potential oil reserves, making the county reap from the seeds the creator sowed for them.
Even though there is economic potential for mineral, livestock, and wildlife resources in Pibor, she continues to face significant political, military, economic, legal, and logistical obstacles.
Conflict Dynamics
Armed conflict in Pibor County has been a tragedy to the county and the country at large for years.
In 2010, Murle insurrection leader David Yau Yau, a former theologian who was employed as County Secretary by the South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission in Pibor County, ran in the April 2010 Sudanese general election for the Gumuruk Boma seat in the Jonglei State Assembly.
He lost the election to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA) candidate Judi Jonglei Bioris who won by a wide margin.
After Yau Yau lost the bid for the state assembly, he felt marginalized by the Murle community and accused the SPLM of fraud and voter intimidation, and led an armed group in a clash with the SPLA.
In 2011, Yau Yau signed a peace agreement to a cease-fire with the government of South Sudan, which led to his integration and his militia into the SPLA.
At the time of his reintegration, he received the usual reward for rebels who have given up their struggle and general’s rank in the SPLA as a brigadier even when he lacked military experience.
In 2012, he resumed his rebellion against Juba, which led to pointing fingers at Khartoum for backing him up, which accusations were denied by Sudan.
The major events of violence that took place in this rebellion were that thousands were attacked, including women and children, cattle were raided, and there were massacres and looting of houses.
Many people lost their lives to the increasingly deadly modern weaponry and fighting forces under the control of Yau Yau.
In 2013, the county saw massive displacement due to fighting between the SPLA and the Cobra Faction (HSBA 2013), where it was believed influential leaders from Bor promoted different ethnic identities.
There were also reports that historical realities between the two livelihood groups hyped the tensions within the Murle communities.
The second Peace Agreement was signed in 2014, creating the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA), where Yau Yau was assigned to be the Administrator.
This largely regulated Pibor County from becoming a hotspot battleground when the rest of the county returned to civil war in 2015.
In 2015, through a presidential decree, 32 states were created in South Sudan where Pibor formed part of Boma State that later had Yau Yau was appointed as the governor of the state in 2018.
However, when the country returned to the ten states formation in early 2020, Pibor was designated as one of three administrative areas.
These clashes have been historical, based on the history of conflicts and tensions in Pibor.
The major events in these conflicts have mainly been cattle raids, abduction of children, and revenge murders.
Current situation
However, today’s major crisis in Pibor is becoming a point of worry.
On December 29, 2022, the UN reported that thousands were displaced in the South Sudan Ethnic Conflict.
The report stated that thousands have fled their homes in the face of the inter-ethnic violence between youths from two communities which has left 56 people dead.
Apart from the displacements and cases of death registered, there were also cattle raiding which used to be a pastoralist cultural practice to acquire livestock, but now it was used as a process through which young men (warriors) exhibited bravery they termed key to defending their livestock and territory in Pibor.
Several properties, such as houses and other personal belongings, were also destroyed.
Thousands were internally displaced, including women and children who have arrived in Pibor town after fleeing the conflict-ridden areas of Gumuruk and Lekuangole in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area.
Civilians are carrying the cross, especially the vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, the elderly, children, and women who have said that they have suffered enough.
Among the IDPs, several have complained that, along with their families, they fled for their lives since the attackers raided and flamed their houses.
Many of those whose houses burned down to ashes were also separated from their families and ran in different directions, with others crossing different roads and rivers and having no knowledge of the whereabouts of their close relatives, grandparents, parents, and children.
Due to the displacement, the Greater Pibor Administrative Area now fears and foresees an outbreak of diseases.
Again, they have foreseen hunger, a crisis that might heat Pibor since there is no good water and no proper feeding.
The Pibor conflict now calls for an urgent need to end the violence. The prolonged clashes add nothing tangible to the country’s economic development except cause destruction, death, displacement, and other social tragedies.
UN statement deescalate Pibor violence
The UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), together with international partners, has called for an immediate end to the inter-ethnic violence in the Greater Pibor area by armed youth from Jonglei State, where 56 people have died, leaving several others injured.
Other international bodies overseeing the peace agreement signed by the warring parties in South Sudan have also issued a statement on Wednesday expressing their concerns about the losses carried through the escalating violence, deaths registered, cattle raids, and destructions of property, including the alleged heavy weaponry.
The UN has also issued an ultimatum together with partners for an immediate cease of hostilities and respect for human rights.
Additionally, leaders in the country, in their various capacities, have been urged to use dialogue to address the root cause of conflicts and restore peace among the violent youth fighters.
And finally, they have pledged to support and protect civilians.
Conclusion
Pibor should thirst for the will to maintain previous peace agreements and not fall prey to continuous armed ethnic conflict.
Proper maintenance of the peace agreement can facilitate peace, ending the conflict.
The success of a peace process and the maintenance of the peace agreement build trust between the parties involved, third parties, and the world at large.
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