A five-day conference on peace and reconciliation has kicked off in Pochalla County in South Sudan’s Boma state on Sunday.
The event that brought together hundreds of participants including Anyuak politicians from all counties was officially opened by the deputy governor Omot Ogul.
The conference was organized by South Sudan Council of Churches with support from Catholic Relief Services, Norwegian Church Aid, and Finland Church Aid.
“Peace should prevail in Pochalla first before we can live in peace with other people,” deputy governor said while addressing the participants.
Pochalla County Commissioner Jau Adingora Alual said the security situation in his county was stable. “Now there is peace in Pochalla. All NGOs can now come back to work in the county,” he said.
The commander of SPLA army in Pochalla, Awol Manyon, urged the relevant authorities to improve bad condition of roads to transport goods from neighboring Ethiopia.
Monira Abdel-wahab, an MP representing Pochalla in the national parliament, said that women and children were the most affected by the ongoing conflict.