Communities in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State on Thursday organized a cultural festival to promote peace, unity and diversity among the different ethnic groups residing in the state.

 A number of cultural groups and artists from the Shilluk, Lotuko, Luo, Dinka Malual and Gogrial participated in the two-day cultural festival at Mathiang Square.

The event, which concluded in Aweil town on Friday, was organized by Northern Bahr el Ghazal State’s Ministry of Culture with support from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Friday, the Director-General at the State Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Marol Dhol, said the ministry decided to organize the cultural event with the aim to promote peace and unity among the South Sudanese in the state.

“The cultural day is to promote peace in South Sudan and the tribes from other states who are living in Aweil exhibited their different heritages and to expressed their happiness that Northern Bahr el Ghazal State is a place of peace and freedom,” he said.

Lucia James, a Shiluk dancer, said their participation in the function showed peace and unity among all the tribes of South Sudan. “Our participation means peace and we see that it is a must for the people to unite to bring peace. We are here to show Shilluk heritage and culture although we are married to the Dinka,” said James.

Another participant from the Lotuko community, Arkangelo Abel, said: “We are attending this event to show our dance because we have been here for a long time. In fact, I rate Northern Bahr el Ghazal as the best state in the country because I didn’t see killings, cattle raids and fighting over women.”