The Anyuak Community of Pochalla County is demanding an exit from South Sudan’s Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) over the rising inter-communal violence. 

Prince Cham Odiel Gora, the Kingdom’s mouthpiece, told Radio Tamazuj Tuesday that they are demanding a separate administrative area because there is no peace in GPAA. 

"As a community, we took this position because our Pibor County neighbors were our brothers and sisters. Now, however, relationships have deteriorated so badly," he said. "We have been subjected to road ambushes, killings, and abductions."

Prince Cham said the decision was necessary to restore peace because the GPAA leadership have failed to address their concerns. 

"We met the GPAA leadership on these concerns many times but nothing had worked out. We also met the president with whom we shared the concerns but he could not respond to us at the time because of the 32 states' impasse," he said. 

Openyi Ati Opuri, the head of the Pochalla Youth Union, said they will not cooperate with the GPAA leadership if their demands are not met. 

"As Anyuaks of Greater Pochalla, we want to stay independent because of all these factors like killings and abductions. We have two counties. We want our budget to be independent. We will stay at our place here, we will not cooperate with them," he said. 

For his part, Lokali Amae, the GPAA chief administrator, said the community’s call was politically motivated. 

"I am aware of this call. I think the community was being misled by politicians disgruntled over leadership positions. Secondly, you can not announce your exit, the president is the only one to do so. For me, I don’t see a problem if GPAA is partitioned into 10," he said. 

Lokali added, "On the issue of child abductions and insecurity, I have been working on them. And even recently I returned cows Murle raided from Otallo of Pochalla."  

In September 2019, a delegation of traditional leaders from the Anyuak community led by Nyeye Akway Nyigwo Akway met President Salva Kiir and demanded their own state in the Greater Jonglei region.