The youth leader of Western Equatoria State’s Tambura County has called for a conference to restore trust and peace in the area.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Friday, Oliver Denisio called on the national government to intervene so that the Azande and the Balanda can peacefully coexist.
He accused the county authorities of fueling violence among the communities, saying they were the cause of the people’s suffering.
“The national government should intervene as our leaders are not the people who can bring us together. They are the ones who are behind all these crises,” Denisio said.
A fresh upsurge of violence in the troubled greater Tambura led to hundreds of people being displaced in May. The area has been unstable since 2022 following the violence fueled by armed forces.
Denisio described the situation as dire as children were not going to school and there was hunger. He said the sanitation in the camps for the displaced was poor and many children were dying.
He, however, acknowledged that there had been relative calm since the disarmament in Tambura in May, though the people still feared moving around.
“We thank Major General Akec for the good work that he has done in Tambura. He has so far collected a good number of guns from Nagero, Tambura and Ezo counties,” he said.