In the face of escalating cases of child abduction, violent cattle raids, and insecurity in Jonglei State and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA), the authorities from the two entities have asked for the speedy deployment of the graduated unified forces.
The call was made by Governor Denay Chagor of Jonglei and GPAA Chief Administrator Lokale Ameet on Tuesday when they appeared before the Transitional National Legislative Assembly following summons.
The House summoned the duo among others following reports of child abductions, the killing of traders, and bloody cattle raids in Nyirol County in Jonglei State by armed Murle youth from GPAA.
Ameet urged the TNLA to advocate for the deployment of recently graduated forces as a potential solution to the myriad challenges. He however acknowledged that child abduction and cattle rustling date back to 1974 and have been aggravated by the proliferation of firearms in the hands of civilians.
“We all recognize that there is a widespread presence of firearms in GPAA dating back to 1983 when militias in Pibor received arms from the Khartoum government during the SPLM-SPLA defections,” he said. “This is the challenge we have in Pibor. All the youth have weapons and the police (and army) also have. If there is child abduction and I try to go and get this child and I 100 soldiers against send 200 or 5000 armed youth, will the military manage these youth when they are few?”
Ameet also pointed out that even after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, an armed group known as Cobra Faction in Pibor continued to acquire guns which were subsequently not collected.
For his part, Jonglei State Governor Denay Chagor emphasized the longstanding nature of the conflict between Jonglei State and GPAA, noting that he too has lost family members to the same. He called for the disarmament of the civil population, emphasizing that the ultimate solution rests with the national government.
“The situation between Jonglei and Pibor started before I was born. My stepmother was shot in the hand when I was 2 years old and my elder brother was shot in the leg and later passed away in Juba. I have personal scars when I think about my family and all those affected by this conflict,” he said. “I went to Pibor town three times. From Jonglei, I am the first governor who visited Pibor to meet the youth and understand why the youth do this. Madam Speaker, we have organized so many events but it did not work.”
Governor Chagor recounted multiple efforts, including workshops and meetings, aimed at tackling the root causes of the violent conflicts which did not deliver much and stressed the urgency to deploy unified forces and initiate a robust disarmament process as an immediate solution.