At least two girls who were abducted from Akobo by armed men three years ago have been handed back to local authorities, a local administrator has said.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday, Puok Nyang Tutjiek, the Akobo County Commissioner said their return followed successful negotiations between authorities in Akobo and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA),
He said the girls were among the dozens of children abducted during a series of raids and counter-raids between the Lou Nuer and Murle communities in 2021.
“These people came with three children who were abducted by criminals whom we always talk about. Those criminals abducted children from Akobo County and hosted them for the last three years,” Puok stated.
The commissioner said the abductors handed back the two children, promising to release others still in their captive.
Puok said the two girls, aged 8 and 10, were handed over to Akobo officials by a delegation from GPAA, on Tuesday.
He said the girls were in good health and were being taken care of at his compound until they are re-united with their family members.
“We are pressing upon the government of Pibor Administrative Area, the county commissioners in Pibor, Likuangule and Vertet to make sure that they send teams to come and remove their criminals from our territory,” he said.
“This is very important because we don’t want our people to continue dying for nothing. We don’t have objectives for this war and the youth themselves don’t have any objective, they will not achieve anything in these fights,” Puok added.
Abraham Keleng, the GPAA Information Minister, said the handover of the girls was part of the implementation of the peace agreement signed between the two sides in 2023.
The deal called for cessation of hostilities and the return of abducted children and women, he explained.
Keleng said the GPAA was committed to restoring trust and harmony within Akobo and other neighboring counties.
“As GPAA government we are engaging our youth in-terms of peace and we have recovered two female children and a delegation went to Akobo for the handing over and they arrived yesterday. The children have been handed to authorities in Akobo County,” Keleng said.
The return of the two girls was welcomed by the local community and civil society groups in Jonglei State who urged the government and humanitarian agencies to provide them with psychosocial support and reintegration assistance.
They also called for more efforts to end the cycle of violence and abduction that has plagued the region for decades.