The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), David Shearer, visited Jonglei State capital Bor on Thursday, March 9, proceeding to Pibor in Boma State on Friday.
“We were talking in particular with the chiefs […] in the area about the issues of cattle rustling and child abduction,” Shearer told journalists after the meeting. UNMISS would offer what it can to bring about peace between the states’s communities, he added.
“I will be travelling to Pibor and I will have similar conversation with the new governor, Ismail Konyi, and to see what we (UNMISS) can do to […] bring these communities together and stop a worsening situation that can lead to more violence and deaths,” Shearer said.
The Jonglei State Governor, Philip Aguer, said his state is ready for genuine peace with its neighbours. “We highly welcome him (Shearer),” Aguer said, adding that the states have two main conflicting issues, “cattle rustling and child abduction”.
Both states accuse each other of carrying out attacks. In a statement published on February 23, the Press Secretary of the Governor of Jonglei State, wrote: “We had tried in the past to conduct peace building with Boma State, but […] we lost 15,000 heads of cattle, more than 2,000 goats and over 40 children were abducted in less than a year.”
Meanwhile, speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday, March 8, Rachael Anok Omot, the Deputy Governor of Boma State, said an armed group from neighbouring Jonglei State is carrying out attacks on villages in Kotchar County. “They are still in our area – those soldiers are still attacking the area.”
The visit is Shearer’s first to Jonglei State since becoming the head of the UN mission in South Sudan. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on December 13, 2016 announced the appointment of David Shearer, succeeding Ellen Margrethe Løj, who completed her assignment at the end of November 2016.
Photo: UN Special Representative David Shearer (right) and Jonglei State Governor Philip Aguer (left) address journalists after a meeting in Bor on March 9, 2017. (© Radio Tamazuj)