The Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Political Affairs in South Sudan Thursday led a delegation to Tambura County of Western Equatoria State and pledged to support peace initiatives in the area.
Slightly over a year ago, violent conflict between communities in the county ravaged the county with many killed, thousands displaced and property destroyed.
Mr. Guang Cong said there was an improvement in the security situation in the area and said the main focus will be peacebuilding.
“For UNMISS, our priority areas for the few months, we shall be focusing on key main areas first to strengthen the capacity of the local peace committee in Tambura, the second one is to support dialogue and reconciliation processes between the Azande and Balanda communities,” he said.
Mr. Cong said they will also launch production programs “targeting more than 200 youth in Tambura Areas so that they can learn vocational skills and make a living”.
Meanwhile, the Governor of Western Equatoria State Gen. Alfred Futuyo Karaba welcomed the support from UNMISS and added that the state is also exploring ways to reconcile the two communities.
“We gave a go-ahead to the team that went to Tambura to do what they think is necessary, whether a training, a workshop to bring those two or three communities together to discuss peace,” he said.
Governor Futuyo the government is working to bring peace to the region and revealed that the state has experienced relative peace in the last seven months.