Authorities of Western Bahr el Ghazal have on Thursday lifted a blockage on traffic to and from Kuacjok town, capital of Warrap state, days after neighbouring communities along the inter-state line were involved in a dispute over territorial claims.  

Warrap State Deputy Governor Akec Tong said on Thursday he and his Western Bahr el Ghazal counterpart, Zachariah Joseph Garang and with the two county commissioners and representatives from the two communities have agreed to resolve the dispute.

"We came out with some resolutions to resolve the conflict: One, we agreed in the meeting to immediate cease violent acts and to lift an obstruction on the movement of people, goods and services between the two states," he said.

He said they also agreed to deploy joint security forces to counter any attempts to harm civilians of the two states, to form an investigation committee headed by two county commissioners to establish the root cause of the unrest, and to coordinate for the arrest of culprits linked to the unrest.  

According to Akec, the problem started after Western Bahr el Ghazal government crossed illegally into Warrap State’s territory, southwest of Kuac South Payam. They built a boma headquarters and inaugurated it on 27 January in the presence of Jur River County and Security Advisor General Wol Dhel Thiep.  

"This move did not go well with our youth who feel their land is being occupied illegally. The youth retaliated and dismantled the entire structures of the new boma without harming anybody. As a result again, the residents Thar-Kueng in Western Bahr El Ghazal side were provoked by the incident and make reactions to block Thar-Kueng-Kuacjok-Wau road."

"Interventions are being made. The government of Warrap and Western Bahr el Ghazal are now working very hard to normalise the tension and the dispute will be dealt with administratively. We urge our citizens from both sides of Thar-Kueng to remain calm and the two governments would come with the solution as soon as possible."

Meanwhile, General Wol Dhel Thiep said in a separate interview that the people of Warrap were becoming stubborn and want to cause confusion and unnecessary tension: "These people are stubborn. They just want to cause confusion for no reason. The place they are claiming is where I come from. It is the place where my grandparents were born and raised there and they have never been part of Warrap."

"Our border with them [Kuac community in Warrap state] is 8 kilometers from Thar-Kueng.  Now they are claiming the ownership of a place far away from the well-known border. This is not right and it is unacceptable,” said Wol.

However, he admitted the two sides have agreed to deploy joint security forces and to allow resumption of the traffic between the states and their administrative headquarters.

“Yes, we have agreed in the meeting to lift the restriction which was imposed on movement as a result of this provocative act. Our youth have been informed and they have accepted because we told them: look we know you have been annoyed by this act but it is not good to react the way they acted. But we will not tolerate any provocation in future,” he said.