Murle, Toposa, Jie agree to end inter-communal violence
Eastern Equatoria State’s Information Minister, Elia John, said that the communities of the two regions agreed to resolve the issue of cattle raiding and child abductions.
By James Chatim
The Government of Eastern Equatoria State has concluded a two-day communal dialogue between the people of the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) and the local communities in Torit to address cattle raiding and child abduction.
The workshop was supported by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
The Eastern Equatoria State minister of information and communication, Elia John Ahaji, said the dialogue brought together Murle communities of GPAA and Eastern Equatoria State communities of Taposa and Jie to discuss ways to mitigate child abduction and cattle raiding that have been the cause of insecurity and instability in the two neighbouring areas.
Speaking to The City Review, the Eastern Equatoria State Information Minister, Elia John, said that the communities of the two regions agreed to resolve the issue of cattle raiding and child abductions.
“Actually, it was a dialogue between the Toposa and the people of Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA). The people discussed on how to better handle the frequent organized raiding, child abduction, how to stop and also recover the abducted children if we cannot recover the cows,” said John.
“We know this thing also resulted in loss of life, which is not good. So both communities have sat down and appreciated dialogue as opposed to confrontation like revenge or revenge raiding. It is not good because it is counterproductive,” he noted.
The ministry urged the communities to dialogue as the only means to address conflict among them.
In July 2019, the Jie and Murle communities engaged in a bloody fight in Marua and other villages of South Sudan’s Boma area.
The fight, in the Greater Jonglei region, left 85 people dead, while several others were wounded in what became the year’s worst raid.
As a result, the UNMISS has been trying to mitigate this endemic problem by creating a platform for the age-set groups – thus defined and named according to their age in Murle and Jie cultures – to explore and address the 22-year-long inter-communal conflict.
“We know this thing also resulted in loss of life, which is not good. So both communities have sat down and appreciated dialogue as opposed to confrontation,” said Eastern Equatoria State Information Minister, Elia John.
