Lakes and Warrap hold inter-state peace conference

September 9, 2015 (RUMBEK) – A four-day inter-state peace conference ended in South Sudan’s Lakes state with calls for a special border court meant to trail cattle thieves.

The four counties of Lakes and Warrap states have been experiencing cycles of revenge attacks that have mainly resulting rampant cattle theft.

Over the past two years, communities from both states have reportedly been engaged in revenge and inter-communal violence.

The conference brought together participants from Cueibet and Rumbek North counties in Lakes state, Tonj South and Tonj East counties in Warrap.

The Cueibet county commissioner, Isaac Mayom Malek, said that the conference opened a new chapter on how best inter-state border communities can resolve their differences.

“Things like conflict mediation and resource-sharing are sources of conflict”, said Malek, citing the scrambles for grazing land and water points as the main causes of conflict between existing communities.

The Tonj South commissioner, William Wol Mayom, said differences among communities will peacefully be resolved through constructive dialogue.

Both states, the commissioner said, would establish a special court to sort out cases.

“Special border courts, extra water point will be dug at borders, police will be deployed and intermarriages encouraged,” he said.

The four-day conference was facilitated by Pact South Sudan in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

(ST)