Tonj North communities in peace and reconciliation forum

June 20, 2016 (TONJ) – A peace and reconciliation forum between the Akop, Lou-Pahar and Rualbet communities of Tonj North county in South Sudan commenced Monday.

The meeting seeks to resolve a six months inter-communal conflict caused a family row over a girl’s elopement and cattle raids among these communities.

Several lives were lost during the recurrent of the conflict among these communities.

The state government, working in collaboration with traditional chief and intellectuals from the three communities, initiated the peace and reconciliation event.

Tonj state Governor, Akec Tong Aleu, said the initiative was a bold step towards justice.

He urged the traditional chiefs to speedily handover the 99 people who were arrested during the fighting, which took place six month ago so they can be tried in courts.

“We are imposing correct justice – we need all parties involved in the clashes to be arrested – we are ready to disarm them,” the governor said during the peace forum.

“We need all the 99 people who sustained injures before the investigators. If the communities show us the 99 people involved, then we are ready to send them to the investigation department for more information,” he added.

All looted cows, Aleu said, be returned back to their rightful owners within two weeks.

(ST)