By Matik Kueth
The Governor of Jonglei State, Majuob Biel, appealed to the government to deploy the unified forces on the Jonglei-Greater Pibor administrative area (GPAA) border in order to avert the rampant abduction of women and children between the two areas.
Speaking on Thursday at the Eighth Governors’ Forum at Freedom Hall in Juba, Biel underlined the necessity of deploying unified forces to resolve the raging child abductions between the two neighboring areas.
He claimed that such incidents mostly affect women and children, as men are the main perpetrators of the atrocities.
“Jonglei State government faces significant challenges, particularly concerning unresolved recommendations from the seventh governors’ forum. A key recommendation was the deployment of the unified forces to halt rampant killing and abduction which mostly affect children and women,” Biel said.
He underscored the significance of creating community police to support security sector organizations, even though the deployment of the united forces is being delayed due to lack of funding.
“Unfortunately, this recommendation has not been implemented, leaving the state vulnerable to various security threats,” he stated.
However, Gola Boyoi, Chief Administrator of the Greater Pibor Area (GPAA), echoed Turuk’s sentiment, stressing the need for deploying troops along the Jonglei-Pibor border due to the armed youth’s mobility and difficulty in being controlled.
Gola Boyoi, Chief Administrator of the Greater Pibor Area (GPAA), speaking during the 8th Governor’s Forum in Juba (Photo Credit: King News)
“We have actively been engaging in dialogue with our counterparts in Jonglei, Central Equatoria State, and Eastern Equatoria States with the objective of fostering peace, but it has been recent violence by the armed youth roaming around traveling from one place to another, raiding cattle and abducting children and women,” he stressed.
He added, “That is why we are appealing to that there’s a need to deploy unified forces so that there’s peace in the neighboring communities.”
The Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) and Jonglei State have been on the scene of ongoing child abductions since the armed youths in both regions are well-equipped. The attacks carried out by the armed youth from both communities have primarily affected women, according to reports from several media outlets. The authorities of the two regions have tried to arrange peace initiatives but to no avail.
Last year, Jonglei and GPAA witnessed a higher number of abductions, with over 3000 women and children so far abducted between the two areas. Armed youth continue to violate community peace initiatives and persist in engaging in abducting more children and women.