from RAJI BASHIR in Khartoum, Sudan
KHARTOUM, (CAJ News) – PEACE is returning to central South Sudan after communities involved in ethnic conflict committed to harmony.
The United Nation Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the Ministry for Peacebuilding in Rumbek, Lakes State facilitated the pact.
A two-day peace building dialogue they organized jointly has concluded in the Wulu county.
For the past five years, tensions between residents of both counties have remained high and often resulted in clashes that resulted in loss of lives, destruction of property and displacement.
Youth groups, women’s representatives, community leaders and elders met in Wulu to find solutions to ending the ethnic strife.
Speaking at the event, Jimma Dafalla Rajaf, County Commissioner, Wulu, encouraged both communities to resolve disputes amicably and create an environment that encourages displaced people to return to their original settlements.
“The cost of inter-communal conflict is borne by innocent people–women, young children and men,” stated Rajaf.
Isaiah Akol Mathiang, County Commissioner of Cueibet in the Great Lakes, echoed his sentiments.
“There is nothing positive that emerges out of conflict. It only prolongs the suffering of communities,” he added.
South Sudan is the world’s newest country after attaining independence in 2011.
It spilled into civil war two years later.
– CAJ News