The Governor of Yei River State, David Loko’nga, is calling on armed groups in the area to stop fighting and join the national dialogue.

Mr Lokong’a is the patron of the dialogue in Yei River State.

There have been cases of attack carried out by various anti-Juba groups in the state since the fighting erupted in Juba in July 2016.

Some of the forces are said to be loyal to the former first vice-president Dr Riek Machar. These attacks have caused great displacements of civilians and disrupted economic activities.

“People have to reconcile; people have to forget the past because you can’t see any reason why a civilian is forced to leave his place for the first time in the history of Yei,” Mr Loko’nga stressed. “This is unbecoming.”

The process has already begun in the state with the participation of several groups such as religious leaders, women, local leaders and youth taking part in workshops and conferences.

Other organizations are also holding workshops with the local community on ways to bring lasting peace to the area.

He called on members of parliament from Yei who are in Juba to also join the process.

He said: “Since the beginning of the crisis in 2016, none of the national assembly members have come here to talk to the people in the constituencies. I’m appealing for them to come.”

Governor Loko’nga says the security situation in Yei River State has improved and a significant number of people are returning to the area.

A humanitarian worker with the Community Empowerment for Rehabilitation and Development, Victor Yoasa, says the improvement is due to good relations between the community and security personnel:

“That is the National Security. These are people who know how to work and stay together with civilians. These are people who relate well with the communities. So they have changed the security situation in the town.”

However, an official in the state government told Eye Radio last month that some people living at the outskirts of major towns in the state were cut off due to insecurity on the roads.