The government of Jonglei State has returned six abductees to the authorities in Pibor Administrative Area, following the deadly ethnic violence that erupted in December 2022.
In a press statement on Friday, Information Minister John Samuel Manyuon said four of the abductees are a 29-year-old mother and her two sons and one daughter recovered from Uror County.
The other two survivors of the conflict were recovered from the state capital Bor, Manyuon said, adding that they have been handed over to Pibor authorities by UNICEF and Save the Children.
“The recovery is the continuous effort to recover, return, and reunite those that were abducted from Greater Pibor Administrative Area by armed criminals from Jonglei State,” the minister said.
On Christmas Eve, armed youth reportedly from Jonglei launched a fierce attack on Gumuruk County and neighboring areas in Pibor.
More than 50 armed youth were killed from both sides, according to local authorities.
Manyuon said the state government is committed to ensuring that the abductees are recovered and reunited with their biological parents.
“It is a criminal offense and not a culture of the people of Jonglei State to forcefully abduct and inherit abductees or non-biological children and women.”
The minister further called on authorities in Pibor to “replicate the same gesture” and collect abducted children and women abducted from Jonglei State.
A recent UNMISS report says there was a rise in violence between October and December 2022 with 450 people killed and 224 injured across the country.
The peacekeeping mission says more than 203 people, mostly children were abducted, and 92 others were subjected to conflict-related sexual violence.