President Salva Kiir on Monday pledged to resolve the border disputes between South Sudan and Uganda after receiving reports on the issue, his office has said.

Fresh tension has engulfed Central Equatoria’s Kajo-keji County at the frontier with Uganda as a local official said on September 17, that UPDF troops have moved deep into South Sudan and were seen setting up new bases.

Phanuel Dumo, the commissioner of Kajo-keji, also disclosed that the foreign troops appeared to have permanently settled in three locations and may not be leaving any sooner.

The alleged incursion also followed directives from the Central Equatoria government to border communities urging them to leave the border dispute in the hands of the national government.

South Sudan People’s Defense Forces Spokesperson Major General Lul Ruai Koang told Eye Radio early that army has agreed to stand by and let the border tensions be addressed through diplomatic channels.

Meanwhile, President Kiir on Monday pledged a peaceful solution after CES governor, Emmanuel Adil Anthony briefed him on the latest situation.

“The President assured the Governor and people of central Equatoria of his administration’s commitment to peace, tranquility and development stability in the state,” reads a statement published by the Office of the President.

– Colonial boundaries –

The modern-day international boundary between South Sudan and Uganda has its origins as a colonial administrative line separating Anglo–Egyptian Sudan from the Uganda Protectorate, both colonies then managed by the United Kingdom.

Today, it runs from the tripoint with Kenya in the east for approximately 500 km to the tripoint with the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the west.

However, there are several locations on the boundary that were originally described in unclear terms, which have led to at least two areas of boundary disputes between South Sudan and Uganda.

According to Sovereign Limits, lack of government control, problems with refugees, and general lawlessness in border regions have made demarcation and formalization of the international boundary between South Sudan and Uganda almost impossible.

– ‘Not a meter of land to Uganda’ –