Armed youth walk through a village in South Sudan’s Pibor region. Photo: AFP

Peace officials from the Pibor Administrative Area are urging the national government and peace partners to help facilitate efforts to sensitize local youth to stop inter-communal crimes and embrace peace.

James Piriya, the Peace Commissioner of the administrative region said his team is conducting campaigns to educate youth on the dangers of cattle raiding and abductions.

But Piriya said the peace initiative is affected by an acute shortage of funds and bad road networks.

He appeals to the national government and other peace partners to put more effort into peace programs to stop youth from cattle raiding.

“Logistics and funds are the issues. For now, it’s very impossible to access the road because we cannot even reach other places like Gumuruk alone or travel for 1 kilometer with a vehicle that’s the issue.”

“Am requesting our partners, actual donors to put more efforts into peace programs in this community so that youth will be stopped from cattle raiding.”

However. the peace official said, since initiating the peace dialogues, Pibor has experienced relative calm with its neighbors, except Jonglei state.

“The most pending concern is between Greater Pibor and Jonglei state. In Eastern Equatoria we held a meeting this year in May, when we went to Kapoeta for the dialogue since that time, we have not heard any incident that has happened either from Pibor or Eastern Equatoria,” he said.