The
administrator of the Greater Pibor Administrative Area has encouraged the
residents of Eastern Equatoria State to engage in trade and collaboration with their neighbors.
The call
comes after some communities in Eastern Equatoria State banned the traders in Pibor from entering Eastern Equatoria.
Traders from
the administrative area, according to the communities of Lopit, Lafon, and
Lowoi, abduct children while en route for cattle trading.
Early last
year, traders from Murle requested the government of Eastern Equatoria to allow
them to sell cattle in the state anymore.
The Chief
Administrator of Greater Pibor Administrative Area, Gola Boyoi, says the
banning of traders from entering Eastern Equatoria “fuels” tensions.
“We are the
government, and we are supposed to address issues; we are supposed to come in
the middle when there is a problem like this to solve it instead of fueling
it,” Boyoi told Singaita FM.
The
administrator, who took office recently, stated that his government is working
hard to repair relations with its neighbors. This includes identifying and
returning abducted individuals.
“So far, we
have rescued nine children from Eastern Equatoria, and we are willing to send
them back to their families,” he added.
In response,
Eastern Equatoria State's Minister of Information stated that the government is
not part of the group that has banned traders from Murle.
However,
Elia John Ahaji claims that some of the cattle sellers in Pibor have criminal
tendencies, prompting communities in Eastern Equatoria to prohibit them from
entering the state.
“Actually,
the Murle traders are the ones who banned themselves from interacting with the
people of Eastern Equatoria through their bad practices. If they are able to
change, that is upon them,” John explained.
Abductions
of women and children are common practice in South Sudan. They abduct women and
girls to give birth, and train boys as warriors to engage in inter-communal
fighting and cattle raiding.
It's one of
three causes of intercommunal conflict in Eastern Equatoria, Pibor, and
Jonglei, the other two being cattle rustling and revenge killing.