The team of government peacebuilders and UNMISS peacekeepers listened intently and responded with strong messages on conflict resolution, the power of dialogue, and the importance of community-led peace
JUBA, South Sudan, June 18, 2025/APO Group/ --
As morning breaks, the vast and open plains of South Sudan’s Lakes state are filled with sounds of cattle and the overwhelming smell of smoke.
It is at this relatively quiet time, that a team from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and state authorities from the Ministry of Peacebuilding set out on a drive.
They aim to meet herders, armed youth, and residents in cattle camps that dot the landscape. Why? To hear their concerns and discuss the possibility of a future without violence.
For generations, cattle have been a symbol of wealth and pride across Lakes. And, in recent years, they have also become a source of deadly conflict. Cattle theft, revenge raids, and competition over water have left a trail of grief in local communities with countless lives lost and properties destroyed.
At one such cattle camp called Buol, 24-year-old herder Makur Magor Bok stands firm at the centre of a gathering. A seasoned cattle keeper despite his age, Makur carries a weapon, not out of malice, he says, but out of necessity. “If I knew my cattle and my family were safe, I would give up my gun today,” he says, gesturing to the automatic rifle slung across his shoulder. “We are not criminals, we are just afraid.”
Makur told Civil Affairs officers from the UN Peacekeeping mission that thieves had stolen one of his rifles, along with phones and solar chargers. Though he knew who was responsible, he made a decision that surprised many in his community. “I could have tracked them and fought with them, retrieved my belongings and avenged myself, but I remembered the peace messages I heard from UNMISS before. You said revenge only brings more killing,” he explained. “So I reported them to the traditional authorities. I want to believe in the law, not in a gun and, hopefully, I won’t be disappointed”
His unprecedented choice—to trust the system instead of fuelling the cycle of violence—sparked a debate among his peers. Some responded with irony, while others said that they had seen enough of their people die over senseless quarrels.
In another nearby cattle camp, Abuok Deng, a 17-year-old girl, shared her fears. “We sleep in fear. On any given night, someone might raid us. I think to myself that maybe this is the night I lose my baby brother; maybe this is the night someone hurts me,” she exhales, with looking out into the distance. “We need safety.”
The team of government peacebuilders and UNMISS peacekeepers listened intently and responded with strong messages on conflict resolution, the power of dialogue, and the importance of community-led peace. “This visit is not about disarming people,” stated Ruby Awude, a Civil Affairs Officer. “It is about creating the kind of peace and safety in communities that makes carrying a gun unnecessary.”
As twilight fell, the team left behind more than just words: they left seeds for lasting peace. Whether these take root depends not only on institutional change but also on the courage of individuals like Makur and Abuok.
Their words reflect the hope that still flickers in Lakes state: that even in a place tormented by cycles of conflict, there are those who choose peace.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
Puntland is one trible majartens sun clan of Darood you can’t have a state on tribe that is helping racistism who kill they own fellow Somalis bring shame on us by piracy and terrorise Moqdisho
Jams go learn english or please stick to your somali language. you very handicap in writing because you can not differentiate between their and they. who kill they own fellow somalis ? or who kill their own fellow somalis. Somali by blood , I equally love somaliland and puntland despite being majerteen as clan. I am majerteen and i have not killed nobody and not advocated killing of any somalis. So fear your Allah and remember there will be day that you will be face your good and bad deeds.Generalization of sect of somalis is bad deed. When see fire you need to put off , not to increase flames.
@disqus_VFCTnb6v3t:disqus,
Don’t pay too much attention to these less intelligent idoors we all know the leader of al shaythan is Ahemed Godane from Hargaysa who is terrorizing his own Hawiye cousins in Xamar and we all know the Hargaysa regime is funding and supporting terrorism in Puntland as well as south Somalia. So let these retarded idoors continue talking out of their asses and we will continue proving how stupid they are.
Waryaa, retarded idoor don’t you know the leader of al shathan terror is from your own idoor clan?