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).
LoL, these guys are a joke, always saying the locals helped us, when in reality it is the locals that tried to kill them in the first place. Every time they are faced with resistance in SSC, they play the Puntland card, get out of here with that BS.
Freaking cowards, do you even know how they got los qoray, when elders asked P/land forces to let them negation with terrorist holding German citizens, When puntland forces pulled back, then like roaches they came in. But now they have to deal with locals that resent them, which is bigger threat to their life's then Puntland forces.
So you're telling me Pland is happily watching from the sideline instead of sending in troops ? i think this is more to do with the Warsangali punishing Faroole it is well known that they don't like him one bit
Sucks to be a SNM militiaman, because they are constantly asking them risk their life's for useless cause, which they will lose in the end, unless they truly convince the locals other wise.
your being darood clanist really suck as you're sucking, and you will soon have a prove that whoever hates us will soon be wiped off the earth and loose everything. Let tell you THAT THOSE WHO ARE CLAIMING A LAND IN SOMALILAND WILL GET GRAVEYARDS INSTEAD, IDIOT!!!
We know everything the period.
Are you the real Sahra?
Dhugtame
Kkkkkkkkkkkkk
Hoodo,
What is wrong with you? Just checking if I'm addressing the right person. I don't know if you are aware of my problems, I have a forty some years-old man called Keyse calling me dad and trying to sue me for child support. On the other hand, a guy called Roble is scaring me to death and basically stopping in courting Sahra, well this is the real Sahra I felt in love with.
Mr. Tellmetruth-Puntlander, how come you cannot even disguise your venom against Somaliland? Somaliland is for all Somalilanders – east and west
So the most trained darood militiamen got beaten by few security guards, Not a good day to be darood
We will conduct a poll when garowe and bosaso are destroyed to the ground
Call it Buqland or Majeertenia as it was always called before Siad Barre's regime, these people do not learn from their past mistakes and miscalculations. They just do what the rest of their fellow Somalia Italians do. They keep repeating the same mistake over and over again. They are like a woman in labor that always promises abstinence, yet after delivery she goes back in bed with her husband and begins the same circle all over again.
Abdisalaan Mohamed Hassan is reer El Buh (Ceergabo district) why would he go to eastern Sanaag in the first place? isn't gardaro? Badhan, Dhahar Las-qoray, Ceelayo regions all the way to Bosaso is General Ilko-jiir territory. Abdisalan was lucky if he didn't end up in Las Qorey tuna factory. looooooooooooooooool. heeladu waa heelo Las Qoray.
God I love you sister Amirah Istal-Somali, Well done as usual kkkkkkkkkk.
Thanks God the real Sahra is back. Was a guy impersonating you or was that you all along?
LOOOOL Sahro sis muxuu kan kaa rabaana, wiilku waaba nacas loool
This guy is a traitor, he's lucky he wasn't stab in the head. Abdisalaan Mohamed Hassan has broken every law of Puntland he perfectly knows Puntland will not tolerate the Isaaq expansion into hart darood? so why bring rear Issaq militia into Puntland territories?