Civilians own more guns than the army in Pibor, says chief administrator.

JUBA, OCTOBER 12, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – The Chief Administrator of South Sudan’s Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA), Lokoli Ame Bullen, said civilians own more guns than the security organs in the area.

Bullen made the revelation on Tuesday when he and Jonglei Governor Denay Chagor appeared before the Transitional National Legislative Assembly following a summons.

The House summoned the duo, among others, following reports of child abductions, the killing of traders, and bloody cattle raids in Nyirol County in Jonglei State by armed Murle youth from GPAA.

South Sudan is awash with illegal guns in the hands of civilians after decades of civil war for independence from Sudan.

The longest civil war in Africa later ended with the signing of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in Kenya, paving the way for the separation of South Sudan from Sudan in 2011.

After the signing of the CPA in 2005, an armed group known as the Cobra Faction in Pibor continued to acquire guns, which were subsequently not collected.

Bullen called for the deployment of unified forces in buffer zones to curb the insecurity.

“We need the National Government to deploy graduated unified forces to halt insecurity along the buffer zones areas like Lokormach, Jam, Wuno, Koschar, Karyak, Bichbich, Raad, Kizingor Payam of Jebel Boma County and Pochalla areas,” he said.

He attributed the rampant killings to inter-communal violence, which has brought forth a cycle of revenge.

“Rampant inhuman killing in regards to ambushes and killing of traders and innocent civilians, I would point out that it is becoming a menace since the civil populations have more guns than the government security forces, which make the security situation uncontrollable,” he said.

He said the deployment of forces will ensure the protection of traders and road users to curb rampant road ambushes.

Several brutal road ambushes have been recorded along Jonglei and Pibor recently, with the latest leading to the killing of traders in Lekuangole County of GPAA on September 16^th.