File: In July 2020, Vice President Dr. James Wani Igga knelt before local chiefs in Bor as he begged them to convince their youth to stop fighting. Photo: Voice of Reconciliation

A peace conference aimed at reconciling communities of Jonglei State and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area is set to commence in Juba next Monday.

The two-day conference will see the communities of Greater Jonglei discuss ways of restoring peace in the restive region.

“The peace conference for Jonglei State and Pibor Administrative Area is going to take place on Monday 25th January 2021,” said Daniel Abocha Ali, the spokesperson of the high-level committee to address the insecurity situation in Jonglei and Pibor Administrative Area.

“The title of the conference is People to People Peace Conference under the theme Together for Peace, Reconciliation and Peaceful Co-existence.”

“This conference will be under the patronage of HE president Salva Kiir and all his deputies will also be part of the conference. All the delegates have already arrived in Juba for the conference on Monday,” he told state broadcaster SSBC-TV on Friday.

President Salva Kiir tasked Vice President Dr. James Wani Igga in June last year to head a committee to resolve the ongoing conflict in Jonglei State and Greater Pibor Administrative Area.

This follows reports of deadly clashes among neighboring communities in the Greater Jonglei area.

The committee is expected to, among other things, identify the root causes of inter-communal violence and organize a peace conference between communities in the areas affected.

During one of his visits to Jonglei, Vice President Igga begged youth there to desist from revenge attacks and inter-communal violence.

But some of the remote areas in Jonglei have continued to experience communal and tribal violence, mainly caused by cattle raiding, child abduction, and grazing land.

Mr. Abucha Ali believes the peace conference in Juba will bring to an end the long history of conflict among communities of the Greater Jonglei Area.

“This conference is very important because it is going to address all the security concerns and all the issues among the communities of Bor, Nuer and the Murle and the neighboring communities. All of them are going to be at the conference and we hope that this time around, a lasting solution will be found,” Mr. Abocha added.

Representatives from the Anyuak, Dinka, Jie, Kachipo, Murle, and Nuer will participate in the conference at Freedom Hall in Juba.