The deputy governor of Southern Liech, Franco Duoth Diu, during an interview with Eye Radio - July 17, 2019 Photo: Garang Abraham/Eye Radio

Southern Liech State government is appealing to the national government to organize and fund a second Wunlit Peace Conference in an attempt to end the inter-state cattle related conflicts in the region.

The Dinka–Nuer West Bank Peace and Reconciliation Conference of 1999 was held in what was then the Southern part of Sudan.

It is commonly called the Wunlit Peace Conference after Wunlit, the village where it was held in eastern Tonj County in Bahr-el-Ghazal.

The conference brought together Nuer from Western Upper Nile and Dinka from Tonj, Rumbek, and Yirol to discuss local, regional and national conflicts within the regions.

In an exclusive interview with Eye Radio, Franco Duoth says a similar conference could help minimize the violence:

“If the national government could just find ways of mobilizing money for starting a [second] Wunlit conference,” Duoth said, “all the governors and local chiefs from the two regions will be there and whatever agreed upon will be difficult for anyone to violate.”

Dozens of people have been killed and thousands of animals raided in Tonj, Twic and Northern and Southern Liech states.

The latest incident took place in Southern Liech earlier this week – with five people reported dead and over 1,200 cows stolen.