This is according to Rodento Philip Tombek, a community leader in the area.

In mid-December last year, some illegal settlers clashed with members of the land committee appointed by President Salva Kiir during an assessment visit to the area.

As result, two civilians, and a soldier were killed during the confrontation.

According to the community leaders there, some powerful military personnel are now involved, and are using force to acquire land in the area.

Rodento stated that the soldiers who were sent to guard the place are now behind the illegal demarcation of the land.

“The soldiers who were sent to guard the place, and not to allow people to erect houses are the ones guarding the grader doing the illegal demarcation in the area, right now these people are on the ground demarcating plots and distributing land,” Rodento told Eye Radio.

“We managed to inform the commissioner and the IGP yesterday and all what is happening there is a report being sent to the high level committee.

“They sent people there but unfortunately the same people they are sending there are the ones that advise the land grabbers to hide the graders until the indigenous leave then they will come and continue with the work.”

He added that the soldiers are uprooting some of the most important tree species including traditional and edible fruit plants.

“On the 31st of December the land grabbers came to the village with a bulldozer and started demarcating the land, opening roads and all these activities,” Rodento said.

“On the 1st of January when the villagers were celebrating the New Year’s Eve, they came at 4 O’clock and started demarcating and right now they have reached near the Payam headquarters.

“They have removed most of the big trees, traditional trees, edible trees and fruits and even ancestral graves and this is devastating, we informed the authorities but nothing is being done.”

In November last year, the 12-member committee formed by President Salva Kiir to address issues of rampant informal settlements and land grabbing suspended any land demarcation in the city.

This is until it carries out assessment on informal settlements and land grabbing in Juba City and Juba County, including estimates of populations, household numbers and other related demographic data as ordered by the president.

It’s not clear how far the committee has reached with the assessment exercise

But the residents in Garbo and other areas around Juba say land-grabbers continue demarcating their areas despite the order.

Efforts to reach the committee for comment were not immediately successful.