By Denis Logonyi  – 29 AUG 2025

Women from Greater Pibor Administrative Area and Jonglei State gathered in Juba  for a five-day peace conference aimed at resolving conflicts that have resulted in the loss of many lives between the two states.

The focus of the conference that began on Tuesday is on child abduction and cattle raiding, with the aim of fostering lasting peace in the region. The women say these issues are key drivers for their urgent pursuit of peace.

Famela Ajak Loki, a peace commissioner in Pibor, stated that despite previous peace conferences, cattle raiding remains a significant issue in the Jonglei-Pibor corridor. She hopes that the women’s conference will put an end to the suffering.

“Peace is embraced today and the Murle will listen because we have sat down with our youth telling them that we have embraced peace and we do not want to fight again. These youth gather their cattle from all sides of Pibor to be brought to Juba [but] before reaching Juba, an incident occurs and these children will be attacked,” said Loki.

She anticipates a strong peace resolution for Greater Pibor, Jonglei, and Akobo.

Ajok Atem Wan, from Twic East in Jonglei state, said the community has lost a number of children to abduction, stressing that they are planning to exchange contacts with women from the Murle community to facilitate the return of abducted children on both sides. She narrated the ordeal of losing a child to abduction after long suffering with tears in her eyes.

“We have shared numbers with Murle and Nuer women in order to return abducted children. If anyone finds an abducted Nuer child, they can contact a Nuer woman to arrange for the child’s return. If Murle people take the Dinka women’s numbers and find an abducted Dinka child, they will call back,” she stated.

Elizabeth Kumeny Teny, the minister of gender, child, and social welfare in Pibor, noted that revenge killing is the main cause for child abduction and killings in the community. She disclosed that her office is working with her counterparts in Jonglei state to return children and women abducted on both sides.

“Women from both sides are always peaceful and they are always the victims because the abducted will be among them and their children,” said Teny.

Since the beginning of this year, several cases of abductions and killing have happened, undermining previous mediation efforts.

In June this year, at least 3,000 heads of cattle were raided, while eight traders were killed and eight others injured after armed assailants raided an auction center in Mogiri along Juba – Bor highway.

According to the peace canal, several abducted people have been repatriated through their efforts.
“The total abducted women and children who have been returned to their respective communities are close to 230 from 2022.”

Hawa Rajab, a female chief of the B court, from the Greater Pibor Administrative Area, said her community is eager for peace to achieve development.

“We came to this conference for urgent peace because if the country has no peace, there will be instability. If the country has no peace, there will be no development,” she stressed.

She hopes this peace initiative between the three communities will usher in an era of development, happiness, and an end to decades of conflict.

Nyadow Biel Makuach, coordinator for the Bridges of Peace Initiative, of the peace canal, stated that their goal is to foster peace among the communities of the Murle in Pibor, the Dinka in Greater Bor, and the Nuer in Akobo.

“The main goal is to make sure the conflict in our community is reduced. Also, this abduction and revenge killing in the community, we believe that we have a big hand, that women, if they intervene, are going to subside,” she affirmed.

Recurring violence and inter-communal conflicts, especially between communities in Jonglei State and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA), have caused significant displacement. Additionally, millions of people across the country remain internally displaced due to widespread violence.

The women’s conference is an activity of the RSRTF consortium funded by the UN Trust Fund project for Jonglei and GPAA in collaboration with the Peacebuilding Opportunity Fund from UKAid.