The local authorities in Warrap State’s Tonj East County on Sunday facilitated the signing of an agreement to stop fighting between the Luachjang, Thiik, and Akok Deng Achuil communities in Tonj South County.
The agreement to cease hostilities was signed at the end of three days of dialogue which started on Friday and was initiated by the state government with financial support from the Kongkoc (hold on) consortium which brings together six organizations. The dialogue follows deadly cyclic communal clashes fueled by revenge killings between the three communities since the beginning of the year.
Makur Dhuol Ajook, the Tonj East County commissioner, told Radio Tamazuj Tuesday that the cessation of hostilities was successfully signed and said he hopes it will lead to peace and stability in the restive county.
“Akok, Thiik, and Luachjang communities of Tonj East County have signed the cessation of hostilities in Tonj South Town and the workshop started on Friday and ended on Sunday. On Monday and today, Tuesday, I have been transporting the participants back to their respective places to talk to their youths and elders so that there is peace in Tonj East County,” he explained. “The peace that was signed by the three warring communities is promising because it involves everyone including youth, women, chiefs, intellectuals and politicians.”
“We hope from now on things will return to normalcy and from yesterday people and cars have been freely moving to Tonj East,” Commissioner Dhuol added.
For his part, Madhol Chol, the chairperson of the peace committee in Tonj East, confirmed that the communities embraced peace and agreed to cease hostilities.
“There is now peace among the people of Tonj East County. When the governor (Francis Marial Abur) was appointed, he visited Tonj East first and slept in Gap-Agok for three days where fighting had intensified because the Luachjang and Thiik communities attacked the Akok Deng Achuil community,” he narrated. “He then proceeded to Luachjang for another three days and while there, the chiefs, youth, and women groups requested the governor to bring the three communities together to talk peace because they did not want the mass killings to happen again.”
According to Chol, the governor welcomed the chiefs’ request and promised to help bring in a Judge to try outstanding cases and formed the chiefs’ courts in Luachjang.
“After the final peace agreement, the chiefs’ courts in Thiik and Akok communities will be formed and a first-class judge will come in to head them and complete the hearing of the outstanding cases,” he added.
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