The communities in the Kidepo Valley have resolved to live in peace following tension and violence over cattle raids and resultant revenge killings.

This came after the communities of Chahari Payam in Kidepo County signed new resolutions to come together with the help of organisations operating in the area.

In the statement extended by the Women’s Organisation for Peace, seen by The City Review yesterday, the communities for decades have also been fighting over territory as well as committing sexual violence against themselves.

One of the women leaders in the area, Regina Dudu Iwari, confessed that since they signed the new resolution, peace has been restored in the area and people are moving freely without any problems.

“We have peace, and we all live and eat together. We can again walk to our garden and harvest our crops without fear, and the people here are happy that life is now good,” Dudu said.

She said the transition from 32 to 10 states had saved them from violence because communities used to fight over the boundaries of the payams and counties.

Meanwhile, Iromo Pasquina Lino, Chairperson of the Women’s Organisation for Peace, stated that the new resolutions signed by the communities have had a positive impact on them by agreeing not to raid or fight again.

“As women, we have also requested that they be equally involved as men in the implementation of these measures, “said Pasquina.

For her part, Abdul Kamara, a civil affairs officer serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, the communities suffered from the political leadership vacuum created when there were no longer state government officials on the ground.

He said the communities have requested the patrol team from UNMISS to assist them in patrolling the area more frequently and to support a new gathering to revitalise resolutions that are no longer being abided by some community members.

“Together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the peacekeeping mission assisted the state government and the feuding communities in arranging a belated follow-up conference to address numerous accumulated issues,” he said.

He said those in attendance also agreed on holding perpetrators of crimes accountable, a ban on certain harmful alcoholic beverages, and the need for the government to deploy troops in the areas most prone to conflicts.