Activist warns against ethnic mobilization in Jonglei

BOR — A leading civil society activist in South Sudan’s Jonglei State has warned community leaders against mobilizing youth on ethnic lines to fight in the renewed clashes between government and opposition forces, terming the conflict purely political and not a tribal war.

Bol Deng Bol, Chairperson of the Jonglei Civil Society Network (JCSN) and Executive Director of INTREPID South Sudan , issued the urgent appeal on Wednesday as fighting between the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) continued to ravage the northern part of the state.

The call comes amid reports that elders from both the Dinka and Nuer communities are rallying armed youth—including the Nuer “White Army” and Dinka defense groups—to join the fray in support of their respective political patrons.

“The perpetual hostility between SSPDF and SPLA-IO is NOT ethnic but political,” Bol said in a statement. “The community leaders currently mobilizing young people on an ethnic basis in Jonglei State should therefore reconsider this agenda. It is misleading and dangerous to all.”

The warning coincides with a sharp deterioration in the humanitarian situation. Bol reported that the renewed hostilities have already displaced approximately 200,000 civilians across Nyirol, Uror, Ayod, Akobo, and Duk counties in northern Jonglei.

Additionally, he stated that more than 5,000 people have fled the state capital, Bor, seeking safety in Juba and the neighboring Awerial County of Lakes State, fearing the violence could spread south.

“Civilians are already bearing the brunt of this unnecessary war, as close to 200,000 has been displaced in Nyirol, Uror, Ayod, Akobo and Duk Counties, and more than 5,000 have allegedly fled Bor County to Juba and Awerial County of Lake State,” Bol said.

The violence in Jonglei is the latest escalation in the breakdown of the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS).

The pact, which brought President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar together in a unity government, has been strained by delays in security arrangements and recent defections.

Despite the bloodshed, Bol urged both sides to return to the negotiating table, arguing that the peace deal remains the only viable path forward.

“I believe that diplomacy can thrive even in violent confrontations. SSPDF and SPLM/A-IO can still become peace partners under the R-ARCSS; not all is lost,” he said.