page_title: Jonglei State
section_title: 21st century
hierarchical_section_title: Jonglei State / History / 21st century
caption_attribution_description: South Sudan, 2012: Major Matt Kerr is deployed to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) as a Military Liaison Officer based in the state of Jonglei, South Sudan. Before take-off from a patrol.
context_page_description: Jonglei is a state of South Sudan. On 2 October 2015 the President Salva Kiir Mayardit decreed the creation of a new Jonglei State along with 27 other states replacing 10 previous states. The earlier Jonglei state comprised three counties of Bor, Twic East and Duk and was the largest state by area before reorganisation, with approximately 122,581 km², as well as the most populous according to the controversial 2008 census conducted during present-day South Sudan's second period of autonomy. The boundaries of the state were again changed as a result of a peace agreement signed on 22 February 2020. Bor is the capital of the state.
  Jonglei seceded from Sudan as part of the Republic of South Sudan on 9 July 2011. In the 21st century, Jonglei has been marred by clashes between tribes of the region which the UN estimated in May 2012 had affected the lives of over 140,000 people, and has been heavily influenced by the broader South Sudanese conflict since December 2013.
context_section_description: Jonglei has long suffered from tribal infighting. Much of the conflict is over basic resources of food, land, and water, and personal grudges related to the abduction of women and children and theft of cattle. In November and December 2007, clashes between Murle and Dinke tribesmen had worsened to revenge attacks, killing over 34 people and injuring over 100. On one outbreak in late November 2007, eight Dinka tribesmen and 7,000 cattle were stole near the village of Padak, about 20 kilometres north-east of Bor. Many fled to the Kakuma Camp in northwestern Kenya, and they amounted to some 85 percent of the total 3,000 or so refugees reaching the camp.
  Violence between Murle and Nuer tribes has been central to the attacks in the state. The Geneva Small Arms Survey concluded that the "Murle–Lou Nuer conflict in Jonglei State is indicative of how tribal and political dynamics are intertwined in the post-CPA period." A civilian disarmament operation targeting primarily the Nuer communities in 2005-06 resulted in a major outbreak of violence against the authorities, who believed that the crackdown was politically motivated. In August 2007, some 80 people were killed in Murle–Lou Nuer clashes. In 2009 alone, some 86,000 people were displaced, and at least 1248 killed as a result of violent clashes. One attack at Lewongole in March 2009 claimed 450 lives, wounding 45 and displacing 5000 people. A month later, 250 were killed, 70 wounded and 15,000 displaced at Akoko. 24,000 were displaced as a result of attack in August 2009 at Panyangor. Between January 2011 and September 2012, some 2600 people died in clashes in Jonglei State. In January 2012 clashes between Murle and Nuer tribes again broke out over cattle.  Outbreaks between Nuer and Murle people have been the most severe in Nyirol and Pibor counties but have also affected other counties.
  In May 2012, state governor, Kuol Manyang Juuk stated that 3,651 people had been killed, 385 people wounded, 1,830 children abducted, and 3,983,613 cattle stolen. The UN estimated at the time that ongoing clashes had affected the lives of over 140,000 people. The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), international defence forces, and UN Peacekeepers are struggling to defuse the ongoing conflict and protect civilians against raids. The Jonglei Peace Conference was signed on 6 May 2012 in Bor, and has since been trying to improve the situation in the region. Despite the peace agreement, attacks continued to follow. On 9 May 2012 two people were killed and one was injured in an attack by the Murle on 32 cows in Twic East. A day later, a car traveling from Juba to Jonglei belonging to the South Sudan Ministry of Roads and Bridges was attacked near Panwell village in Bangachorot, killing the driver and wounding two policemen.
  In January 2013, more than 100 people, mainly women and children, were slaughtered during cattle raids.  In February 2013, 114 civilians, mainly women and children, along with 14 SPLA soldiers, were killed in Walgak after the community was attacked by the rebel group of David Yau Yau and Murle youth. On 9 April 2013, five Indian UNMISS troops and seven civilian UN employees (two UN staff and five contractors) were killed in a rebel ambush in Jonglei while escorting a UN convoy between Pibor and Bor. Nine further UN employees, both military and civilian, were wounded and some remain missing. Four of the civilians killed were Kenyan contractors working to drill water boreholes. One of the dead soldiers was a lieutenant-colonel and one of the wounded was a captain. According to South Sudan's military spokesman, the convoy was attacked by Yau Yau's rebel forces that they believe are supported by the Sudanese government. UNMISS said that 200 armed men were involved in the attack and that their convoy was escorted by 32 Indian UN peacekeepers. The attackers were equipped with rocket propelled grenades. A UN spokesman said that the fierce resistance put up by their peacekeepers forced the rebels to withdraw and saved the lives of many of the civilians. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki
caption: New Zealand Defence Force in Jonglei
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