#jonglei state

[dozydawn]

“A young Dinka woman walks among cattle in Dong Boma, a village in South Sudan's war-torn Jonglei State.”

Photographed by Paul Jeffrey, 2017.

[humanrightsupdates]

South Sudan’s Authorities Show Their Aversion to Criticism Yet Again

Release Detained Journalist, Allow Free Speech, Peaceful Protests

Last week, authorities in Jonglei state detained a photojournalist with the state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation for participating in protests about the cost of living and nonpayment of civil servant salaries. Media reported that police and National Security Service (NSS) agents took Aleu Anyieth from his home in Bor, the capital of Jonglei state, but his whereabouts, five days later, remain unknown, raising the possibility that he has been forcibly disappeared. Credible sources say he is accused of organizing the protests.

Bol Deng Bol, a human rights defender who heads the Jonglei Civil Society Network and Intrepid South Sudan, a human rights organization, announced on the social media site X that he is wanted by the authorities in connection with the same protests. He told Human Rights Watch that he had received repeated threats, including that his office would be shut down, by people he believes to be NSS.

Neither Anyieth nor Bol, nor any other peaceful protestor, should face harassment or sanctions for participating in or allegedly organizing protests. Anyieth’s whereabouts should immediately be made public and he should be released.

These recent developments are indicative of the heavy-handed approach used by the government to quash dissent. Since the start of 2024, Human Rights Watch has documented an increase in arbitrary arrests and detentions of critics. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan noted in late 2023 that repression was deeply entrenched in South Sudan and that it had stagnated any democratic prospects.

[thxnews]

Boosting Rice Production in South Sudan through UN-University Partnership

  In South Sudan, agriculture plays a vital role in the livelihoods of its people. However, achieving stable harvests requires various factors to align, including durable peace, stability, and knowledge of advanced farming practices. Addressing these challenges, the Dr. John Garang Memorial University in Jonglei, one of the country's most food-insecure states, has partnered with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to implement a pilot program aimed at increasing rice yields and generating economic benefits for farmers.   Empowering Farmers for Food Security and Youth Employment Led by South Korean peacekeepers and initiated by the government of the Republic of South Korea, the project is expected to run for eight months. The focus is on introducing advanced farming techniques to boost rice production. Professor Abraham Matock Dhal, Vice Chancellor of the University, highlighted the significance of increasing yields not only for food security but also as a means to provide employment opportunities for South Sudanese, particularly the youth. By engaging the younger population in productive agricultural activities, the project aims to deter violence and contribute to a peaceful environment.   Blue Helmets Introduce Scientific Approach to Rice Farming The South Korean peacekeepers delivered a presentation on rice production and cultivation using scientific guidelines, emphasizing the selection of rice varieties suitable for different soil types. The audience, including Jonglei authorities, University staff, and students, commended the Blue Helmets for their scientific approach and easy-to-apply tips and tricks to enhance agricultural productivity.   Transformative Impact on Food Security and Development Acting Governor of Jonglei State, John Samuel Manyuon expressed his optimism about the project's potential to reduce reliance on humanitarian food assistance and foster a peaceful environment that supports development and youth employment. Geetha Pious, Head of the UN Peacekeeping mission's Field Office in Bor, emphasized the initiative's aim to empower youth and enhance the financial viability of farming households, ultimately transforming the lives of community members.   Building Local Capacities for a Promising Future Congressman Ki-Ho-Han, Chairperson of the National Defense Commission of the Korean Parliament, praised the peacekeepers for their contribution to building local capacities. He expressed the hope that this pilot project would serve as a symbol of peace, prosperity and a promising future for all South Sudanese. As South Sudan continues its democratic transition, initiatives like this hold great potential for making a positive and lasting impact on communities, improving food security, and fostering economic growth.   Read the full article

[todaynowreport]

Sudan: Over 400 killed in South Sudan between January and March: United Nations

NAIROBI: More than 400 people were killed in South Sudan between January and March this year, with ethnic clashes accounting for much of the violence plaguing the troubled country, the United Nations said Friday. Clashes erupted on Christmas Eve last year when armed men from Jonglei state, an eastern region beset by gun crime, attacked communities in the nearby Greater Pibor Administrative Area,…

[mubashirnews]

Kenya ships food donation to South Sudan amid fighting

Kenya ships food donation to South Sudan amid fighting

Comment on this story Comment NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya’s President William Ruto has expressed concern over the fighting in neighboring South Sudan and airlifted a donation of food stuffs to those affected. South Sudan’s northern Upper Nile and Jonglei states are experiencing renewed fighting between rival armed militias. The fighting has threatened the implementation of the 2018 peace agreement…

[thetopbestguide]

Kenya ships food donation to South Sudan amid fighting

Kenya ships food donation to South Sudan amid fighting

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya’s President William Ruto has expressed concern over the fighting in neighboring South Sudan and airlifted a donation of food stuffs to those affected. South Sudan’s northern Upper Nile and Jonglei states are experiencing renewed fighting between rival armed militias. The fighting has threatened the implementation of the 2018 peace agreement between President Salva Kiir and…

[sheltiechicago]

Unyielding Floods

Floods in South Sudan have triggered food insecurity across the country. About 1.3 million children suffer from acute malnutrition, exacerbated by the spread of malaria and drinking water made unsafe by the floods, which have affected a million people since July 2020. Jonglei state is at the heart of the devastation. This project documents the devastation on three levels: natural disaster, food insecurity and loss of dignified living.

Photograph: Peter Caton

Budapest International Foto Awards

[southsud]

Pibor, South Sudan 

[lifeisagifthorse]

Sawa Sawa (Ovvero di quando mi sono fatta fare un vestito e ho realizzato che tra due settimane sono a casa...sawa!)

[sciencespies]

New models could help African countries stop locust swarms before they start

https://sciencespies.com/nature/new-models-could-help-african-countries-stop-locust-swarms-before-they-start/

New models could help African countries stop locust swarms before they start

Several countries in East Africa – namely Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, and South Sudan – are still trying to contain the worst desert locust invasion the region has experienced in over 70 years.

The locusts have destroyed vegetation – especially staple cereal crops, legumes, and pastures – resulting in huge economic losses. The World Bank estimates that these losses could reach US$8.5 billion by the end of the year.

Unlike many other grasshoppers, the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) can change from a harmless solitary phase to a destructive gregarious phase whereby hoppers (juveniles in their early, wingless stages) march together in bands.

The adults can fly and form giant swarms that can invade large areas away from their original breeding sites.

Currently, the countries are battling the second generation (or wave) of locusts, as they’ve already reproduced and hatched once within the region. And re-infestation could continue if the environment is conducive to it.

The desert locust breeds well in semi-arid zones. An ideal breeding site is characterised by warmth, vegetation close by and sandy soil with moisture and salt in it. The females usually lay their eggs at between 4 and 6 cm deep in the soil.

Governments have tried to control these insects through a range of efforts: from mobilising military units to using young people as locust cadets.

But trying to control and eliminate populations of flying locusts is expensive and not very effective. The best option, proved by scientists, is to manage them at their breeding sites.

Eggs survive and hatch when the environmental conditions are right – they can hatch within weeks or remain undeveloped for years. They’re laid inside soil so can be hard to find; it’s best that control measures – preferably biopesticides – are used when the locusts are at the surface in the form of a nymph or hopper.

For this to happen, targeted ground and aerial surveillance efforts to identify potential breeding sites are critical.

The most destructive locust swarm in East Africa happened over 70 years ago. Documentation of information was very poor, and so there was no prior knowledge of the region’s potential breeding sites.

Along with my colleagues from the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology, I’m trying to fill this gap. We’ve developed maps that predict where desert locusts could breed in Kenya, Uganda, and South Sudan.

Our model, supported by a machine learning algorithm, establishes a relationship between historical data from around the world on desert locust breeding sites.

It also factors in climate and soil characteristics that are necessary for locusts to lay their eggs, and for the eggs to hatch.

Breeding sites can consist of anywhere between 40 to 80 million locusts within a square kilometre.

There is a need to target these high-risk areas and strengthen ground surveillance to manage the locusts in a timely, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly manner.

At-risk areas

Using the model, we’ve identified and mapped potential breeding regions of the desert locust in Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan.

Vast areas in Kenya are at high risk because they have the right conditions to support locust breeding. These areas include Mandera, Wajir, Garissa, Marsabit, Turkana (all counties in North Eastern Kenya), and a few sites in Samburu county.

In Uganda, there are fewer possible breeding sites than in Kenya. These are restricted to the north-eastern regions, specifically Kotido, Kaabong, Moroto, Napak, Abim, Kitgum, Moyo, and Lamwo districts.

South Sudan is at risk of breeding in the northern regions and the south-east corner bordering Kenya. These sites exist in northern Bahr el Ghazal, Unity, Upper Nile, Eastern Equatoria, Warrap, Lakes, and some parts of Jonglei state.

Actions

In line with these predictions, ground and aerial surveillance efforts and monitoring of weather and vegetation variables in the predicted breeding regions needs to be strengthened significantly.

Financial, material and human resources will also need to be mobilised for timely management of the hopper bands when they emerge.

We, at the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology, have several suggestions on what must happen next:

Due to a large area for potential breeding of locusts, a permanent locust monitoring unit in Kenya must be established. It should consist of ground and aerial surveillance teams, locust biologists, socio-economists, remote-sensing experts and weather and vegetation forecasters.

A task force must be set up in Uganda to collaborate with Kenya’s monitoring unit. Based on the overall cover area of desert locust breeding suitability in Uganda, it may not be necessary to invest in constant monitoring in the country.

But the task force must collaborate closely with the Kenyan Locust monitoring unit and enhance preparedness for possible outbreaks and swarms.

Sustainable locust management interventions and associated mobilisation of financial, logistical and human resources need to be closely linked with strengthened locust monitoring efforts.

There must be a greater focus on sustainable and biological control options against locusts to mitigate adverse impacts of chemical pesticide-based locust control strategy.

We believe that biopesticide applications should become a cornerstone in managing locust outbreaks. Biopesticides need to be rapidly field tested in Kenya, commercialised and scaled up.

Finally, the current desert locust outbreak is triggered by a change in rainfall pattern which expands areas of potential invasion as a consequence of climate variability or change.

It is possible that, in future, other marginally suitable areas and conditions may become conducive for locust breeding.

Therefore, it is important to ramp up modelling efforts to understand the potential impacts of climate change on the current model predictions.

Henri Tonnang, Research Scientist, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

#Nature

[rightsinexile]

South Sudan needs to address cycles of intercommunal killings

This dispatch was written by Nyagoah Tut Pur, Researcher in Human Rights Watch’s Africa Division. It was published on HRW’s website on 20 March 2020. 

Inter-clan fighting killed 41 people and injured at least 60 others in South Sudan’s Lakes state this week, once again underscoring the challenge faced by the government of ending intercommunal violence. 

Lakes isn’t the only flashpoint for intercommunal fighting. Since mid-February, violent clashes in Jonglei state and Greater Pibor Administrative Area between the Lou Nuer, Dinka, and Murle communities have displaced at least 8,000 people from their villages to shelter next to the United Nations peacekeeping base in Pibor, and displaced thousands more in Akobo and Nyirol. Aid groups believe many more have been killed, and many injured are unable to access services. This spate of violence, part of a years-long cycle of attacks and counter-attacks between these ethnic groups, was triggered, as it has been in the past, by allegations that Murle abducted children. [Read more here.]

[annafricatv]

UN Says Two Aid Workers, Four Others Shot Dead In South Sudan

UN Says Two Aid Workers, Four Others Shot Dead In South Sudan

The United Nation’s humanitarian co-ordinator in South Sudan, Mohamed Ag Ayoya, has urged the government to step up efforts to protect aid workers after gunmen shot dead six persons, including two local aid workers – during an attack in Jonglei State.

The humanitarian staff were providing health care in Pajut town centre when unidentified attackers opened fire.

Hundreds of people have been killed…

[thetopbestguide]

Kenya ships food donation to South Sudan amid fighting

Kenya ships food donation to South Sudan amid fighting

Comment on this story Comment NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya’s President William Ruto has expressed concern over the fighting in neighboring South Sudan and airlifted a donation of food stuffs to those affected. South Sudan’s northern Upper Nile and Jonglei states are experiencing renewed fighting between rival armed militias. The fighting has threatened the implementation of the 2018 peace agreement…

[rivaltimes]

The UN denounces an increase in violence against humanitarian workers in South Sudan

The UN denounces an increase in violence against humanitarian workers in South Sudan

File – Girl in the South Sudanese state of Jonglei – UNICEF/UN0594302/NAFTALIN – Archive The United Nations has condemned this Friday the deterioration of the working conditions of humanitarian workers in South Sudan, where three of them have been killed this month alone: ​​in Jonglei state on September 9, another in Unity state on September 19 this month and a third in Guit County. The UN…

[chasenews]

UN agencies call for scaled-up response to address increasing hunger and malnutrition in South Sudan

UN agencies call for scaled-up response to address increasing hunger and malnutrition in South Sudan

UNICEF/UN0598325/NaftalinDeborah Yar and her 4 year old daughter, Nyanlei Thuch, are photographed in Guachateny Boma village in Jonglei State, South Sudan. Nyanlei – like many children in her community – receives medical assistance from Awan Agaan, a UNICEF-supported Bomi Health Worker Food insecurity is likely to rise by seven per cent across South Sudan in the coming months, compared to last…