Raja County, Western Bahr el-Ghazal State
DEMOGRAPHY
2008 NBS Census population: 54,340
2021 NBS PES population estimate*: 108,344
2022 UN OCHA population estimate*: 59,638
Ethnic groups and languages: Aja, Balanda, Banda, Binga, Buja, Feroghe, Indri, Kara, Kpala Naka, Kpala Hufra, Kresh, Mangayat, Ndogo, Ngulgule, Togoyo, Shat, Woro, Yulu (many of these self-identify as ‘Fertit’ – see below)
Displacement Figures Q3 2022: 2,828 IDPs (-4,938 Q1 2020) and 25,962 returnees (+5,437 Q1 2020)
IPC Food Security: November 2022 – Crisis (Phase 3); IPC Projections: December to March 2023 – Crisis (Phase 3); April to July 2023 – Crisis (Phase 3)
ECONOMY & LIVELIHOODS
Raja County is located in the northwestern corner of South Sudan in Western Bahr el-Ghazal State. It borders Wau County to the southeast, Northern Bahr-el Ghazal State to the east, and Western Equatoria State to the south. It also has long international borders with the Central African Republic to the west and Sudan to the north. Raja’s proximity to international borders with Sudan and the Central African Republic has made it a part of regional trade routes, when the security situation permits, for the transportation and trade of goods.
The county falls within the western plains groundnuts, sesame and sorghum livelihoods zone (FEWSNET 2018). The FAO and WFP (2018) estimate that 45% of households in Raja County engaged in farming, increasing to 55% by 2021. In 2021, gross cereal yields were estimated to be 1.3 tonnes per hectare, increasing to 1.4 tonnes per hectare in 2022 (FAO/WFP 2023). Fishing is also considered to be a primary livelihood. The most popular crops were groundnut and cassava, followed by sesame (simsim), sorghum, maize and vegetables. Some farmers also cultivate millet and tobacco. Families keep small numbers of goats and poultry for household consumption. Collecting wild honey, shea nuts and thatching grass are also ways through which some residents supplement their income. Lack of equipment prevents some from profiting from forestry resources which are available in some parts of the county. During the dry season, residents have access to wild food sources such as mangoes, shea nuts and honey. Displacement due to conflict and violence to neighboring countries and counties meant that farmers had to abandon their crops for indefinite periods of time, including during key planting and harvesting periods.
Food insecurity has increasingly become an issue in Raja County. The IPC projected the county as being at a crisis (IPC level 3) level of food insecurity in November 2022, with conditions projected to persist at the same level until at least July 2023.
INFRASTRUCTURE & SERVICES
The county’s headquarters are located in Raja town. Conflict and violence in the county since 2015 led to the increased destruction of property, farmland and basic infrastructure. Raja has very limited road infrastructure compared to the size of the county, with much of the county at a distance of 40 kilometers or greater from any notable road. Construction of a 500-km tarmacked road between Wau Town and Central African Republic that will run through Raja County was launched in 2021, though there have been no updates on the progress of construction since this time. Rural areas of the county remain without cell service or telecoms service from any providers.
Raja County is home to nineteen (19) primary schools and two (2) secondary schools: Comboni Raja Secondary and Raja Secondary, both located in Raja Payam. There are currently no Early Childhood Development centres in the county.**
Raja County was reported to have nineteen (19) health facilities including seventeen (17) functional health facilities, among them eleven (11) PHCUs, five (5) PHCCs and one (1) hospital in 2022. This means that there were an estimated 2.27 PHCUs per 15,000 people and 3.36 PHCCs per 50,000 people according to the WHO. Raja Hospital was reported to be moderately functional.
According to OCHA’s Humanitarian Needs Overview for 2023, over 34,200 people in the county are estimated to have humanitarian needs (a slight increase from 29,000 in 2021), over half of whom are returnees. This is equivalent to just under 50% of the projected population of the county reported in the HNO. Following the outbreak of fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan in April 2023, 8,529 people fleeing the conflict in Sudan registered in Raja County (256 at Timsah, 749 at Boro Medina, and 895 at Raja town) (UNHCR/IOM 2023).
CONFLICT DYNAMICS
Raja County, which borders Sudan’s South Darfur state, has been impacted by both cross-border and local level violence. Authorities in Raja County reported incidents of bombings in the area between 2011-15 (Ariath, 2011; Eye Radio, 2015; IRNA, 2015), allegedly conducted by the Sudan government to flush out Sudanese rebel groups that operated across the border, as the county borders Darfur. This often led to displacement from the northern parts of the county to Raja Town
The patterns of conflict in Raja County reflect longer term tension over attempts by different groups to assert control over north-western South Sudan. The Small Arms Survey reports that tensions between the SPLA and local ‘Fertit’ communities date back at least to the early 1980s. The term ‘Fertit’ was originally a term used by some groups to refer to traders that used to come from Darfur, but has evolved into a label applied to a broad umbrella of non-Dinka groups in Western Bahr el-Ghazal. While some groups now self-identify as ‘Fertit’ as a form of inter-group solidarity, many members of larger groups such as the Balanda or Kresh tend to prefer use of their own names. The tension between these communities and SPLA had led to the creation of self-defense forces – such as the Quwaat as-Salaam – to protect communities from raids in Raja and neighbouring Wau Counties.
Raja County was devastated when Western Bahr el-Ghazal was drawn into the national conflict in 2015. Local defence groups, similar groups to the Quwaat as-Salaam, were remobilized in response to movement of cattle keepers into Western Bahr el-Ghazal and SPLA in Wau County from 2015 onwards. These self-defence groups subsequently aligned with the SPLM-IO and were allegedly fighting not only the SPLA but also armed groups from South Darfur. The decision to merge Raja County with neighbouring Aweil North and Aweil West to form the new Lol State in 2015 was also highly contested by groups in Raja County, as this was seen as an attempt by Aweil to ‘annex’ Raja County. In June 2015 media reported that fighting took place between the SPLA and an unknown armed group in Khor Shaman area and an SPLA camp in Boro Medina. An anti-government militia group also attacked Raja town in June 2016 but their affiliation and the number of casualties is still unclear (Vuylsteke, 2018). The intensity of violence, scale of displacement and access restrictions increased throughout most of 2018 as the epicentre of fighting increasingly shifted to neighbouring Wau County. Government offensives and progress on the national peace process led to a decline in violence since late 2018, although many residents remain displaced.
In 2016, residents reported that the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) was operating around the border regions of Raja County, often attacking farmers and stealing food. In 2018, clashes led to the displacement of half of the population of Deim Zubeir to other parts of Raja as well as Wau County, as well further locations such as Aweil, Tambura and neighbouring Central African Republic.
ADMINISTRATION & LOGISTICS
Payams: Raja (County Headquarters), Ere, Ringi, Deim Zubeir/’Uyujuku’
UN OCHA 2020 map of Raja County: https://reliefweb.int/map/south-sudan/south-sudan-raja-county-reference-map-march-2020
Roads:
- The main towns of Raja and Deim Zubeir are connected by a primary road that runs to the state capital of Wau. The road was designated as being passable during both the rainy season of 2022 and dry season of 2023.
- From Raja, two separate secondary roads also run towards Al Radoum Locality in Sudan’s South Darfur State, entering at Diofo and Al Fifi towns. Seasonal conditions of these roads are unknown.
- A secondary road connects Deim Zubier town to Tambura in Western Equatoria State. Seasonal conditions of this road are unknown.
- A primary road connects Raja town to Aweil town (in Northern Bahr-el Ghazal). This road was considered impassable between Raja and Gossinga and “passable with difficulties” between Gossinga and Aweil during both the rainy season of 2022 and dry season of 2023. A bypass between Raja and Gossinga (which runs via Kapalala, and is not shown on the UN OCHA map for Raja County) is designated as being “passable with difficulties”.
MAF-Recognised Airstrips: Raja
REFERENCES
Ariath, A.G. (2011). South Sudan: Raja County Commissioners Blames Saf Bombing of Raja, 17 deaths. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
Eye Radio. (2015). Sudanese places allegedly attack Raja. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
FAO/WFP. (2023). Special Report: FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission to South Sudan. Retrieved 31 July 2023. See equivalent versions of the CFSAM report online for data from previous years.
FEWSNET. (2018). Livelihoods Zone Map and Descriptions for the Republic of South Sudan (Updated). Retrieved 10 July 2023.
IRNA. (2015). IRNA Report: Raja County (Raja town, Diem Jalab, Menemba, Katta & Boromedina) Western Bahr el Ghazal State (20th – 22nd May 2015). Retrieved 18 July 2023.
OCHA. (2021). Humanitarian Needs Overview: South Sudan 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
Radio Tamazuj. (2021). W. Bahr el Ghazal launches construction of 500-km tarmac road. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
UNHCR/IOM. (2023). Population Movement from Sudan to South Sudan. Information from interactive dashboard retrieved 20 July 2023.
VOA. (2015). UN Condemns Ambush of Civilians in South Sudan. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
Vuylsteke, S. (2018) Identity and Self-Determination: The Fertit opposition in South Sudan. Small Arms Survey/HSBA. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
REPORTS on RAJA
Blocq, D. (2014). ‘The Grassroots Nature of Counterinsurgent Tribal Militia Formation: The Case of the Fertit in Southern Sudan, 1985–1989.’ Journal of Eastern African Studies, 8 (4), 710–24. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
Thomas, E. (2010). The Kafia Kingi Enclave: People, politics and history in the north–south boundary zone of western Sudan. London: Rift Valley Institute. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
Ukelo, D. (2019). The War of Destiny: Triggers of Insurgent Evolution. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse.
Vuylsteke, S. (2018) Identity and Self-Determination: The Fertit opposition in South Sudan. Small Arms Survey/HSBA. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
* Note: The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Population Estimation Survey (PES) was published in April 2023 based on data collected in May-June 2021. This uses a different method to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Population Working Group (PWG) figures produced based on a combination of 2008 census data and population movement data up to 2022. The large discrepancies are primarily attributable to these different methods rather than changes in the actual population numbers over time and have been disputed by some civil society and analysts. Although the later PWG figures were produced more recently for the HNO 2023, at the request of the Government of South Sudan the data and method used by the PES is being used as the basis for the Common Operational Dataset (COD) for the UN system for the HNO 2024 and likely beyond. For further detail on this and other sources used in the county profiles, see the accompanying Methodological Note.
** Note: SAMS enrolment data from 2022 indicates that there is a disproportionately large number of schools in Western Bahr-el Ghazal State which have fewer than ten pupils enrolled.