Rubkona County, Unity State

DEMOGRAPHY

2008 NBS Census population: 100,236
2021 NBS PES population estimate*: 308,684
2022 UN OCHA population estimate*: 342,397

Ethnic groups: Leek Nuer (Chieng-chua and Chieng-deng)

Displacement Figures Q3 2022: 218,083 IDPs (+76,595 Q1 2020) and 21,036 returnees (-2,082 Q1 2020)

IPC Food Security: November 2022 – Emergency (Phase 4); IPC Projections: January to March 2023 – Crisis (Phase 3); April to July 2023 – Emergency (Phase 4)

ECONOMY & LIVELIHOODS

Rubkona County is located in the centre of Unity State and hosts the state capital at Bentiu. It borders Guit County to the east, Koch County to the south and Mayom County to the south-west. It also borders the Ruweng Administrative Area (Pariang County, Abiemnhom County) to the north. As is discussed in the Conflict Dynamics section below, an area bordering Sudan is claimed by both Rubkona County and the Ruweng Administrative Area.

Bentiu, the capital of Unity State, is located in the east of Rubkona County and is a major hub for trade and commerce, though was particularly affected by the national conflict that began in 2013. The remainder of the county is split across two livelihood zones. The western half falls under the Western flood plains zone, with flat plains consisting of a mix of savannah grassland, bushes and forest. The eastern half belongs to the Nile-Sobat River livelihood zone, with permanent swamps and grasslands which flood in the rainy season. The soil in the county’s western areas is black clay and the soil in the eastern areas is black cotton soil. Both types of soil are suitable for cultivating a variety of crops but flooding often becomes an impediment to agricultural activities in both areas. The Bahr el-Ghazal river (also known as the Naam River) runs through Bentiu and across Rubkona County to the west, as well as the smaller rivers of Ngol and Nyinngai.

Residents traditionally practice agro-pastoralism, supplementing their diets through fishing and foraging. However, this mix of livelihoods varies according to the payam. For example, many Nhialdiu Payam residents are largely dependent on livestock rearing and fishing for their livelihoods. An estimated 20% of Rubkona County households engaged in farming in 2021 with a gross cereal yield of 0.5 tonnes per hectare (FAO/WFP 2022), increasing to 0.7 tonnes per hectare in 2022 (FAO/WFP 2023). The main crop cultivated is maize, with more limited quantities of groundnut also being planted. There is also sorghum, and vegetable production, but at a very limited scale.

Food security projections in November 2022 placed Rubkona County at Emergency (IPC Phase 4) levels of food insecurity, representing a continuation of food insecurity levels from 2021. Projections for the first half of 2023 indicate that at least 25% of the population of the county is expected to meet over 50% of their caloric needs from humanitarian food assistance during this period.

In 2021, Rubkona was identified as a flood-affected county by the Emergency Response Coordination Center. Flooding continued in parts of Rubkona throughout much of the 2021-22 dry season and the compound effects of multiple years of flooding have driven significant humanitarian need in the county throughout 2022 and 2023. Much of the county, including the areas around Rubkona and Bentiu towns, remained submerged by water in early 2023 and has been the subject of significant attention by politicians and humanitarians seeking longer-term solutions to the resulting interruption to livelihoods and displacement.

INFRASTRUCTURE & SERVICES

The Rubkona County HQ is Rubkona Town, while Bentiu Town, also in Rubkona County, serves as the capital of Unity State. The largest markets are located in both Bentiu and Rubkona towns, populated by traders from Darfur, the Nuba mountains and other foreign locales. The level of development varies across the county, with Bentiu and Rubkona towns having higher levels of infrastructure and services.

The outbreak of the civil war in December 2013 led to further deterioration or destruction of key infrastructure and services in the county. Entire villages and crops were destroyed, and assets were looted. In 2017, OCHA reported that NGO facilities were looted, and water infrastructure in Rubkona town was damaged. The destruction of key markets in Rubkona and broader impact of the civil war has meant that the population remains highly dependent on humanitarian services and employment, both inside and outside of the former PoC.

While some schools may have not returned to full operations and/or require rehabilitation following the 2018 Revitalised Peace Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan, Rubkona County is home to fifty-eight (58) primary schools and eight (8) secondary schools, which are concentrated in Rubkona and Bentiu Town payams. There are currently no Early Childhood Development centres in the county. While some schools outside of the former POC site are functioning, many require rehabilitation after being damaged or occupied during the conflict. Forced recruitment as recently as January 2020, particularly of young men and boys, has also inhibited access to education for young people.

Rubkona County was reported to have twenty-three (23) health facilities including nineteen (19) functional health facilities, among them six (6) PHCUs, ten (10) PHCCs and three (3) hospitals in 2022. This means that there were an estimated .26 PHCUs per 15,000 people and 1.46 PHCCs per 50,000 people according to the WHO, which ranks Rubkona as among the ten counties with the lowest ratios of PHCUs/person in South Sudan.

According to OCHA’s Humanitarian Needs Overview for 2023, there are 337,629 people with humanitarian needs in Rubkona County (a sharp increase from 200,000 in 2021). This is one of the highest figures in South Sudan and the highest in Unity State. This represents approximately 98% of the total projected population of Rubkona County reported in the HNO, with all of Rubkona’s 195,678 IDPs deemed to be in need. The county is said to have acute levels of protection needs, including GBV and children protection needs, with over 50% of the population in need of these services according to the 2020 HNO. Additionally, OCHA identified Rubkona as having one of the highest levels of WASH needs in the country in 2020.

Bentiu’s former-PoC site remains the largest IDP site in South Sudan and was established following the 2013 outbreak of conflict. The county has also received one of the highest numbers of returnees compared to other counties, including returning IDPs from other parts of the county. Following the outbreak of fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan in April 2023, 20,321 people fleeing the conflict in Sudan were registered at the border crossing at Panakuach, which is an area disputed by Rubkona County and Abiemnhom and Pariang counties in the Ruweng Administrative Area (UNHCR/IOM 2023).

CONFLICT DYNAMICS

The trajectory of conflict in Rubkona County has reflected the county’s centrality to both Unity State’s politics and to Sudan’s (and later South Sudan’s) oil economy. In 1978, Chevron Oil Exploration Company set up operations at the Unity oil fields in Rubkona, which attracted the attention of the Anya-Nya 2 opposition group, who abducted five subcontractors in 1982. In 1984, a second Anya-Nya 2 attack on oil infrastructure contributed to Chevron’s eventual departure from Sudan (Rone 2003, pp.108-112). Many Leek Nuer residents of Rubkona were displaced in the mid-1980s as a resulted of successive attacks conducted by Sudanese pastoralists aligned with Khartoum, whilst the government was able to cling on to Bentiu amid SPLM/A gains elsewhere in Unity. During the 1990s, Rubkona was affected by the waves of violence and shifting allegiances that affected other oil producing areas in the state, with the Sudanese government employing armed southern militias (including those affiliated with the fractious South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF) paramilitary coalition) to displace residents and clear the way for further oil development (Johnson 2009; Rone 2003). These activities were particularly pronounced between 1997 and 2002, and resulted in large-scale displacement. Bentiu functioned as a government garrison town and as a site for displaced persons, whilst fighting among various SSDF factions intermittently flared in and around the town (Rone 2003, p.197, 234, 256).

After the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, Bentiu became the seat for the (often contentious) politics of Unity State, and became a focal point for grievances among some residents of the state with regards to matters of political representation and a perceived lack of investment or disbursement of oil revenues (ICG 2011). Military tensions also affected Bentiu and nearby Rubkona town, with a localised dispute escalating into serious clashes between the Sudan Armed Forces and SPLA troops in Rubkona town in July 2006 (Sudan Tribune 2006). Moreover, in October 2009 the Bentiu residence of Paulino Matip (an ex-SSDF commander, and then Deputy Chief of Staff of the SPLA) was attacked by military personnel in disputed circumstances (Sudan Tribune 2009). Rubkona has also been involved in several border disputes, as is discussed further in the profiles for Mayom, Guit, and Pariang counties, while cattle-related violence with communities from Mayom and Guit was also reported (UNDP 2012). Following independence and amid tensions with Sudan, the Sudanese Air Force were alleged to have bombed areas in and around Bentiu in 2012 (Amnesty International 2012).

Rubkona County was significantly impacted by the outbreak of the national conflict (2013-2018) in December 2013. Shortly after fighting erupted in Juba, the SPLA Division 4 based in Bentiu splintered into contending factions, resulting in heavy fighting around Bentiu in late 2013 and early 2014 (including in the oil fields), and the state capital changing hands several times. The government reportedly partnered with Sudanese opposition groups to help secure parts of northern Unity, including Bentiu, with the Darfurian Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) playing a prominent role (ICG 2015). In April 2014, SPLA-IO forces briefly retook Bentiu with heavy civilian casualties in the town (UNMISS/HRD 2015, p.13). Among the civilians were government officials (including ethnic Nuer officials) and Darfurian traders, who the SPLA-IO may have perceived as supporting the JEM (UNMISS/HRD 2015; ICG 2015). From May 2014 onwards, the SPLA largely maintained control of Bentiu, though was unable to completely dislodge the SPLA-IO from their positions south of the state capital. Intermittent fighting between the SPLA-IO and government and allied forces continued in parts of the county for the remainder of the civil war. In late 2018 – and after the signing of the R-ARCSS – a significant increase in reports of sexual violence was observed in Rubkona and Guit counties in the context of increased military presence and tensions (UNMISS and OHCHR 2019, p.4).

Bentiu received and hosted tens of thousands of IDPs, with upwards of 150,000 people seeking shelter in the UNMISS PoC north of Rubkona (IOM 2020). Among the IDPs were youth from nearby surrounding areas, who were seeking to evade forced recruitment (DDG 2017). The UNMISS POC site was redesignated as an IDP site to fall under the legal jurisdiction of the government in March 2021 (Eye Radio 2021). The CSRF conducted a conflict sensitivity analysis of this transition on behalf of the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group to inform risk assessments and mitigation measures associated with the change in oversight (CSRF 2021). The site continues to be affected by insecurity (including periodic clashes between youth) and occasional demonstrations. The Small Arms Survey (2023, p.5) reported that recruitment drives have taken place in and around the former PoC site, including alleged forcible recruitment into the Joint Police Force in 2022, whilst the UN Panel of Experts (2023, p.14) noted alleged forced recruitment (including of children) by the SPLA-IO around the site.In March 2022, a prominent SPLA-IO commander defected to the government, generating insecurity in Rubkona County (Sudans Post 2022; Small Arms Survey 2023).

Subnational violence (including cross-border cattle raiding) has continued to affect the county. An IOM report from May 2020 noted that recent subnational violence in southern and western parts of Rubkona County had resulted in the displacements of hundreds. In recent years, tensions have escalated with Sudanese Misseriya pastoralists, and with some Dinka communities of Pariang in the Ruweng Administrative Area (RAA). The UNSC (2022, p.4) reported that 18 Misseriya pastoralists were killed by alleged Nuer pastoralists in a dispute over grazing land in March 2022, with violence continuing into 2023. Recent clashes between local pastoralists and suspected pastoralists from the RAA have also been reported in the Payangay area (Sudans Post 2023b).

Finally, a boundary dispute between Rubkona and Pariang counties – which covers a triangle of land extending to the border with Sudan – has been aggravated following the establishment of the RAA. Although the RAA initially established control over disputed territory (which includes Rotriak/Rot-Riaak), SSPDF forces took control of Panakuac on the Sudanese border after mid-2021, bringing the contested land into the orbit of Unity State and bisecting Pariang and Abiemnhom counties (Small Arms Survey 2023, p.6).

Following the outbreak of the conflict in Sudan in April 2023, increasing numbers of South Sudanese returnees and Sudanese refugees have entered South Sudan via Panakuac. While Sudanese refugees have been resettled in Ajuong Thok in Pariang, South Sudanese returnees have largely been settled in Rotriak/Rot-Riaak, which falls within the area claimed by Rubkona County and the RAA. This has raised concerns over further tensions between the two administrations over the allocation of revenues and jobs associated with the humanitarian response at Rotriak, and the implications of re-settling largely ethnic Nuer returnees in an area claimed by the predominantly Dinka RAA (Small Arms Survey 2023, p.6).

ADMINISTRATION & LOGISTICS

Payams listed in Government and UN documents: Bentiu Town, Rubkona (County HQ), Budaang, Dhorbor, Kaljak, Ngop, Nhialdiu, Panhiany, Wathjaak

Additional payams listed by local actors: Norlam-well

UN OCHA 2020 map of Rubkona County: https://reliefweb.int/map/south-sudan/south-sudan-rubkona-county-reference-map-march-2020

 Roads:

• Bentiu connects to Mayom, Pariang and Leer towns by primary roads, which also eventually lead to Northern Bahr el-Ghazal State to the west, Upper Nile State to the east, and Lakes State to the south. All of these roads were deemed impassable by the Logistics Cluster in both the rainy and dry seasons of 2022 and 2023 (respectively), with the exception of the westbound road to Northern Bahr el-Ghazal state after the crossing between Rubkona and Mayom counties.
• Another primary road runs from the crossroads in the north of the county north-east to Yida Refugee Camp in the Ruweng Administrative Area. The majority of the road was deemed passable during the rainy season of 2022 (excepting the initial stretch of the road to Guit County), with the entirety of the road being regarded as passable during the 2023 dry season.
• A primary road also runs north out of Bentiu and into Sudan, eventually connecting to Heglig (Panthou) town. This road was considered impassable during the 2022 rainy season, and passable during the 2023 dry season.

 UNHAS-Recognized Heli-Landing Sites and Airstrips: Rubkona

REFERENCES

Amnesty International. (2012). South Sudan: Overshadowed Conflict: Arms supplies fuel violations in Mayom County, Unity State. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

Craze, J., Tubiana, J., and Grammizi, C. (2016). A State of Disunity: Conflict Dynamics in Unity State, South Sudan, 2013–15. Small Arms Survey/HSBA. Retrieved 6 December 2023.

Danish Demining Group. (2017). Dynamics of youth and violence: Findings from Rubkona County, Unity State May 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

Eye Radio. (2021). SSPDF, SPLA-IO take over security of Bentiu IDP camp. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

Eye Radio. (2024). SSPDF Soldier killed, many wounded as rival forces clashes in Unity State. Retrieved 30 January 2024.

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.

HRW, Human Rights Watch. (2015). ‘They Burned It All: Destruction of villages, killings and sexual violence in Unity State South Sudan’. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

ICG, International Crisis Group. (2011). South Sudan: Compounding Instability in Unity State. Retrieved 15 December 2023.

ICG, International Crisis Group. (2015). Sudan and South Sudan’s Merging Conflicts. Retrieved 1 January 2024.

IOM. (2020). South Sudan — Event Tracking: Mayom, Rubkona & Mayendit County, Unity State (May 2020). Retrieved 1 January 2024.

IOM. (2022). ‘Population Count: Bentiu IDP Camp’. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

Johnson, D. (2009). ‘The Nuer Civil Wars’ in Schlee, G. and Watson, E. (eds) Changing Identifications and Alliances in North-East Africa: Sudan, Uganda and the Ethiopia-Sudan Borderlands (Volume 3), 31-48. Oxford: Berghahn Books.

OCHA (2021). ‘Humanitarian Needs Overview: South Sudan 2021’. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

Rone, J. (2003). ‘Sudan, Oil, and Human Rights’. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

Small Arms Survey. (2023). The Body Count: Controlling Populations in Unity State. Retrieved 12 December 2023.

Sudans Post. (2022). Gen. Tito Biel attacks SPLA-IO training center near Bentiu. Retrieved 1 January 2024.

Sudans Post. (2023a). SPLA-IO commanders withdraw from Bentiu after threats of forceful eviction. Retrieved 30 January 2024.

Sudans Post. (2023b). 2 killed 2 wounded as suspected Ruweng raiders attack civilians in Unity State. Retrieved 1 January 2024.

Sudan Tribune. (2006). Clashes claim 28 lives in southern Sudan town – NGO. Retrieved 1 January 2024.

Sudan Tribune. (2009). Governor Taban denies plot against General Paulino Matip. Retrieved 1 January 2024.

2023. (2018). ‘Security Council Press Statement on Sexual Violence in South Sudan’. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

UNDP (2012), ‘Community Consultation Report: Unity State, South Sudan’, May 2012’. No longer available online on 7 August 2023.

UNHCR/IOM. (2023). Population Movement from Sudan to South Sudan. Information from interactive dashboard retrieved 20 July 2023.

UNMISS/HRD. (2015). Attacks on Civilians in Bentiu & Bor April 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2024.

UNMISS/UN OHCHR. (2019). Conflict-related Sexual Violence in Northern Unity: September – December 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2023.

UN Panel of Experts. (2023). Final report of the Panel of Experts on South Sudan submitted pursuant to resolution 2633 (2022). Retrieved 1 January 2024.

UNSC. (2022). Situation in South Sudan: Report of the Secretary-General, S/2022/468. Retrieved 1 January 2024.

REPORTS on RUBKONA

CIVIC. (2015). ‘Within and Beyond the Gates: The Protection of Civilians by the UN Mission in South Sudan’. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

CSRF. (2021). ‘Conflict Sensitivity Analysis: UNMISS PoC Sites Transition: Bentiu, Unity State, and Malakal, Upper Nile State’. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

Easton-Calabria, E. (2023). ‘Acting in Advance of Flooding: Early action in South Sudan’. Feinstein Center. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

ECOS & PAX. (2014). ‘Scrutiny of South Sudan’s Oil Industry: Community Relations, Labour Practices and Impact on Land Use Patterns’. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

Human Rights Watch. (2015). ‘“They Burned it All”: Destruction of Villages, Killings, and Sexual Violence in Unity State South Sudan’. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

IOM. (2020). ‘South Sudan Village Assessment Survey – Wau, Rubkona and Bor South’. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

IOM DTM. (2022). ‘IDP Site Multi-Sector Needs and Vulnerabilities Survey (FSNMS+): Bentiu IDP Camp, October 2021’. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

IOM DTM. (2022). ‘Urban Multi-Sector Needs and Vulnerabilities Survey (FSNMS+): Bentiu / Rubkona Town, October 2021’. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

Jeyanathan, J., Smith, J. E., & Sellon, E. (2021). ‘Civil–military cooperation on operational deployment: the Bentiu State Hospital medical training programme’. BMJ Mil Health, 167(5), 353-355. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

Jieknyal Jr, B. G. (2016). ‘An Exploration of Food Security and Agriculture Challenges for Female Farmers in Rubkona County, South Sudan’ (Doctoral dissertation, Virginia Tech). Retrieved 16 July 2023.

Kang, T. K. (2019), ‘Urbanization as a result of displacement: A case study of Bentiu, South Sudan’. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

Krystalli, R., Stites, E., Humphrey, A., & Krishnan, V. (2019), ‘The Currency of Connections: The impact of weddings and rituals on social connections in Bentiu, South Sudan’, Mercy Corps. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

Saferworld. (2021). ‘Promoting peace and resilience in Unity state, South Sudan’. Retrieved 16 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.