Yirol East County, Lakes State

DEMOGRAPHY

2008 NBS Census population: 67,402
2021 NBS PES population estimate*: 136,988
2022 UN OCHA population estimate*: 160,675

Ethnic groups: Ciec Dinka (Ador/Adior, Lou/Koc Lou), Atuot/Atwot**

Displacement Figures Q2 2022: 22,707 IDPs (+408 Q1 2020) and 9,346 returnees (-915 Q1 2020)

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

ECONOMY & LIVELIHOODS

Yirol East County is located on the eastern edge of Lakes State. It borders Awerial County to the south-east, Yirol West County to the south-west, and Rumbek East County to the west. It also borders Unity State (Panyijiar County) to the north and Jonglei State (Twic East and Bor South Counties) to the east.

The majority of Yirol East County is categorized as part of the Nile basin fishing and agro-pastoral livelihood zone, while sections in south belong to the Western flood plains zone. The Nile basin zone is characterized by green vegetation and black cotton soil, with swamps and wetlands, while the Western flood plains have black clay soils and short vegetation. Yirol East County residents engage in a mix of fishing, herding, and farming for their livelihoods. An estimated 80% of households in the county engaged in agriculture in 2018 (FAO/WFP 2018). More recent figures from the FAO/WFP indicate the figure have declined to 75% of households in the county being engaged in farming, with a gross cereal yield of 1.1 tonnes per hectare in 2021 (FAO/WFP 2022), increasing to 1.2 tonnes per hectare in 2022 (FAO/WFP 2023).

The White Nile defines the county’s eastern border with Jonglei State, and fish provide a key source of nutrition in the dry season. Shambe, on the banks of the Nile, is an important fishing area and the main source of fresh tilapia fish for Juba. Communities in Yirol East also herd cattle and farm, cultivating mainly sorghum and maize. Residents in the county’s south that belong to the Western Flood Plains livelihood zone herd cattle and goats, and cultivate groundnut, maize, sorghum and vegetables (notably beans and pumpkin). Wild water lily seeds and nuts are also consumed.

The food security situation in Yirol East has deteriorated significantly over recent years. IPC projections put Yirol East County at crisis (IPC level 3) levels in November 2022, with food insecurity conditions projected to persist at the same level until March 2023, whereupon it deteriorates to emergency (IPC level 4) levels. As of November 2022, over 25% of households in the county meet between 25% and 50% of their calorific needs through humanitarian assistance, though projections for December 2022 to July 2023 indicate that fewer than 25% will require humanitarian assistance during this time period.

Livelihoods in the area have been impacted by a combination of insecurity and changing weather patterns. Both livelihood zones of Yirol East County experience annual flooding, with the Western Flood Plains areas also turning into swamps during the rainy season. In 2020, flooding was particularly serious in Malek Payam, leading to displacement of fishing and riverain communities living on islands and lowland areas around the Nile.

INFRASTRUCTURE & SERVICES

The county HQ is located in Nyang Payam, which is connected to the nearby major market of Yirol town in Yirol West County. Yirol Hospital (also in Yirol West County) is the primary source of healthcare for most residents of the area, although is at quite a distance for the majority-rural population to travel. Annual flooding makes many areas of Yirol East County inaccessible during the rainy season, which hinders the daily lives of residents and presents a significant challenge to aid delivery.

Yirol East County was reported to have eleven (11) health facilities, all of which were reported to be functional. Among them are nine (9) PHCUs and two (2) PHCCs in 2022. This means that there were an estimated 0.84 PHCUs per 15,000 people and 0.62 PHCCs per 50,000 people according to the WHO. No hospitals were reported in Yirol East County.

Yirol East County is home to twenty-eight (28) primary schools and Nyang Secondary School. Despite there being two (2) Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres in 2021, there are no ECDs reported in the county in 2022.

According to OCHA’s Humanitarian Needs Overview for 2023, there are approximately 110,000 people with humanitarian needs in Yirol East County (up from 101,700 in 2021), which represents 68% of the estimated population of the county reported in the HNO. This places significant strain on the local population, exacerbated by the presence of over 20,000 IDPS, many from Rumbek North County fleeing insecurity in recent years (REACH 2019).

CONFLICT DYNAMICS

Greater Yirol was an SPLM/A stronghold during the second Sudanese civil war following its capture in 1985, with a significant number of SPLA soldiers being recruited from the area. In the wake of the 1991 SPLM/A split, Yirol town and the port of Shambe to the north-east were seized by the Sudan Armed Forces in 1992, though SPLM/A forces retained a presence in nearby rural areas. Cattle raiding from some Nuer communities from southern Unity State into Greater Yirol increased in the mid-1990s, with the SPLM/A distributing arms to local gelweng (cattle guards) in response to the rising insecurity (Ryle and Amuom 2018, p.79). Yirol was recaptured (with gelweng support) during the SPLM/A’s Operation Thunderbolt of 1997, though endured subsequent bombing from the Sudanese Air Force (Rolandsen 2005, p.164; Saferworld 2015).

As is discussed further in the profile for Yirol West, several areas of Lakes State (including the Greater Yirol) area were affected by escalating insecurity and cattle raiding in the late 1990s and early 2000s, resulting in a number of initiatives aimed at addressing the violence, culminating with the establishment of the Panakar Peace Council. By 2004, Yirol County had been sub-divided into Awerial, Yirol East and Yirol West counties, though cross-border conflict relating to claims over grazing land near to the River Nile escalated the same year, pitting parts of pastoralist community from the Aliab and Ciec Dinka clans against those from the Atuot/Atwot. Despite the close association of the area with the SPLM/A – and a number of political and military elites from Greater Yirol occupying prominent positions within the movement – relations between the community and the SPLM/A have at times been turbulent, with this turbulence feeding into the conflict between parts of the Atuot and Dinka after 2004. Discontent with the governing SPLM/A increased during forcible recruitment into the movement in 2001, alongside disputes relating to perceived bias towards the Atuot in the provision of government resources after 2004. Moreover, repeated disarmament campaigns in Greater Yirol between 2000 and 2011 generated tensions with the gelweng (who were a focal point for an unsuccessful attempt at forcible disarmament in 2004). Firearms were reported to be redistributed back into the area by authorities after the campaigns (Ryle and Amuom 2018, pp.33-34, 59). Multi-year peace negotiations eventually brought the violence to an end in 2011. However, insecurity within Greater Yirol continued, albeit at a smaller scale. The insecurity received only limited coverage, possibly due to conflicts becoming less deadly after youth groups shifted to using hand weapons following the 2011 disarmament campaign (Easthom 2015).

Conflict between the SPLA and SPLA-IO between 2013-2018 affected the Greater Yirol area. However, these effects were generally indirect, manifesting in the form of cross-border conflict and a remilitarisation of the gelweng. In 2014 and 2015, raiding from Unity State’s Panyijiar County into northern areas of Lakes State increased, with Nuer cattle guards (‘gojam’) reportedly working alongside SPLA-IO forces to resist government offensives. Although one report notes the gelweng from Greater Yirol participated in the 2015 government offensive against Panyijiar County (Luedke 2020, pp.14-15), local information indicates that as a result of disarmament campaigns the Greater Yirol community would have lacked sufficient arms to participate, though did request the deployment of SPLA forces to the border area to prevent encroachment from opposition forces.  The supply of firearms to the Greater Yirol area also increased during the national conflict, notably after 2016 (Ryle and Amuom 2018, 57-58), though guns were procured by individuals rather than being distributed by the government. In March 2017, a group from Yirol East were suspected of involvement in an attack on a passenger boat in the area of Cuetakuet Lake that killed eight people, although the circumstances of the attack remain unclear (Sudan Tribune 2017). Meanwhile, in May 2017 Paul Malong arrived in Yirol (whilst en route to Northern Bahr el-Ghazal State) after having been removed from his position as chief of staff of the SPLA. Malong returned to Juba after officials in Yirol prevented his convoy from travelling through the town, amid intensive mediation efforts to avert a security crisis. Over the following year, Malong’s political support networks were dismantled, with a number of Greater Yirol elites being removed from their positions (Africa Confidential 2018; Boswell 2019, p.13).

In June 2017, fighting between parts of the Luac section of the Atuot and the Akeer section of the Aliab Dinka was reported in the grazing land of Ciirkou, which runs along the Nile from Shambe in Yirol East to Mingkaman in Awerial County to the south-west. The fighting raised fears of a return to a situation on intractable conflict between the Atuot and Dinka, as had occurred between 2004-2011. However, a combination of immediate intervention and peacemaking efforts on the part of customary and government officials (alongside youth groups) and unwillingness among most sections of the Atuot for escalating the conflict helped contain the violence. Additionally, the desire for security in the face of a common threat may have provided an impetus for Greater Yirol’s pastoralists to maintain amicable relations, after cattle raiders from Panyijiar escalated raiding into Greater Yirol in 2017 and 2018 (Ryle and Amuom 2018, pp.77-81).

As discussed above, violence and cattle raiding has occurred along the border between Yirol East and Unity State’s Panyijiar County, and has worsened during times of national political tension that have polarised relations between some Dinka and Nuer communities. In addition, Atuot pastoralists from Yirol West often graze cattle in pasture in Yirol East, exposing them to raiding from Panyijiar. Despite this, communities from both Yirol East and Panyijiar have provided relief and sanctuary to one another, and have common ties through trading and marriage. These linkages have helped limit the severity of conflict during the recent civil war (Santchsi and Ninrew 2023, p.19). Cross-border raiding and insecurity were reduced (though not eliminated) as a result of peace conferences in May 2018 and in late 2022, whose implementation has been facilitated by national NGOs. Progress has been made in establishing co-operative relations between authorities in the two counties, including through exchanges of stolen cattle (Santchsi and Ninrew 2023, p.8). However, raiding has continued intermittently in 2023, most recently in August 2023 when suspected raiders from Panyijiar clashed with Ciec Dinka pastoralists in Adior Payam (Radio Tamazuj 2023). The raid resulted in an increased security presence and the suspension of humanitarian services in the area. Additionally, intermittent conflict over contested islands and fishing areas along the River Nile to the east of the county occurred across 2019 (Radio Tamazuj 2019). The conflicts – which involved youth from Yirol East and Jonglei State’s Twic East County – were reported to have ceased following the deployment of security forces to the area (VOA 2020).

Following the signing of the R-ARCSS, Yirol East experienced ongoing insecurity, which reflected deteriorating standards and conditions in the areas of law and order and livelihood needs. In 2021, a mobile court was established to address grievances and prevent conflict escalation, presided over by respected former cattle camp leaders. The court was attributed with improving security, though some residents of the area alleged corruption and judicial overreach on the part of the court. The court was ultimately dissolved following tensions with other customary chief courts, including disputes over jurisdiction and the collection of court fees (Santchsi and Mou 2022). Moves towards counteracting retaliatory violence through a proactive approach at extending the provision of justice and compensation payments stands in contrast with the approach to addressing insecurity favoured by Lakes State authorities in 2023, which has been widely reported as relying upon the employment of extra-judicial killings and detention to restore order (Pospisil 2023).

ADMINISTRATION & LOGISTICS

Payams listed in Government and UN documents: Lekakedu (County HQ in Nyang Town), Adior, Malek, Pagarau, Tinagau, Yali

Additional payams listed by local actors: Nyang (County Headquarters)

UN OCHA 2020 map of Yirol East County: https://reliefweb.int/map/south-sudan/south-sudan-yirol-east-county-reference-map-march-2020

Roads:

• A primary road runs from Yirol town through Yirol East County up to the port at Shambe. The road was deemed to be “passable with difficulties” in both the rainy season of 2022 and dry season of 2023.
• A tertiary road runs from Nyang to Adior and then south-east to Awerial town. Seasonal conditions of the road were unknown.
• A tertiary road runs northwest from Wutkuei village (approximately 10km south of Shambe) to Panyijiar County. Seasonal conditions of the road were unknown.
• The river route along the River Nile between Bor and northern Jonglei, Upper Nile, and Unity states connects to Yirol East at Shambe Port.

 UNHAS-Recognized Heli-Landing Sites and Airstrips: None

REFERENCES

Africa Confidential. (2018). Salva’s Bunker Mentality. Retrieved 6 November 2023.

Boswell, A. (2019). Insecure Power and Violence: The Rise and Fall of Paul Malong and the Mathiang Anyoor. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

Easthom, T. (2015). ‘The South Sudan Weapons Free Zone’, Peace Review, 27 (1), pp.31-36. Retrieved 3 November 2023.

Luedke, A. (2020). Violence, Crime and Gender in South Sudan: Reflections from the Field on Militias and Gangs. LSE Conflict Research Programme. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

Pospisil, J. (2023). Changing Lakes State? Rin Tueny’s Inclusive Deterrence Approach in Practice. Retrieved 6 November 2023.

Radio Tamazuj. (2019). 2 killed over land dispute between Jonglei and Eastern Lakes. Retrieved 6 November 2023.

Radio Tamazuj. (2023). Five killed, 2 wounded in Yirol East county attacks. Retrieved 6 November 2023.

REACH. (2019). Western Lakes Pop. Movement, Livelihoods and Food Security Profile. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

Rolandsen, Ø. (2005). Guerrilla Government: Political Changes in the Southern Sudan during the 1990s. Mordiska Afrikainstitutet.

Ryle, J. and Amuom, M. (2018). Peace is the Name of Our Cattle-Camp. Rift Valley Institute. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

Saferworld. (2015). South Sudan’s gelweng: filling a security gap, or perpetuating conflict?. Retrieved 3 November 2023.

Santchsi, M. and Ninrew, J. (2023). Working together for peace: Lessons learned from supporting local conflict prevention & resolution. Swisspeace. Retrieved 6 November 2023.

Sudan Tribune. (2017). Motor boat attack leaves 8 dead, 9 wounded in Jonglei state. Retrieved 3 November 2023.

VOA. (2020). Security Improves, Fishing Resumes on River Nile. Retrieved 6 November 2023.

REPORTS on YIROL EAST

Burton, J.W. (1981).  ‘Atuot Ethnicity: An Aspect of Nilotic Ethnology’, Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 496-507. Retrieved 2 November 2023.

Koch, M. R. M. (2015). Scarce Resources, Cattle Rustling and Human Security in South Sudan: A Case of Yirol East County in Lakes State (master’s dissertation, Cavendish University, Uganda). Retrieved 18 July 2023.

Luedke, A. (2020). Violence, Crime and Gender in South Sudan: Reflections from the Field on Militias and Gangs. LSE Conflict Research Programme. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

Quist, A. (2018). Human Security Survey 2018: Annual Summary Report Eastern Lakes State, South Sudan. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

Quist, A. and Sliebi, A. (2023). Human Security Survey 2022 Annual Summary Report – Greater Yirol (Lakes State), South Sudan. Retrieved 2 November 2023.

REACH. (2014). Conflict Analysis: Lakes, Northern Bahr El Gazhal and Warrap States. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

Ryle, J. and Amuom, M. (2018). Peace is the Name of Our Cattle-Camp. Rift Valley Institute. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

Santschi, M. and Mou, A. (2022). Analysis: Addressing livestock disputes with courts of former cattle camp leaders in Yirol East, Lakes state. Swisspeace/CSRF. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

Santschi, M. and Ninrew, J. (2023). Working together for peace: Lessons learned from supporting local conflict prevention & resolution. Swisspeace. 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: The accurate description of communities in Yirol West and Yirol East is complicated by their linguistic diversity. The Atuot/Atwot generally regard themselves as a separate group to the neighbouring Dinka tribes in Lakes State. However, the Atuot/Atwot are divided into two main sections: the Reel and Apak/Apaak. While the Reel have their own language (thok-reel) and are further sub-divided into the Luac, Jilek, Akot, Rorkec and Kuek (a.k.a. Jekueu) sub-sections, the Apak are the larger Atuot section and speak a variety of southern Dinka (thok-apaak). The Kuek/Jekueu are bilingual, speaking thok-reel and thok-apaak. though more closely identify with other Dinka groups than other Reel sections. The Kuek/Jekueu also sub-divide into a further eight sub-sections (Ajong-Karam, Balang Jeyau, Jekyieng, Jeklieb, Guarang, Nyijieng, Neng, Nyuei). The cultural and linguistic affinities between parts of the Atuot and neighbouring Dinka communities has led some Dinka and other outsiders to regard the Atuot/Atwot as a section of Dinka. Other historians and customary tales trace the origin of the Reel Atuot/Atwot to Nuer communities.