Cueibet County, Lakes State

DEMOGRAPHY

2008 NBS Census population: 117,755
2021 NBS PES population estimate*: 296,844
2022 UN OCHA population estimate*: 111,782

Ethnic groups: Gok Dinka (Langdiing: Ayiel, Joth, Kongor, Pagook, Pathiang/Pathiong) (Macar: Akony, Panyar, Waat), ‘Jur Bel’/Belli

Displacement Figures Q3 2022: 12,147 IDPs (-7,201 Q1 2020) and 9,016 returnees (+717 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

Cueibet County is located in Lakes State. It borders Rumbek North County to the north-east, Rumbek Centre County to the east, and Wulu County to the south. It also has borders with Warrap State (Tonj South and Tonj East Counties) to the west. The Bahr Gel River flows northwards through the county.

The county falls within two livelihood zones: the ironstone plateau agro-pastoral and Western floodplain sorghum and cattle (FEWSNET 2018). Cattle herding and subsistence farming are the predominant means of livelihood for Cueibet County residents. It was estimated in 2018 that 88% of households engage in agriculture (FAO/WFP 2018). This remains the case in figures from 2021 (FAO/WFP 2022). Gross cereal yields for Cueibet County were at 1.1 tonnes per hectare in 2021, increasing to 1.2 tonnes per hectare in 2022 (FAO/WFP 2023). Residents grow cereal such as maize and sorghum, and local vegetables such as kudra. The State Ministry of Agriculture reports the widespread use of ox-ploughs in the county, which allows residents to obtain higher crop yields when compared to hand cultivation (FAO 2020). The presence of the Bahr Gel River provides opportunities for fishing.

Cueibet, like the rest of Lakes State, also experiences annual flooding. During the rainy season, parts of the county’s north (Tiaptiap, Pagor and Citcok payams) are cut off from the rest of the county as the nearby Bahr Gel River overflows, which can inhibit access to markets and trigger movements of pastoralist groups further south. In 2020, rains beginning in July brought flooding which led to massive crop failure and livestock death. In 2021, flooding was once again affected the county with OCHA identifying Cueibet as a county with at least 25,000 flood affected people and the Emergency Response Coordination Centre identifying it as a flood affected county.

IPC projections put Cueibet 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.  The impact of inter-communal clashes on livelihoods is compounded by changing weather patterns in the county, which has led to long dry spells and lower crop yields.

INFRASTRUCTURE & SERVICES

The county headquarters is located in Cueibet town in Cueibet Payam. The market at Cueibet town relies on commodities transported from Rumbek Centre, which serves as the main commodities market for most of Lakes State. This transport corridor is vulnerable to insecurity along the primary road that runs between Cueibet and Rumbek, including banditry. Market functionality has been further disrupted in recent years due to seasonal flooding, as well as flare ups of inter-sectional violence within and between Dinka clans and sections in Cueibet and the neighbouring counties of Rumbek Centre, Rumbek North, and Tonj South (the latter in Warrap State). These ‘tit-for-tat’ incidents have led to the destruction of homes and resources used to support livelihoods such as farming with criminal activity also disrupting the roads and market access.

Cueibet County is home to two (2) Early Childhood Development centres, ninety-two (92) primary schools and one (1) secondary school, Cueibet Secondary in Abiriu Payam.

Cueibet County was reported to have fifteen (15) health facilities, all of which were reported to be functional. Among the health facilities, there are ten (10) PHCUs, three (3) PHCCs and two (2) hospitals as of 2022. This means that there were an estimated 0.82 PHCUs per 15,000 people and 0.82 PHCCs per 50,000 people according to the WHO. The Cueibet County Hospital was reported to be moderately functional, and the St. Josephine Bhakita Hospital was reported to have limited functionality

According to OCHA’s Humanitarian Needs Overview for 2023, an estimated 111,872 people in Cueibet County have humanitarian needs (down from 116,300 in 2021). The number of people in need represents 60% of the estimated population of Cueibet County reported in the HNO.

CONFLICT DYNAMICS

Although Cueibet County has been relatively insulated from the direct effects of the second Sudanese civil war (1983-2005) and the recent national conflict (2013-2018), the county has been exposed to the indirect effects left in the wake of decades of large-scale conflict, including disintegrating state services and structures, volatile inter-group relations and boundary disputes, and militarised forms of community protection and conflict management. Since the late 1990s, Cueibet has been a site of increasingly severe rounds of localised conflict among various sections and sub-sections of the Gok Dinka clan, as well as periodic deteriorations in relations with some neighbouring counties, often manifesting in the form of cross-border cattle raiding and disputes over grazing land that take place alongside sectional conflicts in Cueibet. Relatively frequent conflicts in the area are also associated with a significant number of traditional chiefs being subject to targeted attacks in Cueibet (Sudan Tribune 2014a). As with Rumbek Centre and Rumbek East counties, widespread gun ownership; weak or absent administrative structures; and the erosion of justice and traditional dispute resolution mechanisms have hindered attempts at building sustainable peace in Cueibet.

During the latter stages of the second civil war, increasing supplies of firearms and deteriorating justice systems intersected with established patterns of inter-sectional conflict and unresolved grievances, resulting in an escalation of conflict among a number of Gok Dinka sections (Nyaba 2001; Pankar Consultative Meetings 2002, pp.24-25). Moreover, long-standing conflicts between parts of the Gok and Agar clans (in particular the Pakam section, predominantly based in present-day Rumbek North) intensified during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The conflicts were similarly attributed to the more widespread availability of firearms and the collapse of administrative and justice structures in the area, as well as the alleged involvement of soldiers in some instances of cattle raiding (PACT Sudan 2004, pp.5-6). The conflict was also linked to the legacies of conflict in Rumbek North as well as administrative reorganisation. During the 1990s, members of the Pakam section had been displaced following raids from southern Unity State, including to the Cueibet area. A border dispute emerged in the wake of the separation of Cueibet and Rumbek counties in 1999, with the issue of displaced members of the Pakam section becoming pertinent (Nyaba 2001, p.13).

During the early 2000s, a number of efforts were made to restore order and promote peace, though these tended to be associated with only temporary or mixed gains. The SPLM/A initiated a disarmament campaign in Cueibet and Rumbek (alongside parts of Greater Yirol) in an attempt to curtail the violence. While this reportedly led to improvements in security in the immediate aftermath of the campaign, the conduct of the campaign antagonised relations with some local communities (Nyaba 2001, pp.2-3, 6; O’Brien 2009, p.25). In 2003, a peace and reconciliation conference was organised to address issues between two sub-sections from the Ayiel section who had been embroiled in conflict since 2000, which had also impacted other Ayiel sub-sections (Precise Communication 2004). Attempts were also made to reconcile the Dinka Agar and Gok clans. Under the auspices of the Panakar Peace Council (discussed further in the profiles for Rumbek Centre and Yirol West counties), a peace meeting took place in May 2004 between delegates from the two clans, and a series of resolutions were adopted to strengthen judicial and administrative procedures, and promote peaceful relations among gelweng (cattle guards) who had been involved in the conflict (PACT Sudan 2004, pp.6-7). Leaders from the Gok Dinka community also attended a 2004 peace meeting (mediated by members of the Luac-Jang clan) to address the conflict between the Pakam section and the Rek Dinka’s Jalwau section, which had impacted parts of the Gok Dinka (PACT Sudan 2004, pp.81-82).

Shortly after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, violence increased within Cueibet County while conflict re-escalated parts of the Agar and Gok Dinka clans, as the first of several disarmament campaigns took place in the area (O’Brien 2009, p.23; Sudan Tribune 2006a; Sudan Tribune 2006b). Inter- and intra-sectional conflict among parts of the Gok Dinka clan would continue to flare within Cueibet (Sudan Tribune 2008), and continued after independence (UNSC 2012, p.6). A number of disarmament campaigns were undertaken by authorities across the CPA era, which were at times met with resistance. A 2010 disarmament campaign resulted in violence between some residents of Cueibet and the SPLA (Brethfeld 2010, p.20). This included significant clashes between security forces and a group of Gok Dinka youth that occurred in early 2010, after the youth attempted to steal weapons that had been collected during a recent disarmament campaign (Saferworld 2011).

The CPA and post-independence era were also marked by increasingly fraught relations with a number of neighbouring communities. Repeating the trend evident in the spreading conflicts of the late 1990s and early 2000s, conflicts between the various communities in western Lakes State and adjoining parts of Warrap State would become increasingly interconnected, at times drawing in security forces (Sudan Tribune 2013). In addition to the border dispute with Rumbek Centre noted above, parts of Cueibet’s borders are contested with Rumbek North, Tonj South, and Wulu counties, and a series of disputes relating to cattle rustling, grazing land, water sources, and the destruction of beehives has also affected relations with some neighbouring groups (UNDP 2012, p.16). Despite close relations and intermarriage between the Gok and Rek Dinka (of Warrap) clans, cross-border raiding between parts of the Rek and Gok Dinka communities increased during the CPA era (Schomerus and Allen 2010, pp.54-55). This conflict had repercussions for the Luo community residing in Western Bahr el-Ghazal State, as is discussed further in the profile for Jur River County. Relations between parts of the Rek and Gok Dinka clans would continue to deteriorate into the post-independence era as attacks and cattle raids persisted (Mayai 2014, p.82; Sudan Tribune 2012). Additionally, conflict between parts of the Gok and Luac-Jang Dinka (of Tonj East) was reported during this time (Sudan Tribune 2010), while a group of Gok Dinka youth were involved in an alleged attack against part of the Bongo community in Tonj South (Sudan Tribune 2009). Periodic conflict involving pastoralists from Cueibet was also reported in the neighbouring county of Wulu during the CPA era, as is discussed further in the profile for Wulu County.

Inter-sectional and inter-clan conflicts escalated in much of Lakes State during the early stages of the national conflict, notably in 2014 and the first half of 2015. Cueibet County was particularly affected by these conflicts, which mirrored the conflict dynamics during the latter stages of the second civil war and parts of the CPA era. In addition to spreading inter-sectional conflicts among parts of the Gok Dinka (Sudan Tribune 2014b; Sudan Tribune 2014c), conflict between parts of the Gok clan and Pakam section intensified in May 2014 (Sudan Tribune 2014d). By late 2014, inter-clan conflicts had raised tensions in the state capital of Rumbek (Sudan Tribune 2014e). Cattle raiding and revenge attacks once again escalated in and around Cueibet County in 2016 and 2017, resulting in displacement and the destruction of a number of villages, and spilling over into nearby areas of Tonj South County (REACH 2017). This included large-scale clashes involving parts of the Ayiel and Waat sections, which drew in parts of the Kongor and Pagook sections on the side of the Waat (VOA 2017). In 2018, two Pagook sub-sections reconciled following a lengthy period of intra-sectional conflict, which had flared at several points during the national conflict (Sudan Tribune 2015; UNMISS 2018).

Following the signing of the 2018 R-ARCSS, Cueibet began to experience a renewed increase in inter-sectional and inter-clan cattle raiding and violence (Watson 2021). The Ayiel, Kongor, Panyar, and Waat sections were particularly affected by the violence, while parts of the Pagook and Joth sections were also involved in a number of incidents. The commercialisation of cattle raiding has been identified as an exacerbating factor, while inconsistencies and deficiencies in law enforcement and the provision and application of justice mechanisms – alongside widespread access to small arms – have continued to create an enabling environment for localised violence to escalate in (Saferworld 2021). Attempts by security forces to disarm armed youth also had the potential to backfire (Radio Tamazuj 2021).

As with previous phases of violence in Cueibet, increasing intra-Gok Dinka conflicts have tended to become enmeshed in more complex inter-clan conflict that stretch across county or state borders. Escalating cross-border violence involving groups of Dinka Agar pastoralists from Rumbek Centre and North counties affected Cueibet in the first half of 2021 (Eye Radio 2021; UNSC 2021, p.6), while raiding between some pastoralist communities from Cueibet and Tonj South re-escalated in late 2022 (Pospisil 2023a, p.5). These conflicts have mainly been concentrated in grazing areas in Tonj South’s Manyangok Payam, and have been affected by changing patterns of alliances between certain Gok and Rek Dinka sections (Craze 2022, p.55). As is discussed in the profile for Rumbek Centre County, perceptions of insecurity have improved in much of Lakes State since a change of leadership in the state in mid-2021, although controversy has surrounded some of the methods employed to do so (Pospisil 2023b). Within Cueibet, in addition to a gradual reduction in conflict since 2022, progress has reportedly been made in improving the effectiveness of the judicial system following the establishment of special courts (Pospisil 2023b, p.5).

ADMINISTRATION & LOGISTICS

Payams listed in Government and UN documents: Malou Pec (County HQ in Cueibet Town), Abiriu, Citcok, Ngap, Pagor
Additional payams listed by local actors: Cueibet (County HQ), Mayath, Tiaptiap

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

Roads:

• A primary road cuts across Cueibet County roughly on a northwest/southeast axis, connecting the three main towns of Langdit, Cueibet and Abiriu, as well as Rumbek town to the east and Tonj (Warrap State) to the west of the county. The road was designated as being fully passable during both the rainy season of 2022 and dry season of 2023. Despite periodic road closures due to insecurity following the R-ARCSS of 2018, security on the road is reported to have improved between Cueibet and Rumbek towns (Pospisil 2023b, p.4).
• A secondary road runs north out of Langdit to Thiet town in Tonj South County (Warrap State). A secondary road also runs south of Cueibet into neighbouring Wulu County, as does a tertiary road further to the west. Seasonal road conditions are unknown.

UNHAS-Recognized Heli-Landing Sites and Airstrips: None

REFERENCES

Brethfeld, J. (2010). Unrealistic Expectations: Current Challenges to Reintegration in Southern Sudan. Small Arms Survey/HSBA. Retrieved 15 February 2024.

CEPO. (2015). Lakes State Peace Conference Concluded. Retrieved 17 July 2023.

Craze, J. (2022). ‘And Everything Became War:’ Warrap State Since the Signing of the R-ARCSS. Small Arms Survey/HSBA. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

Eye Radio. (2021). 17 die in Cuei-bet cattle raid. Retrieved 22 February 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.

FEWSNET. (2018). Livelihoods Zone Map and Descriptions for the Republic of South Sudan (Updated). Retrieved 10 July 2023.

IRNA. (2020). Wulu – Cueibet Counties, Lakes State. Retrieved 17 July 2023.

Mayai, A.T. (2014). ‘Warrap’ in Spittaels, S. and Weyns, Y. (eds) Mapping Conflict Motives: the Sudan – South Sudan border. International Peace Information Service. Retrieved 15 February 2024.

Nyaba, P.A. (2001). The Disarmament of the Gel-Weng of Bahr El Ghazal and the Consolidation of the Dinka Nuer Peace Agreement. Retrieved 5 February 2024.

O’Brien, A. (2009). Shots in the Dark: The 2008 South Sudan Civilian Disarmament Campaign. Small Arms Survey. Retrieved 5 February 2024.

OCHA. (2021). Humanitarian Needs Overview: South Sudan 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

PACT Sudan. (2004). The Panakar Peace Council’s Rapid response in the Lakes and Mvolo Sub-region – May – July 2004 Consolidated Report. Retrieved via Sudan Open Archive 12 February 2024.

Pankar Consultative Meetings. (2002). A Series of Two Meetings to Address the Rising Trend of Inter Communal conflict in the Lakes Area of Bahr el Ghazel Region and Mvolo County, 16 September 2002. Retrieved via Sudan Open Archive 12 February 2024.

Pospisil, J. (2023a). An Iron Fist in Lakes State: Law, Order, and Volatility on the Margins. Small Arms Survey. Retrieved 6 November 2023.

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

Precise Communication. (2003). Report of the Cueibet Peace and Reconciliation Conference. Bahr el Ghazal Youth Development Agency. Retrieved via Sudan Open Archive 15 February 2024.

Radio Tamazuj. (2021). Cueibet: 5 killed, 2 wounded in clashes between armed youth and security forces. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

REACH. (2017). Warrap and Lakes States Displacement and Service Access Brief: Tonj South County, Warrap State, South Sudan, November 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2024.

Saferworld. (2011). Civilian disarmament revisited: better chances for success? Retrieved 21 February 2024.

Saferworld. (2021). Contributing to people’s safety and peace in Cueibet, South Sudan. Retrieved 17 July 2023.Sudan Tribune. (2006a). 71 killed in intertribal fighting in Lakes State. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

Sudan Tribune. (2006b). Lakes State starts mass disarmament campaign. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

Sudan Tribune. (2008). Nine people killed in Lakes state feuding. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

Sudan Tribune. (2009). Lakes governor holds talks with his clan in Cueibet. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

Sudan Tribune. (2010). Cattle raiders kill 17 people in S. Sudan’s Lakes State. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

Sudan Tribune. (2012). Cattle raiders kill 80 people in Warrap – Tonj South official. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

Sudan Tribune. (2013). Lakes state: 12 arrested for killing SPLA soldiers in cattle camp. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

Sudan Tribune. (2014a). Chief’s death sparks rapes, looting in remote Lakes state villages. Retrieved 15 February 2024.

Sudan Tribune. (2014b). 15 dead in Cueibet as cycle of violence continues in Lakes state. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

Sudan Tribune. (2014c). 26 killed in inter-clan attack in Lakes state: official. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

Sudan Tribune. (2014d). Death Toll Rises in Rumbek Clashes Between Pastoralists. Retrieved 17 July 2023.

Sudan Tribune. (2014e). Over 80 flee violence in Lakes state’s Rumbek Central county. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

Sudan Tribune. (2015). 15 people killed, dozens injured in Lakes state revenge attack. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

UNDP. (2012). Community Consultation Report: Lakes State, South Sudan. Retrieved 17 July 2023.

UNMISS. (2018). Panawur and Panaguong in Greater Lakes restore peace after 15 years of hostilities. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

UNSC. (2012). Report of the Secretary-General on South Sudan, S/2012/820. Retrieved 15 February 2024.

UNSC. (2021). Situation in South Sudan: Report of the Secretary-General, S/2021/784. Retrieved 9 February 2024.

VOA. (2017). 42 Civilians Killed in Clashes in South Sudan’s Gok Community. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

Watson, D. (2021). Surface Tension: ‘Communal’ Violence and Elite Ambitions in South Sudan. ACLED. Retrieved 5 February 2024.

REPORTS on CUEIBET

AVSI. (2017). Conflict Mapping Survey: Cueibet County, Lakes, South Sudan. Retrieved 17 July 2023.

REACH. (2014). Conflict Analysis: Lakes, Northern Bahr El Gazhal and Warrap States. Retrieved 17 July 2023.

Saferworld. (2023). Conflict, gender-based violence and mental health in Lakes State: Perspectives from South Sudan. Retrieved 17 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.