Aweil South County, Northern Bahr el-Ghazal State

DEMOGRAPHY

2008 NBS Census population: 73,806
2021 NBS PES population estimate*: 239,810
2022 UN OCHA population estimate*: 142,217

Ethnic groups: Dinka Malual (Paliet), Luo/‘Jur Chol’

Displacement Figures Q3 2022: 7,327 IDPs (-7,139 Q1 2020) and 8,751 returnees (-17,879 Q1 2020)

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

ECONOMY & LIVELIHOODS

Aweil South County is located in Northern Bahr el-Ghazal State. It borders Aweil Centre to the west and Aweil East to the north. It also borders Warrap State (Gogrial West County) to the east and Western Bahr el-Ghazal State (Jur River County) to the south.

The county falls under the western flood plains sorghum and cattle livelihood zone (FEWSNET 2018), with grassland, swampy areas with papyrus reed, and pockets of forest being found in this area. According to a 2018 report by FAO and WFP, approximately 70% of households are estimated to engage in farming, which remained the case in 2021. Gross cereal yields in the county were put at 0.7 tonnes per hectare in 2021 and 2022 (FAO/WFP 2022; FAO/WFP 2023). The main crops in this region are sorghum, sesame, maize, groundnut and vegetables.

The economy of Aweil South – and Northern Bahr el-Ghazal more broadly – has undergone a major transformation towards markets and commercialisation of labour. Decades of conflict and insecurity within South Sudan and across the border in Darfur/Kordofan have accelerated pre-existing patterns of migration through forced displacement from Aweil to Sudan and elsewhere. The rapid repopulation of the area since the early 2000s placed the local markets and ecology under such pressure that cash, wages and markets became an increasingly vital means for survival. Periodic closures of the border with Sudan (with which local markets have been historically integrated), runaway inflation and insecurity since 2012 have further deepened this trend. This has been reflected in high levels of food insecurity, indebtedness and exploitation as part of agricultural labour or participation in armed groups (Kindersley and Majok 2019).

This structural economic transformation partly explains why food insecurity has continued to be a challenge for Northern Bahr el-Ghazal State despite its relative stability. Aweil South County was classified as being at Emergency (IPC Phase 4) levels of food insecurity in November 2022, and is projected to improve to Crisis (IPC Phase 3) levels between December 2022 and March 2022, before reverting to Emergency levels until at least July 2023.

Flooding is a regular concern for both agriculturalists and pastoralists. Being low-lying and largely flat, Aweil South is the county most prone to flooding in Northern Bahr-el Ghazal State. Flooding in Aweil South has historically occurred around October/November as a result of riverbanks overflowing, at the time when most people have harvested most of their farm produce. However, changing weather patterns have meant that earlier onset of rains has increasingly flooded fields and destroyed crops before they are harvested. This happened in 2019 and again in 2021, when early onset rains began in May 2021 and continued steadily through to July 2021.

INFRASTRUCTURE & SERVICES

Aweil South’s county headquarters is located in Nyocawany Payam. While the county does not share a border with Sudan, its proximity means that insecurity and border closures have at times impacted trade and migration routes from the area.

Access to healthcare facilities also presents a challenge for Aweil South residents, particularly to alleviate the impact of food insecurity. Aweil South County was reported to have nineteen (19) health facilities including fifteen (15) functional health facilities, among them fourteen (14) PHCUs and one (1) PHCCs in 2022. This means that there were an estimated 1.48 PHCUs per 15,000 people and 0.35 PHCCs per 50,000 people according to the WHO. No hospitals were reported in Aweil South County.

Aweil South is home to eighty-three (83) primary schools and Makel Alel Secondary School in Nyocawany Payam. There are currently no Early Childhood Development centres in Aweil South.

OCHA’s Humanitarian Needs Overview for 2023 indicated that nearly 93,000 people have significant humanitarian needs in Aweil South (down from 103,900 in 2021), which represents almost 65% of the estimated population for the county reported in the HNO. In March 2021, Aweil South was described as facing “famine-like conditions” (UN Panel of Experts 2021, p.2).

CONFLICT DYNAMICS

Given its location away from the disputed border with Sudan, Aweil South County was initially insulated from the violent raiding from groups of pro-government pastoralists from parts of the Misseriya and Rizeigat communities (known locally as murahalin) that escalated in the early years of the second Sudanese civil war (1983-2005). A detailed narrative of these events – and their effects on cross-border relations – can be found in the profile for Aweil North County. During the conflict, the area experienced insecurity due to its proximity to the government garrison at Aweil town (PACT 2003, p.5), while areas to the south of Aweil town were affected by skirmishes between SPLM/A and government forces along the transport corridor to Wau (Burr and Colins 1995, p.48; Nyaba 2002, p.64). Murahalin raids also began to reach the area by 1986, and persisted into 1987 (Kindersley 2018, p.19). These raids compounded displacement dynamics in Northern Bahr el-Ghazal State, with pastoralists – including those who had been displaced from northern areas of the state to the south – experiencing renewed displacement, this time to the Gogrial area (Mawson 1991, pp.141-42).

Aweil South was also particularly exposed to the activities of various pro-government militias in the late 1990s, including raiding and abductions, with conflict also spilling over from the Gogrial area (Nyaba 2002, p.64, 68). In 2000, the security situation improved following SPLM/A gains, which was followed by peace initiatives to help reconcile the Dinka Malual community and Misseriya and Rizeigat communities. The county was separated from Aweil East County the same year.

Relations between the county’s two largest communities – the Luo and Dinka Malual – have largely been peaceful, with inter-marriage common (PACT 2003). Minor conflicts or border disputes involving parts of the two communities have occasionally occurred, though have tended not to escalate, in part due to the close connections between the groups. Aweil South has also had border disputes with Aweil East (from which it used to be part of) and Gogrial West counties. In 2013, the county was involved in the Gogrial Agreement, which recommended that an arbitration body be established to adjudicate disputed borders, alongside provisions to promote cooperation and coordination in the use of resources, and an increased police presence in areas prone to disputes or conflict (PA-X 2013). Additionally, in 2014 UNMISS facilitated a peace forum in the county, focusing on preventing localised conflicts from escalating and proactively resolving border disputes (UNMISS 2014). More recently, an agreement was reached to regularise movements of pastoralists from Gogrial West into Aweil South and Centre counties (Radio Tamazuj 2022a). While Sudanese pastoralists from East Darfur and West Kordofan do not traditionally migrate as far south as Aweil South, the county has nevertheless hosted a cross-border peace conference in recent years (Radio Tamazuj 2022b).

Aweil South experienced few direct effects of the national conflict (2013-2018), though a group of opposition forces who had defected from the SPLA in Western Bahr el-Ghazal State transited through the county in mid-2014 while en route to Sudan (Small Arms Survey 2014). Although there has been no serious or large-scale conflict in the county, in recent years Aweil South has experienced sporadic episodes of low-level conflict, typically relating to tensions over land or borders, and at times to discontent among youth groups. A limited level of localised conflict – including livestock theft – has been reported in Aweil South County following the signing of the 2018 R-ARCSS, while approximately one third of the bomas in the county have reportedly experienced a recent boundary dispute (OCHA 2021, p.6; Radio Tamazuj 2022c; IOM DTM 2023a). Additionally, intermittent tensions have been reported between some local authorities and groups of youths in the county (The Radio Community 2022; The Radio Community 2023).

Among the instances of conflict affecting Aweil South was a boundary dispute that escalated in April 2019. This followed an attempt to relocate a local administrative headquarters to the town of Wathmuok, the ownership of which was disputed by several nearby communities (Radio Tamazuj 2019). The conflict – which involved sub-sections from the Dinka Malual’s Paliet section – was reportedly resolved during a peace conference later that year (UNMISS 2019). Further conflict among parts of the Paliet section in Panthou Payam was reported to have escalated in May 2022 in unclear circumstances, though did not appear to be directly related to the dispute over Wathmuok.

ADMINISTRATION & LOGISTICS

Payams listed in Government and UN documents: Nyocawany I (County Headquarters), Ayai, Gakorl/Gakrol, Nyieth, Nyocawany II, Panthou, Tar-weng, Tiar-aleit, Wathmuok
Alternative list of payams provided by local actors: Nyocawany (County Headquarters), Ayai, Gakorl/Gakrol, Majok-Abyei, Nyieth, Panthou, Tiar-aleit, Wathmuok

UN OCHA 2020 map of Aweil South County: https://reliefweb.int/map/south-sudan/south-sudan-aweil-south-county-reference-map-march-2020

Roads:

• A primary road that runs from Aweil town to Wau town (Western Bahr el-Ghazal State) is accessible in the far west of Aweil South. This road was deemed passable by the Logistics Cluster during both the rainy season of 2022 and dry season of 2023.
• A secondary road between Aweil town and Gogrial West County (Warrap State) runs across Aweil South via Panthou. The road was designated “passable with difficulties” during both the rainy season of 2022 and dry season of 2023.
• A network of tertiary roads covers much of the county, though conditions for these roads are unknown.

UNHAS-recognised Heli and Fixed-Wing Airplane Airstrips: None

REFERENCES

Burr, J.M. and Collins, R.O. (1995). Requiem For the Sudan: War, Drought, And Disaster Relief on the Nile. Boulder, CO.: Westview Press.

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.

IRC. (2014). Integrated Nutritional Anthropometry and Mortality Surveys. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

IRC. (2018). Enabling treatment of severe acute malnutrition in the community: Study of a simplified algorithm and tools in South Sudan. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

IRNA. (2021). Multi-sectoral Rapid Flood Assessment Report – Aweil South -Northern Bahr el Ghazal. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

Kindersley, N. and Majok, J. (2019). Monetized Livelihoods and Militarized Labour in South Sudan’s Borderlands. Rift Valley Institute. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

Mawson, A. (1991). ‘Murahaleen Raids on the Dinka, 1985-89’, Disasters, 15 (2), pp.137-149. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

Nyaba, P.A. (2002). Report on the Trade Consultancy Conducted in Northern Bahr el Ghazal. Save the Children UK. Retrieved via the Sudan Open Archive 4 March 2024.

OCHA. (2021). South Sudan: Response scale-up for highly food insecure areas Situation Report No. 6 (As of 30 April 2021). Retrieved 18 July 2023.

PA-X. (2013). Gogrial Agreement (between Twic, Aweil East, Aweil South and Gogrial. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

PACT. (2003). Greater Aweil Dialogue, Wanyjok 8 June 2003. Retrieved via the Sudan Open Archive 4 March 2024.

Radio Tamazuj. (2019). 5 injured in inter-communal violence in Aweil State. Retrieved 3 March 2024.

Radio Tamazuj. (2022a). N. Bahr el Ghazal, Warrap communities recommit to fostering peace. Retrieved 3 March 2024.

Radio Tamazuj. (2022b). UNMISS commends Aweil communities for maintaining peace. Retrieved 3 March 2024.

Radio Tamazuj. (2022c). Aweil South commissioner decries increased cattle raids. Retrieved 3 March 2024.

Small Arms Survey. (2014). The Conflict in Northern and Western Bahr el Ghazal States: Describing events through 10 October 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2024.

The Radio Community. (2022). Aweil South Commissioner’s home stoned, wife injured as youths are arrested. Retrieved 5 March 2024.

The Radio Community. (2023). Aweil South youth ‘oust’ payam administrator. Retrieved 5 March 2024.

UNMISS. (2014). Aweil South learns about peace and conflict resolution. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

UNMISS. (2019). At an UNMISS-facilitated conference, communities of Ajak and Kongdier resolve to end conflict. Retrieved 3 March 2024.

UN Panel of Experts. (2021). Final report of the Panel of Experts on South Sudan submitted pursuant to resolution 2521 (2020), S/2021/365. Retrieved 3 March 2024.

REPORTS on AWEIL SOUTH

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

IOM. (2013). Village Assessment Survey: Aweil South County Atlas. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

IOM DTM. (2023a). Village Assessment Survey (VAS) Aweil South County (Data collected from 26 March to 30 April 2021). Retrieved 28 February 2024.

IOM DTM. (2023b). Disability, Access & Inclusion Survey Aweil South County (July – August 2022). Retrieved 18 July 2023.

Kindersley, N. and Majok, J.D. (2020). COVID-19 in South Sudan’s Borderlands A view from Northern Bahr el-Ghazal. Rift Valley Institute. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

Kindersley, N. and Majok, J.D. (2020). Breaking Out of the Borderlands: Understanding migrant pathways from Northern Bahr el-Ghazal, South Sudan. Rift Valley Institute. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

Kindersley, N. and Majok, J.D. (2022). ‘Class, cash and control in the South Sudan and Darfur borderlands’, Third World Thematics: A TWQ Journal 7 (4-6), pp. 283-306. Retrieved 28 February 2024.

Kindersley, N. (2018). Politics, power and chiefship in famine and war: A study of the former Northern Bahr el-Ghazal state, South Sudan. Rift Valley Institute. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

Majok, J. D. (2021). War, Migration and Work – Agricultural labour and cross-border migration from Northern Bahr el-Ghazal, South Sudan. Rift Valley Institute. Rift Valley Institute. Retrieved 18 July 2023.

Rift Valley Institute. (2020). South Sudan: Hussein Abdel Bagi deepens his control of the borderland. RVI Field Update 5. 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.