Symptoms and Causes: Insecurity and Underdevelopment in Eastern Equatoria (HSBA Issue Brief 16)

Eastern Equatoria state (EES) is one of the most volatile and conflict-prone states in Southern Sudan. An epicentre of the civil war (1983–2005), EES saw intense fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), as well numerous armed groups supported by both sides, leaving behind a legacy of landmines and unexploded ordnance, high numbers of weapons in civilian hands, and shattered social and community relations.

EES has also experienced chronic food insecurity, a lack of basic services, and few economic opportunities. Cattle rustling, armed robbery, and banditry are endemic. With little or no official security presence in many areas of the state, protracted cycles of revenge attacks over natural resources, and land in particular, are common. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended the civil war, did not result in a tangible peace dividend for most EES communities; in fact, the return of war-era refugees to ancestral villages and the recent arrival of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from other parts of Sudan have exacerbated tensions over land and resources.

To assess perceptions of development, governance, and security challenges in EES, the Small Arms Survey and Danish Demining Group undertook a household survey of almost 2,400 households in Torit, Magwi, and Ikotos counties in November and December 2009. The survey gauged respondent views on pressing security and development issues, with a particular focus on armed violence; victims and perpetrators; motivations; weapons; disarmament; and security providers. The survey was supplemented by qualitative interviews and focus group discussions with key stakeholders in EES and Juba in January 2010.

Read more in Symptoms and Causes: Insecurity and Underdevelopment in Eastern Equatoria.

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