Heightened Patrols Deliver Calm
State Police Commissioner Maj. Gen. Philip Madut Tong told reporters in Yambio that no killings, thefts or attacks were recorded between 24 and 26 December.
Officers had been deployed along highways, markets and remote villages after weeks of planning ordered by state leadership, according to the commissioner.
Communities Embrace Security Forces
Madut credited the calm to closer cooperation between police, traditional chiefs and youth groups who shared information and discouraged retaliatory violence.
“The people showed restraint and unity,” he said, arguing that public trust has grown after routine joint patrols and open-door meetings in parish halls.
From Turmoil to Trust
Western Equatoria had long suffered road ambushes and displacement since South Sudan’s national conflict erupted in December 2013.
Local reconciliation forums and the 2018 revitalised peace agreement gradually reduced communal tensions, allowing commerce and farming to return in most counties.
Eyes on the New Year
Police vowed to maintain mobile checkpoints through New Year festivities, encouraging residents to report suspicious movement via toll-free hotlines.
Community leaders expressed cautious optimism, calling the crime-free Christmas a morale boost that could anchor sustainable peace if vigilance persists.