Rising Toll Amid Fragile Calm
South Sudan’s struggle with gun violence resurfaced in 2024, as 755 people lost their lives across 234 incidents, according to a new report by the One Citizen Network for Democracy.
The findings suggest that the revitalized 2018 peace deal brought only partial relief, leaving communities vulnerable to localised conflict, cattle raids and brazen highway ambushes.
Toll on Civilians, Soldiers and Traders
OCND’s Truth Lab tallied 657 civilian deaths, 81 soldiers and 17 foreign nationals, many of them traders attacked while moving goods.
Men comprised the vast majority of victims, yet 43 women and 18 children also fell to bullets, underscoring the permeable line between combatant and bystander.
Motives Behind the Trigger
Investigators traced many shootings to cattle-raiding rivalries, land disputes and inter-communal retaliation cycles that long pre-date the civil war.
Accidental discharges, suicides and alcohol-fuelled arguments added to the toll, illustrating how firearms permeate daily life beyond organised conflict.
State Capacity Tested
Police units often arrive hours after an attack, hampered by rough terrain, scarce vehicles and modest payrolls, the report notes.
Observers inside Juba concede that enforcing the peace’s security provisions requires funds and logistics still trickling in from both treasury and donors.
Community Voices Seek Solutions
Local chiefs urge disarmament drives coupled with livelihood programs to prevent idle youth from taking up arms again.
“Guns give our young men short-term power but long-term grief,” Reverend Peter Dak told reporters, calling for joint patrols and trauma counselling.
Regional Implications
Analysts warn that persistent local bloodshed could spill across porous borders, unsettling trade corridors vital to Kenya, Uganda and Sudan.
Yet they also note that lessons from neighbouring disarmament campaigns, if adapted to South Sudan’s context, may help stabilise rural hotspots.
A Cautious Path Forward
OCND recommends a national gun census, community policing and swift prosecution of offenders; without such steps, it warns, 2024’s grim ledger could be repeated.
For citizens already weary of conflict, every uncollected weapon represents another threat to the peace they continue to negotiate daily.