Tonj East County, Warrap State
Demographics
2008 NBS Census population: 116,122
2021 NBS PES population estimate*: 405,663
2022 UN OCHA population estimate*: 184,757
2024 UN OCHA population estimate*: 405,663
2024 IPC population estimate: 190,300
2025 UN OCHA population estimate*: 190,959
Ethnic groups: Luac-Jang/Luanyjang Dinka (Nyangrup: Arieu, Bar, Kongor) (Pakom) (Chierrup: Abuong, Lian) (Pariak) (Nyangwiir: Akokluac, Klunadel, Klunthuc) (Nyarnhom; Chiertoc); Rek Dinka (Jalwau: Adoor, Bac, Konggor, Pakoor) (Akook) (Aliap) (Luac-Koth) (Thiik)
Displacement Figures as of September 2024: 14,937 IDPs (+2,608 Sept. 2023) and 34,623 returnees (+3,659 Sept. 2023)
IPC Food Security: November 2024 – Crisis (Phase 3); IPC Projections: December 2024 to March 2025 – Emergency (Phase 4); April 2025 to July 2025 – Emergency (Phase 4) (Tonj East)
Economy & Livelihoods
Tonj East County is located in Warrap State. It borders Tonj South County to the south-west and Tonj North County to the north. It also borders Unity State (Mayendit County) to the east and Lakes State (Rumbek North and Cueibet counties) to the south-east.
The county is part of the Western Flood Plains livelihood zone (FEWSNET 2018). The area is rich in grazing land and water points, and this has attracted pastoralist communities to the county during the dry season. Swampy plains form a permeable natural geographic boundary between different Dinka communities in Warrap and Lakes States and with Nuer in Unity State. The River Tonj continues northwards from Tonj South, through Tonj East to Tonj North and Unity State to join the River Bahr el-Ghazal. Tonj East was affected by flooding in both 2020 and 2021. In 2021 it was identified as a flood-affected county by the Emergency Response Coordination Center.
A study by FAO and WFP (2018) indicates that 65% of households engage in farming, declining to 60% by 2021 (FAO/WFP 2022). Planting is conducted during the rainy season, though some cultivation also occurs during summer. The main crops are sorghum, simsim (sesame), millet, groundnut peas, okra and pumpkin. In 2021 and 2022, gross cereal yields were estimated to be 0.6 tonnes per hectare (FAO/WFP 2023). While ideal for cattle herding, the landscape is very difficult to transverse by road. Most towns are more than 50 km apart, across difficult terrain, leaving the border grazing areas remote and making Tonj East one of the least developed counties in Warrap State. Livestock ownership is widespread in Tonj East. Pastoralists throughout Tonj East – like others from Tonj South, Abyei and Lakes/Unity States – migrate during the dry season in search of water in various parts of the northeastern and eastern Warrap State.
In November 2024, the IPC projected Tonj East County as being at a crisis (IPC level 3) level of food insecurity, with conditions projected to deteriorate to emergency (IPC level 4) by December 2024 and to persist at that level until at least July 2025. The IPC Global Support Unit released an additional report from the Famine Review Committee indicating that 5% of the Tonj East population was likely experiencing Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) levels of acute food insecurity in November 2020.
In addition to local trade routes, Tonj East has also historically maintained trade routes with Unity State, however, this has been negatively impacted by the militarization of Mayom County, and the participation of several militias from that area in the civil war. The rainy season also makes roads difficult to travel on, making the trade of goods in the market challenging, particularly for households that have depleted their food stores. The county’s primary markets are located in Palal, Ngap-Agok and Romic.
Infrastructure & Services
The county’s headquarters are located in Romic(h) in Paliang Payam. The local infrastructure and services in Tonj East have been disrupted by inter-communal violence and subsequent revenge attacks, which has subsequently hindered development. The roads in the county are difficult to travel on during the rainy season, making the movement of people and goods challenging.
Tonj East’s educational facilities do not meet all the educational needs of the youth of the county. However, Tonj East is home to two (2) Early Childhood Development centres, one hundred (100) primary schools, and four (4) secondary schools.
In December 2024, the WHO reported that Tonj East County had fifteen (15) health facilities, of which thirteen (13) were functional. These functional facilities included ten (10) primary health care units (PHCUs), three (3) primary health care centres (PHCCs), and no hospitals. This means there were approximately 0.79 PHCUs per 15,000 people and 0.79 PHCCs per 50,000 people in the county at that time. The county has faced healthcare challenges in recent years, according to WHO, with outbreaks of cholera in 2017, measles outbreaks in 2020 and cases of guinea worm reported.
According to OCHA’s 2025 Humanitarian Needs Overview, there are an estimated 139,154 people in need in Tonj East County, which represents approximately 73% of the county’s total population reported by OCHA for 2025. For comparison, in 2024, OCHA reported that there were an estimated 226,417 people in need in Tonj East County, of whom 213,483 were non-displaced people, with the remainder comprising IDPs and returnees. According to OCHA’s Humanitarian Needs Overview for 2023, there were approximately 129,300 people with humanitarian needs in the county (down from 154,900 in 2021), which represented around 70% of the estimated population for Tonj East County reported in the HNO in that year. Tonj East has experienced conflict and cattle raiding within its county borders, as well as cross-border violence (notably with adjoining areas of Lakes State). The county was also the site of a serious clash in 2020 between military and local militia in the Romic area, which has been linked to local struggles over political influence and resources within Warrap State and political rivalries at the national level (Craze 2022; UN Panel of Experts 2020). In February and April 2023, clashes between the Luach-Jang Dinka and Pakam section of the Agar Dinka clan escalated significantly along the border between Tonj East and Rumbek North County in Lakes State, with communities from other parts of Greater Tonj reported to have supported the Pakam section. A 2023 report from the UNSC estimated that 143 people were killed during the conflict in February, with a further 76 killed in April.
Conflict Dynamics
Tonj East’s primary conflict drivers concern competition over access and control of resources occurring in a context of governance deficits, militarization and political favoritism. Community consultations carried out in 2012 identified cattle raiding, border disputes, tensions over grazing land and revenge attacks as the key drivers of localized conflict in the county (UNDP 2012). As noted above, its location at the intersection of Warrap, Lakes and Unity States makes intercommunal violence particularly problematic for the county. Not only are there tensions between sub-clans on resource sharing and representation within Tonj East, the Tonj East communities must migrate to neighbouring areas during dry season bringing them into confrontation with communities in bordering states.
In October 2015, it was reported that 92 people were killed in clashes in Tonj East (Sudan Tribune 2015). Local officials explained the violence as a raid on Warabyei Cattle Camp within Thiik community territory. Citizens in the Thiik community have said that over 12 villages in the area had been attacked and burnt by Luanyjang raiders, with the suspected support of Agaar pastoralists from Lakes State. Others claimed the violence might be linked the new county commissioner’s decision not to “accept reception” at Lith Lol, a designated place for reception of government officials at the border of the two communities. The state government dispatched more security forces to the area to contain the situation.
Warrap and Lake States have held several peace reconciliation meetings in recent years, seeking to improve understanding and communication between border communities and to decrease cattle raiding. In March 2013, three county commissioners – from Tonj East, Rumbek North, and Cueibet – agreed to share water resources without condition among their pastoralist communities and granted permission for pastoralists to graze cattle in the others’ areas. In Jan 2015, the new governor of the newly declared “Tonj State” (a part of Warrap) declared that reconciling and uniting feuding communities in Tonj East (and elsewhere) will be a top priority. Subsequent peace talks involving Tonj East were organized by local groups in 2018 and facilitated by UNMISS in 2019. However, peace talks and disarmament campaigns in the county have had limited success, and clashes between community-based militias continue to occur over water sources and grazing lands. Action by state security forces in the area have been accused of bias with the rapidly recruited and deployed organized forces not able to exercise professional and apolitical intervention. Additionally, the inability to address grievances through legal mechanisms due to the lack of courts and police undermines the ability to end disputes through non-violent means. Perceived biases and linkages to political and security elites function at sub-clan level in the area creating the potential for rapid escalation while also undermining the ability for local solutions to function. Changes from 28 to 32 and then 10 states undermined local cohesion and increased competition over administrative control, particularly affecting control over taxation and access to resources. Continued militarization and mobilization in the context of national political struggles has undermined traditional authorities and eroded customary controls on the use of violence.
In 2020, Tonj East County was recreated when the country returned to the 10-state arrangement. However, inter-communal clashes continue: for example, in 2020 communal clashes between the Thiik, Jalwau and Konggor communities resulted in over 30,000 people being displaced (IOM DTM, 2020). Some of the highest fatality incidents continued to occur with regularity in the area, making it one of the most violent counties in the country in the post-R-ARCSS period. In October 2021, at least 30 people were killed and 80 injured in clashes between Thiik and Luanyjang communities of Tonj East, and the Lou Paher of Tonj North County (Radio Tamazuj 2021). Humanitarian services have been disrupted with attacks on humanitarian convoys and facilities occurring in 2020 and 2021.
Administration & Logistics
Payams listed in government and UN documents: Paliang (County Headquarters in Romic), Ananatak, Makuac, Palal, Paweng, Wunlit,
Additional payams listed by local actors: Ayaak, Malualcum, Maparah, Mayen, Pagor, Pannhial
UN OCHA 2020 map of Tonj East County: https://reliefweb.int/map/south-sudan/south-sudan-tonj-east-county-reference-map-march-2020
Roads:
- No primary roads run through Tonj East County.
- A secondary road passes from Thiet (Tonj South County) to Kashwal, before separating into two tertiary roads. One of these roads runs north to Marial-Lou (Tonj North County) and the other runs east to southern Unity State via Romic. Seasonal road conditions are unknown.
UNHAS-recognised Heli and Fixed-Wing Airplane Airstrips: None
References
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.
IPC. (2020). IPC Famine Review: Conclusions and Recommendations for Pibor County – South Sudan – IPC Analysis – November 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
IOM DTM. (2020). South Sudan: Tonj East County, Warrap State Event Tracking Report, 6 May 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
OCHA. (2021). Humanitarian Needs Overview: South Sudan 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
Radio Tamazuj. (2021). Intercommunal clashes leave over 30 dead, 80 wounded in Tonj East. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
Sudan Tribune. (2015). Warrap deploys more troops after 92 killed in communal feud. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
UNDP. (2012). Community Consultation Report: Warrap State, South Sudan. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
UN Panel of Experts. (2020). Interim report of the Panel of Experts on South Sudan submitted pursuant to resolution 2521 (2020) (S/2020/1141). Retrieved 20 July 2023.
UNSC. (2023). Situation in South Sudan: Report of the Secretary-General, 13 June 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
Reports on Tonj East
Craze, J. (2022). ‘And Everything Became War:’ Warrap State Since the Signing of the R-ARCSS. Small Arms Survey/HSBA. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
New Humanitarian. (2022). Interlocking crises: Why humanitarian needs keep increasing in South Sudan. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
Nsubuga, F. et al. (2019). Epidemiological description of a protracted cholera outbreak in Tonj East and Tonj North counties, former Warrap State, South Sudan, May-Oct 2017. BMC infectious diseases, 19(1), 1-8. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
Pendle, N. (2015). ‘“They Are Now Community Police”: Negotiating the Boundaries and Nature of the Government in South Sudan through the Identity of Militarised Cattle-keepers’, International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, 22(3), 410-434. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
REACH. (2023). Conflict shocks and underlying vulnerability: Regulation of mobility and disruption of livelihoods in Tonj East, 2018-2022. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
REACH. (2021). Tonj South & East Rapid Assessment: Warrap State, South Sudan, September 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
* 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.
