Maridi County, Western Equatoria State

DEMOGRAPHY

2008 NBS Census population: 82,461
2021 NBS PES population estimate*: 87,140
2022 UN OCHA population estimate*: 110,513

Ethnic groups: Baka, Mundu, Avok’aya /Avukaya, Zande, Moro Kodo, Wetu

Displacement Figures Q3 2022: 8,998 IDPs (-6,934 Q1 2020) and 9,763 returnees (+804 Q1 2020)

IPC Food Security: November 2022 – Crisis (Phase 3); IPC Projections: December 2022 to March 2023 – Stressed (Phase 2); April to July 2023 – Crisis (Phase 3)

ECONOMY & LIVELIHOODS

Maridi County is located in Western Equatoria State. It borders Mvolo County to the northeast, Mundri West County to the east and Ibba County to the west. It also borders Lakes State (Wulu County) to the northwest, Central Equatoria State (Yei County) to the southeast and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the southwest.

The county falls within the equatorial maize and cassava livelihoods zone (FEWSNET 2018). The main livelihood activities in Maridi are farming (44%), cattle herding (36%), and fishing (13%) (IOM 2013). An estimated 70% of households in Maridi were estimated to be engaged in farming by 2021, with a gross cereal yield of 1.6 tonnes per hectare in 2021, increasing to 1.7 tonnes per hectare in 2022 (FAO/WFP 2022; FAO/WFP 2023). In addition, beekeeping and honey harvesting is also a viable means of livelihood for residents of Maridi County, similar to many other counties in Western Equatoria. Additionally, the presence of three rivers in the county has made fishing a viable livelihood.

Insecurity across Western Equatoria, beginning in 2015, has impacted the ability of Maridi residents to sustain their livelihoods, which relies on consistent and safe access to land, forest, and rivers. Insecurity along major roads running through Maridi disrupted trade and transportation routes that supported the local economy, inflating the prices of goods in the market. Combined with the financial crisis that began in South Sudan in 2015, these economic challenges greatly reduced the capacity of the local market to supply goods and services to the population, particularly when subsistence livelihoods were under pressure.

In November 2022, Maridi was classified as experiencing a Crisis (IPC Phase 3) level of food insecurity. This is predicted to decrease to Stressed (IPC Phase 2) level conditions from December 2022 until March 2023, whereupon the projections indicate a return to Crisis-level conditions until July 2023.

INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES

The county’s headquarters is located in Maridi Town in Maridi Payam.

Maridi County is home to nine (9) early childhood education centres, fifty-five (55) primary schools and seven (7) secondary schools including the all-girls Maridi Girls Boarding Secondary. All secondary schools are located in Maridi Payam except for Eyira Secondary in Mambe Payam. Historically, Maridi hosted a site a major teacher-training and curriculum-development centre, however its operations were interrupted by civil wars, and – while the institution was due to reopen in mid-2017 (Eye Radio 2017) – it is not listed among the educational institutions in 2022 (SAMS 2022).

Maridi County was reported to have thirty-one (31) health facilities, all of which were reported to be functional. Among the health facilities are twenty-three (23) PHCUs, seven (7) PHCCs and one (1) hospital in 2022. This means that there were an estimated 3.13 PHCUs per 15,000 people and 2.72 PHCCs per 50,000 people according to the WHO, which ranks Maridi as among the ten counties with the highest ratios of PHCUs/person in South Sudan. Maridi Hospital is reported to be moderately functional.

According to OCHA’s Humanitarian Needs Overview for 2023, 65,407 people in the county have humanitarian needs (up significantly from 34,700 in 2021), which represents approximately 59% of the projected population for Maridi.

While Maridi was not as severely affected by flooding in 2021 as some other counties in South Sudan, it experienced significant flooding in 2020. In 2021, wildfires affected 11 villages and over 100 homes were destroyed (Radio Tamazuj 2021a).

CONFLICT DYNAMICS

Maridi has experienced similar conflict dynamics to those of nearby Mundri East and West counties, where once positive relations between agriculturalist and pastoralist communities have gradually given way to tensions over land use and damage caused to crops by cattle (Schomerus 2015, p.128). Land ownership has also become partially politicised along ethnic lines in the county (Braak 2023).

Since 2005, growing insecurity, perceived marginalisation, and a sense of alienation from the government from parts of the local community have fed into the growth of community protection forces in Maridi (Schomerus 2015, pp.125, 135), with these forces in turn becoming increasingly entangled in the national conflict (2013-2018) as it spread to Western Equatoria State. However, Maridi’s entrance into the national conflict was convoluted, and marked by the presence of multiple opposition groups operating in the area, with this fragmented security terrain persisting into the post-conflict era.

Maridi in the second Sudanese civil war (1983-2005)

 During the second Sudanese civil war (1983-2005), Maridi was the scene of fighting at the outset of the conflict (Johnson 2003, p.86), and following further clashes in 1990 Maridi town was captured by the SPLM/A in March 1991 (Duffield et al. 1995, p.326). Conflict in the county caused significant damage to social, health, and administrative infrastructure, and displaced parts of the population to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Some of those displaced to the DRC returned after the SPLM/A consolidated control of the area, with others returning after being exposed to the effects of the conflict that was intensifying across the Congolese border from 1997 (Action Africa in Need 1994; WFP et al. 1993; OLS 1997). The seizure of Maridi by the SPLM/A also laid the groundwork for a number of more recent tensions relating to land (discussed further below), after an SPLM/A commander allegedly distributed land in the area to (predominantly Dinka) soldiers (Braak 2016, p.55; Braak 2023, p.59).

Maridi was bombed by the Sudanese Airforce across the 1990s (HRW 1994; OLS 1996a; OLS 1996b; OLS 1999), though remained under SPLM/A control until the end of the war. The area was particularly impacted by unexploded ordnance and landmines. Additionally, Maridi was affected by the actions of a group of deserting SPLM/A soldiers in 2002 (discussed further in the profile for Torit County), with abductions, arson, and looting being reported as the soldiers passed through the area, with further violence reported by criminal groups after they left the county (Anonymous 2002, p.8).

During the second civil war, Maridi also hosted displaced Dinka pastoralists from Jonglei State, who arrived in Maridi in late 1992 and early 1994 (Braak 2016, p.57; OLS 1995, p.51). As is discussed further in the profiles for Mundri East and West counties, tensions gradually increased between parts of the local agriculturalist community and Dinka Bor pastoralists in a number of areas of Western Equatoria over the following decade. In Maridi, tensions between host and displaced communities further escalated in 2004, resulting in incidents of violent conflict (USAID 2010, p.185). Efforts to relocate pastoralists and their cattle from the area were largely unsuccessful, in some instances exposing pastoralists to additional risk of attack (Murphy 2005, p.36).

Tensions and community mobilisation during the CPA (2005-2011)

After the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in 2005, the majority of the displaced pastoralist community would leave Western Equatoria State, particularly after violence escalated in the Yambio and Mundri areas towards the end of 2005. Maridi did not experience the same levels of violent conflict as some other parts of the state during this time, though pastoralists would still vacate the area (UNHCR 2006). However, conflict between some local residents and Dinka pastoralists from Lakes State who arrived in the area was reported in the spring of 2006 (UN Sudan 2006).

Maridi was also exposed to conflict relating to Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) activity after the CPA, with abductions initially being reported in late 2005 (Ockenden International 2005). In the absence of effective protection from government or international peacekeeping forces, community protection forces known as the ‘Arrow Boys’ (who include female members) would become particularly active in the county, with local Arrow Boys reportedly having high degree of organisation (Schomerus and Taban 2017, p.9; Schomerus 2015, p.134).

During the 2006-2008 Juba peace talks between the LRA and Uganda government, Maridi briefly became a venue for talks between senior South Sudanese officials and figures from the LRA leadership in mid-2006 (IRIN 2006), during which time LRA forces were assembled at nearby Ri-Kwangba in neighbouring Ibba County. During the period of the Juba peace talks, LRA attacks continued to be reported in parts of Maridi (IRIN 2007; UNMIS 2007), with further attacks intermittently reported across the CPA era following the collapse of the talks (OCHA 2008; IWPR 2009; Radio Miraya 2010). LRA activity was linked to renewed displacement in the county, though Maridi also received large numbers of displaced persons fleeing attacks by the LRA elsewhere in the state (Braak 2016, p.50).

Mounting tensions and armed group fragmentation during the national conflict (2013-2018)

As with other parts of Western Equatoria, Maridi initially experienced few direct effects of the national conflict (2013-2018). The county also had a distinctive security configuration compared to some other counties in the state, with the SPLA’s Division 6 being headquartered in Maridi town (ICG 2016, p.26), and the local Arrow Boys reportedly having close connections with political and security actors in the county (Schomerus 2015, pp.122, 134-35). Moreover, reluctance was expressed from parts of the local population about becoming drawn into the national conflict amid concern about the increasing ethnicisation of national politics, while local Arrow Boys were reportedly wary of becoming entangled in conflicts that did not directly concern matters of community protection (Schomerus 2015, p.136).

Maridi County’s eventual route into the national conflict was a circuitous one, combining elements of the conflict that emerged in eastern parts of the state – in which tensions between agriculturalist and pastoralist communities morphed into localised insurgency – with elements of the conflict unfolding to the west, where multiple opposition groups would briefly take up arms before integrating with larger factions.

Since early 2014, increasing numbers of Dinka pastoralists and cattle arrived in Maridi. Although some of the pastoralists arriving in the area were fleeing conflict in Jonglei State, a substantial number were pastoralists from Lakes State with existing migratory links to Maridi (Schomerus 2015, p.123). Following growing tensions between some agriculturalists and pastoralists, as well as security forces and some Arrow Boys during 2014 – including an attack in Mutobai village at the end of the year (Schomerus 2015, p.129) – clashes were reported in early 2015. These clashes would involve some Arrow Boys, Dinka pastoralists, and SPLA forces (Schomerus and Taban 2017, pp.10-11).

Additionally, attempts by local authorities to redistribute land that had been awarded to SPLM/A soldiers during the 1990s to the local community resulted in further violence, and contributed to the escalation of tensions in Maridi in mid-2015 (Braak 2023, p.59). This conflict was in part linked to differing conceptions of land rights between SPLM/A veterans who remained in the area after the second civil war and some parts of the local community (and officials from this community), with SPLM/A veterans emphasising sacrifice in conflict and the right of South Sudanese to own land across the country, and some local voices calling for land to be predominantly held by communities who have a long established presence in the area, including those who returned to the area after having been displaced during the war (Braak 2016, p.56; Braak 2023, pp.68-72).

In June 2015, and amid the escalating tensions outline above, conflict intensified in Maridi after a grenade was thrown by an unknown attacker into a Dinka cattle camp, resulting in the mobilisation of some Dinka pastoralists (Schomerus 2015, pp.123-24; IRNA 2015). Fighting broke out in Maridi town between local militia, armed pastoralists, and the SPLA, resulting in significant damage and displacement, and a number of deaths and injuries. This was followed by a deployment of SPLA commandos, which reportedly aggravated tensions in the area, prompting Maridi’s County Commissioner to request the commandos vacate the county (IRNA 2015).

Conflict dynamics from 2015 onwards in Maridi were complicated by the lack of a unified opposition in the county. Instead, Maridi hosted various opposition groups, who were involved in conflict to varying degrees and for differing durations. In addition to groups of Arrow Boys who clashed with security forces in 2015 (ICG 2016, p.32), the Revolutionary Movement for National Salvation (REMNASA) claimed to have been active in Maridi County since early 2015 (Braak 2016, p.72), though reportedly exaggerated their level of activity (ICG 2016, p.30). REMNASA subsequently joined the SPLA-IO in late 2015. Meanwhile, some security personnel and members of the Arrow Boys from Maridi reportedly joined the South Sudan National Liberation Movement (SSNLM) opposition group (discussed further in the profile for Yambio County), with a protracted peace process between the government and one faction of the SSNLM concluding in April 2016 (Schomerus and Taban 2017, pp.14-15; PA-X, n.d).

With the exception of intermittent clashes between Arrow Boys and some pastoralists in late 2017 (OCHA 2017, p.3), there was no reports of activity from these groups in Maridi after 2015. However, the SPLA-IO began to report a presence in the county from September 2015, following the signing of the ARCSS (Sudan Tribune 2015). The SPLA-IO were involved in clashes with the SPLA during parts of 2016 and late 2017, while occasional road ambushes perpetuated by unknown groups were reported for the remainder of the national conflict (UNSC 2017, pp.5-6; Radio Tamazuj 2017; UNSC 2018, p.5). During the latter stages of the war, the intensity of conflict in Maridi was generally lower than in other parts of the state in which opposition groups were active.

Maridi after the R-ARCSS (2018-present)

After the 2018 R-ARCSS was signed, SPLA-IO forces in Maridi have been based at a cantonment site in Maridi town, where they have reportedly experienced shortages of basic supplies (UNMISS 2020; UNMISS 2021). Maridi – like nearby Mundri East and West counties – has also experienced sporadic clashes between the SSPDF and the National Salvation Front (NAS) opposition group since early 2019 (Radio Tamazuj 2019), alongside persistent insecurity along roads running through the county (Saferworld 2020). Clashes between NAS and the military have also contributed to displacement in the county (IOM 2020). There have been several reported NAS attacks on SSPDF barracks in the county (Radio Tamazuj 2021b; UNSC 2022, p.5), while tensions have also been reported in Landili Payam (UNMISS 2022).

Following the arrival of additional pastoralists from Jonglei State (via Mundri West) in June 2023, tensions and instances of conflict were reported between some Dinka Bor pastoralists and local agriculturalists in Mambe Payam, prompting county authorities to direct the pastoralists to leave the area in November 2023 (Radio Tamazuj 2023b). Additionally, Mambe Payam was reportedly affected by insecurity linked to suspected Mbororo-Fulani pastoralists earlier in 2023.

Community dialogues facilitated by Saferworld in 2020 identified a number of issues facing the community, including land disputes; a lack of trained and effective security personnel; and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) (Saferworld 2020). OCHA’s 2020 Humanitarian Needs Overview cited Maridi as one of 14 counties cited in the “extreme category” for SGBV issues (OCHA 2019, p.58).

ADMINISTRATION & LOGISTICS

Payams: Maridi (County Headquarters), Kozi, Landili, Mambe, Ngamunde

UN OCHA 2020 map for Maridi County: https://reliefweb.int/map/south-sudan/south-sudan-maridi-county-reference-map-march-2020

Roads:

• A primary road runs through via Maridi town, heading west to Wau (Western Bar el-Ghazal State) via Yambio and east to Juba (Central Equatoria State) via Mundri town. During the rainy season of 2022, the western section of the road designated ‘passable with difficulties’ between Wau and Maridi, and passable all the way to Juba east of Maridi. The same road was considered passable during the dry season of 2023, excepting the stretch of road running north between Tambura and Wau, which was designated ‘passable with difficulties’.
• A spur of the same primary road runs south from Longbua town to Yei (Central Equatoria State). The condition of the road is unknown.
• A secondary road travels north-south throughout the length of the county via Maridi town, running north to Mvolo County and south into Yei County of Central Equatoria State. Seasonal road conditions are unknown.

UNHAS-recognized Heli-Landing Sites and Airstrips: Maridi

REFERENCES

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Braak, B. J. (2016). Exploring Primary Justice in South Sudan: Challenges, concerns, and elements that work. Van Vollenhoven Institute, Leiden University/ Cordaid. Retrieved 19 March 2024.

Braak, B.J. (2023). ‘Graves, trees, and spray-paint:  land  tenure formalisation and five normative  repertoires in post-conflict South Sudan’, Legal Pluralism and Critical Social Analysis 55 (3), pp.58-76. Retrieved 19 March 2024.

Duffield, M., Young, H., Ryle, J., and Henderson, I. (1995). Sudan Emergency Operations Committee Consortium (SEOC): A Review. School of Public Policy, University of Birmingham. Retrieved via Sudan Open Archive 19 March 2024.

Eye Radio. (2017). Maridi: New Teachers Training Institute to reopen. Retrieved 15 July 2023.

FAO/WFP. (2023). South Sudan 2022 Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) Summary of findings. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

FEWSNET. (2018). Livelihoods Zone Map and Descriptions for the Republic of South Sudan (Updated). Retrieved 10 July 2023.

HRW, Human Rights Watch. (1994). Civilian Devastation: Abuses by All Parties in the War in Southern Sudan. Retrieved 16 March 2024.

IOM. (2020). Western Equatoria Event Tracking Report. Retrieved 15 July 2023.

IRIN. [The New Humanitarian] (2006). Uganda delegation ‘en route’ to meet rebel leader. Retrieved 19 March 2024.

IRIN. [The New Humanitarian] (2007). Leave us in peace, Maridi residents tell LRA. Retrieved 19 March 2024.

IRNA (2015). IRNA Report: Maridi and Ibba Counties. Retrieved 15 July 2023.

IWPR, Institute for War and Peace Reporting. (2009). Great Lakes: Arrow boys take on LRA. Retrieved 19 March 2024.

Murphy, P. (2005). ‘Assisting the return of displaced Dinka Bor’, Forced Migration Review issue 24, pp.36-37. Retrieved 17 March 2024.

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Radio Tamazuj. (2017). South Sudan rival forces clash in Maridi. Retrieved 19 March 2024.

Radio Tamazuj. (2019). Clashes reported in Maridi state. Retrieved 19 March 2024.

Radio Tamazuj. (2021a). Maridi wildfire victims in need of help. Retrieved 15 July 2023.

Radio Tamazuj. (2021b). 5 killed in Maridi County attack. Retrieved 19 March 2024.

Radio Tamazuj. (2023). Pastoralists given 7-day ultimatum to leave Maridi County. Retrieved 19 March 2024.

Saferworld. (2020). Enhancing peace, safety and security in Maridi, South Sudan. Retrieved 15 July 2023.

Schomerus, M. (2021). The Lord’s Resistance Army: Violence and Peacemaking in Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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UNMISS. (2020). Government and opposition forces endure difficult living conditions at Maridi training center. Retrieved 15 July 2023.

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REPORTS on MARIDI

Lado, C. (1988). ‘Some Aspects of Rural Marketing Systems and Peasant Farming in Maridi District, Southern Sudan’ in Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 13 (3), pp. 361-374. Retrieved 4 March 2024.

Saferworld. (2020). Enhancing peace, safety and security in Maridi, South Sudan. Retrieved 15 July 2023.

Schomerus, M. (2015). ‘Protection and militarisation in Western Equatoria’ in Schomerus, M. (ed.) Conflict and Cooperation in the Equatorias, pp.114-149. AECOM/USAID.

Schomerus, M. and Taban, C. (2017). ‘Arrow boys, armed groups and the SPLA: intensifying insecurity in the Western Equatorian states’. Chapter 2 in ‘Informal Armies: Community defence groups in South Sudan’s civil war’, Saferworld. Retrieved 15 July 2023.

Small Arms Survey. (2016). Conflict in Western Equatoria: Describing events through 17 July 2016. Retrieved 15 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.