A delegation of Maban community leaders from Upper Nile has supported the Dinka Abilang community's call to split the state in two.

This comes following a meeting between the Maban leaders on the matter with the speaker of South Sudan’s Council of States, Joseph Bol Chan.

The Maban leaders had protested what they termed “marginalization” of their community by the state government.

In a press statement yesterday, tribal leader Tira Morji complained of lack of representation at the national level.

“We only have members of the National Legislative Assembly, but the speaker has promised us in the meeting that he will to convey our message to the president,” he said.

Morji also denied reports that they defected to the opposition, saying they took up arms for self-defence only.

On 2 September, a delegation of the Dinka Abilang community also called for either the removal of the Upper Nile State Governor or creation of a northern Upper Nile state.

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