A civil-military forum in South Sudan’s Torit State concluded last week with calls for forgiveness between members of the organized forces and the civilian population for past grievances.

Civilians have, in the past, accused the country’s military of exploitation, including rapes and killings during the civil war years.

Speaking on Radio Tamazuj’s Peace and Reconciliation programme, the chairlady of Torit Women’s Association, Angelina Bernardino Jacob said it was time to forget past grievances between civilians and the army.

“We want to build a new relationship between civilians and soldiers because we are one. Shortly, if the time for the military expires, they will come back as civilians and abandon military uniforms”, she said.

“Let us not fear the soldiers and they should not also fear us. In case there is a slip of tongue, we want to say sorry, forgive ourselves so we develop a relation of peace and forgiveness,” added the official.

Peter Ohisa, a participant at the civil-military forum, urged soldiers to respect their positions and desist from grabbing civilians’ properties.

“A soldier should not give military properties to civilians, but should ensure they are kept for military purposes”, said Ohisa.

The army commander in Torit, Major Gen. Robert Okimo admitted that lives were lost and properties destroyed during war.

He, however, said such forums make citizens recover from past fears.

“War is war and in any war of course properties are destroyed and lives are lost. It can cause a lot of damage, but people come and sit together to understand the issues and the root causes of the war and then people have to come to an understanding,” said Okimo.

He urged civilians to cooperate with the army for peaceful coexistence.

A recent report published by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimates that at least 382,900 people have died as a result of the five-year civil war in South Sudan.