The Pastoralists Union in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state announced that they intend to reduce the transit fees for Sudanese herders who cross to the state. Many herders from the north left after intense conflict earlier this year.

Ali Moscow, the union’s secretary general, told Radio Tamazuj yesterday that the union may reduce transit fees for herders from Sennar, White and Blue Nile state who regularly shepherd their herds in Upper Nile territories.

Typically the Sudanese herders pay a fee per head of livestock when they migrate seasonally into South Sudan.

Moscow pointed out that they have historic relations with the Sudanese pastoralists, saying the union intends to consolidate the peaceful coexistence between the two sides and also help prevent conflict between farmers and herders in the state.

He also complained about the lacks of financial support to Upper Nile pastoralists by the Ministry of Animal Resources. He called on authorities to disseminate messages of peaceful coexistence and collaboration between herders in the two countries.

Approximately 179,000 people have been displaced by conflict within Upper Nile State, and tens of thousands more fled to Ethiopia or Sudan. The numbers of displaced livestock are not known. 

File photo: Blue Nile herder in Maban County, Upper Nile (Radio Tamazuj)