VZCZCXRO3651
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0980/01 1151016
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 251016Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2467
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000980 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SOCI EAID PREF SU
SUBJECT: Southern Sudan: Panyagor Struggles for Recovery 
 
 
¶1.  Summary:  Of all the places visited by CG Juba 
officials during a recent PRM monitoring and evaluation 
trip (septel), Panyagor is by far the least developed. 
Also known as Mabior, the town is located north of Bor in 
what is now Twic East County (Note:  Many Southern towns 
changed their name during the war once its town name 
appeared on the Operation Lifeline Sudan no-go list so 
that aid deliveries could continue.  End note.) 
Residents of Panyagor face extreme environmental 
conditions, with an annual cycle of drought and floods. 
Security also remains difficult; local residents 
complained of cattle raids, gender-based violence, hyena 
attacks, and threats from the Nuer to the North.  End 
Summary. 
 
------------------------------------ 
Climate: No Goldilocksian Compromise 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  During the 5-month dry season, Panyagor suffers from 
chronic drought with often distant bore holes serving as 
the only source of water.  In the rainy season, the 
region turns quickly from desert to swamp, and the 
residents face pervasive flooding, a proliferation of 
insects, and the spread of disease. 
 
¶3.  While the dirt roads in Panyagor were currently being 
used as a conduit for both commercial goods and 
humanitarian supplies from Kenya, all ground 
transportation is expected to cease within the next month 
once the rains begin.  The only airstrip will also become 
unusable and the region will be largely cut off from 
humanitarian aid and any medical care -- the town only 
has a small dispensary and one regional doctor who 
travels over a wide range.  Aid organizations are 
currently working to preposition all the supplies needed 
before the rains start. 
 
¶4.  Dykes have been built to contain the Nile, which 
annually rises and engulfs the town.  However, it is 
unclear if the dykes will hold, and even of they do it 
will not control the flooding from the heavy rains, which 
do not drain on the level plain. 
 
¶5.  Locals also report that agriculture is impossible 
because there is always either too much or too little 
water for farming.  (Comment:  Other Southern Sudanese 
with similar climatic conditions do farm.  End comment.) 
The area is currently being fed almost entirely by the 
World Food Program, which has been targeting the most 
vulnerable in the population.  According to the local 
Sudan Relief and Recovery Commission (SRRC) director, the 
WFP distributes rations for about 10,000, which is then 
shared among the population of nearly 100,000. 
 
------------------------- 
Insecurity from All Sides 
------------------------- 
 
¶6.  Insecurity also plagues the local residents, whose 
Dinka population say they live in constant fear of their 
Nuer neighbors to the north.  Sitting in the path of the 
1992 Nuer march to Bor, now know as the Bor massacre, 
Panyagor has a high percentage of displaced population. 
Residents complained that they are afraid the Nuer to the 
North will return.  This fear is compounded by the fact 
that the commander of these Nuer troops, Riek Machar, is 
now Vice President of Southern Sudan. 
 
¶7.  During the dry season, the men must range their 
cattle great distances to find water, and they become 
vulnerable to cattle raids from Murle militia to the 
south and east.  Deng Tiop, Executive Director of Twic 
East County, who represented the County Commissioner at 
meetings with the Acting Consul General, said that these 
cattle raids, while serious, were just a part of life and 
there was no way to prevent it.  The Dinka cattle herders 
are typically well armed and have been known to attack 
non-Dinka cattlemen who come into their territory seeking 
water. 
 
¶8.  More vulnerable are the women of Twic East, who often 
must walk 30 minutes or more to get water in the dry 
season, and often must range further to collect firewood. 
These women said that these errands are dangerous because 
of threats from bandits who may kidnap or rape them, and 
because of the possibility of hyena attack.  They say it 
is more dangerous to walk to the bore hole at night, but 
they often brave the risks to avoid the extremely long 
daytime waits at the pump. 
 
¶9.  While the women did not complain of other forms of 
gender-based violence, the SRRC director told CG Juba 
 
KHARTOUM 00000980  002 OF 002 
 
 
officials that he believes it is pervasive, although 
there is no effort to prevent it or even talk about it. 
 
STEINFELD