| Official Name: | Aweil South County |
| Settlement Type: | County |
| Pushpin Map: | South Sudan |
| Pushpin Label Position: | left |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in South Sudan |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | South Sudan |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Bahr el Ghazal |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Northern Bahr el Ghazal |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Total Km2: | 1,976 |
| Population As Of: | 2017 estimate[1] |
| Population Total: | 104,385 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Ethnicities |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Religions |
| Timezone: | CAT |
| Utc Offset: | +2 |
Aweil South County, sometimes called Paliet, is an administrative area in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, in the Bahr el Ghazal region of South Sudan, bordering Warrap State to the south. It is located in the southeastern part of NBGs. It is also known by the name Paliet, and one of the counties consisting of three major Dinka tribal groups: Ajak, Boncuai and Kongdeer. It was founded in 2000 and headquartered in Boncuai in a place called Mangar-Gier. In 2004, the headquarters were shifted to Malek Alel in Ajak. It is bordered to the north by Aweil East and to the west by Aweil Centre, to the south east by Gogrial State, and to the southwest by Western Barh el Ghazal state respectively.
2008 Census population: 73,806
2020 Population projection*: 138,460
Ethnic groups and languages: Rek Dinka (Malual-Paliet), Luo/‘Jur Chol’
Displacement Figures: 14,466 IDPs and 26,630 returnees (Q1 2020)
January 2020 IPC Projections: January 2020 – Crisis (Phase 3); February to April 2020 – Crisis (Phase 3); May to July – Emergency (Phase 4)
Aweil South County is located in Northern Bahr el-Ghazal State. It borders Aweil Centre to the west and Aweil East to the north. It also borders Warrap State(Gogrial West County) to the east and Western Bahr el-Ghazal State (Jur River County) to the south.
The county falls under the western flood plains sorghum and cattle livelihood zone (FEWSNET, 2018[2]), with grassland, swampy areas with papyrus reed, and pockets of forest being found in this area. According to a 2018 report by FAO and WFP, approximately 70% of households are estimated to engage in farming.[3] The main crops in this region are sorghum, sesame, maize, groundnut and vegetables. The state agriculture minister has stressed the importance of using ox ploughs and in late 2015 announced the county had recently trained 750 ox-plough bulls.
The economy of Aweil South – and Northern Bahr el-Ghazal more broadly – has undergone a major transformation towards markets and commercialisation of labour. Decades of conflict and insecurity within South Sudan and across the border in Darfur/Kordofan have accelerated pre-existing patterns of migration through forced displacement from Aweil to Sudan and elsewhere. The rapid repopulation of the area since the early 2000s placed the local markets and ecology under such pressure that cash and markets became an increasingly vital means for survival. Periodic closures of the border with Sudan (with which local markets have been historically integrated), runaway inflation and widespread insecurity since 2012 have further deepened this trend. This has been reflected in high levels of food insecurity, indebtedness and exploitation as part of agricultural labour or participation in armed groups (Kindersley and Majok 2019).
This structural economic transformation partly explains why food insecurity has continued to be a challenge for Northern Bahr el-Ghazal State despite its relative stability. Aweil South County was classified as being at Crisis (IPC Phase 3) levels of food insecurity at the beginning of 2016. During 2020, IPC projections estimate that the county will remain at this level, until mid-year when it is expected to increase to Emergency (IPC Phase 4) levels of food insecurity. Flooding is a regular concern for both agriculturalists and pastoralists. Aweil South County is the county most prone to flooding in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State. An Associated Press article documented that communities in Aweil South were verging on famine in early 2017, and starting to depend increasingly on foraging for wild foods to supplement their diet (Mednick, 2017). The few food distributions points in the area at the time were often too far for rural residents to access. According to an IRC report from 2018, 60% of children that needed interventions due to malnourishment were not receiving it. Floods in 2019 led to parts of the county being submerged, and land typically used to grow staples such as cereal was impacted.
Aweil South's county headquarters is located in Nyocawany Payam. While the county does not share a border with Sudan, its proximity means that insecurity and border closures have at times impacted trade and migration routes from the area.
OCHA's (2019) Humanitarian Needs Overview for 2020 indicated that over 83,000 people have significant humanitarian needs in Aweil South, which represents almost 79% of the estimated population for the county reported in the HNO. The severity of these needs are considered to be among the highest in the country, particularly in terms of health services. Access to healthcare facilities presents a challenge for Aweil South residents, particularly to alleviate the impact of food insecurity. A 2018 REACH assessment found that 60% of malnourished children were not receiving treatment, with the primary reason being that caregivers would have to travel long distances with the children and the rainy season made it even more difficult to travel this distance. An outbreak of measles in 2019 led to humanitarian interventions through vaccination campaigns to contain the outbreak and prevent it from spreading further to neighbouring counties.
Communal clashes have affected Aweil South County. In 2013, the county was a part of the Gogrial Agreement between four counties (Aweil East, Twic, and Gogrial West) to address communal clashes over grazing land, water sources and revenge attacks (PA-X, 2013). Additionally, in 2014 UNMISS facilitated a peace forum in the area to address tensions regarding county boundaries with Aweil East and Gogrial West (UNMISS, 2014).[4]
Payams listed in Government and UN documents: Nyocawany I (County Headquarters), Ayai, Gakorl/Gakrol, Nyieth, Nyocawany II, Panthou, Tar-weng, Tiar-aleit, Wathmuok
Alternative list of payams provided by local actors:Nyocawany (County Headquarters), Ayai, Gakorl/Gakrol, Majok-Abyei, Nyieth, Panthou, Tiar-aleit, Wathmuok
Lawrence Lual Lual Akuey, former dupty speakerof the national legislative assembly
Deng Deng Hoch Yai, former national Minister of general Education and instruction
UNHAS-recognised Heli and Fixed-Wing Airplane Airstrips: None