Nadapal is a community in the south west of

Kapoeta East County Kapoeta East County is an administrative region of Eastern Equatoria state in South Sudan, bordered by Kenya to the south, Ethiopia to the east and Jonglei state to the west. It is part of the Greater Kapoeta region of the state. The largest ethni ...

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

near the border with the

Rift Valley A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear dep ...

province of

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. The Nadapal belt is an area stretching southward from the border with South Sudan to

Lokichogio Lokichogio (also ''Lokichoggio'' or ''Lokichokio''), is a town in the Turkana District in northwest Kenya (). It is often called Loki for short. The town lies on the A1 road, and is served by the Lokichogio Airport. It is about 30 kilometers from ...

in Kenya. The village of Nadapal lies on the road between Narus in South Sudan and Lokichogio. The area has been the scene of violent clashes between Toposa and Turkana pastoralists, traditional rivals. It is becoming a vital border crossing as trade between Kenya and South Sudan booms following independence.

People

A June 2009 assessment of Nadapal by the

UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

said 90% of the people in Nadapal were Toposa. The assessment correctly placed the village in the Narus ''payam'' of

Eastern Equatoria State Eastern Equatoria is a state in South Sudan. It has an area of 73,472 km². The capital is Torit. On October 1, 1972, the state was divided into Imatong and Namorunyang states and was re-established by a peace agreement signed on 22 Februa ...

, Kenya. The mistake may be because the

Kenya Defence Forces The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) ( sw, Majeshi ya Ulinzi ya Kenya, stylized as "KENYA ARMED FORCES" capitalized on its coat of arms) are the armed forces of the Republic of Kenya. They are made up of the Kenya Army, Kenya Navy, and Kenya Air Forc ...

(KDF) had a presence in the village, and the Toposa people mostly live north of the border. The village chief estimated the population was 3,500 including 300 returnees from the nearby

Kakuma Kakuma is a town in northwestern Turkana County, Kenya. It is the site of a UNHCR refugee camp, established in 1992. The population of Kakuma town was 60,000 in 2014, having grown from around 8,000 in 1990. In 1991, the camp was established to hos ...

refugee camp in Kenya. Most of the people were IDPs from Jongole State. The majority of people were pastoralist.

Economy

The Nadapal belt includes valuable pasture and water points, and has always been an area of conflict between Turkana and Toposa herders. In normal times the Nadapal wetlands provide abundant pasturage and water for the herds of cattle, sheep and goats. The 2009 assessment found that available food included sorghum, maize, meat, sugar, oil, salt and rice, cooked using firewood collected by the women. Insufficient rain was causing food insecurity. The river was not running even in the rainy season. The village had three functioning boreholes providing fair quality potable water, which the women collected. Some families had latrines while others used the bushes. The nearest health services were in Narus, more than 3 hours away by foot, and Lokichogio, more than four hours away by foot. By 2007, the village had one primary school with 428 pupils taught outdoors under trees by 11 teachers. The nearest secondary school was in Narus town, away. School supplies were being provided by the Government of South Sudan's State Ministry of Education and

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...

and the local organization ''Turkana Education For All'' helped improve facilities, and by 2009, enrollment at the primary school had increased to 1,425.

Civil war

After the outbreak of the

Second Sudanese Civil War The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originate ...

in Sudan in 1983, the United Nations sponsored an operation called ''Lifeline Sudan'' for emergency relief, based in Lokichogio. Soldiers of the

Sudan People's Liberation Army The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), formerly the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), is the army of the South Sudan, Republic of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan in 198 ...

(SPLA) moved into the area to escort relief convoys. During the civil war many people from South Sudan took refuge in Kenya from the

Sudanese Armed Forces The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF; ar, القوات المسلحة السودانية, Al-Quwwat al-Musallaha as-Sudaniyah) are the military forces of the Republic of the Sudan. In 2011, IISS estimated the regular forces' numbers at personnel, whil ...

. With the end of the conflict, some Kenyans wanted the Toposa of the Nadapal area to return to South Sudan. The Toposa may have been reluctant in part because of the economic importance of the green Nadapal belt, but also in part because they felt that dominant tribes in South Sudan such as the

Dinka The Dinka people ( din, Jiɛ̈ɛ̈ŋ) are a Nilotes, Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan with a sizable diaspora population abroad. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Jonglei to Renk, South Sudan, Renk, in the region of Bahr el Gh ...

and

Nuer Nuer may refer to: * Nuer people * Nuer language The Nuer language (Thok Naath) ("people's language") is a Nilotic language of the Western Nilotic group. It is spoken by the Nuer people of South Sudan and in western Ethiopia (region of Gamb ...

thought the Toposa had backed the Government of Sudan during the civil war, and they would therefore be treated as an unwelcome minority in

Eastern Equatoria Eastern Equatoria is a state in South Sudan. It has an area of 73,472 km². The capital is Torit. On October 1, 1972, the state was divided into Imatong and Namorunyang states and was re-established by a peace agreement signed on 22 Febru ...

Post-civil war conflict

The SPLA troops did not immediately leave after the end of the civil war in January 2005. On 30 July 2009 two Kenyan cabinet members visiting the area were stopped by SPLA troops. The Kenyan government asked the SPLA to leave the country, but otherwise took a restrained position. In October 2009 it was reported that some Toposa people attacked the newly established barracks in Nadapal and killed 16 Kenyan troops. Kenya denied that the incident had occurred. A second attack occurred a week later. With growing tension, some of the Toposa moved north to

Kapoeta Kapoeta is a town in South Sudan. It is located in Kapoeta South County, in Eastern Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria State, in southeastern South Sudan. Location The town lies on the east bank of the Singaita River. The post at Kapoeta was establi ...

to live with relatives. Kenyan police were providing armed escorts for civilian vehicles travelling from Lokichokio to Nadapal, and the SPLA was providing armed escorts from Nadapal to

. There were ongoing clashes between the Toposa and Turkana. In February 2010 there were two serious incidents. Turkana raiders attacked Toposa cattle camps near Nadapal, with six Toposa and two Turkana raiders being killed. Ten days later, Toposa youth ambushed a vehicle between Nadapal and Lokichoggio killing two Kenyans and wounding an unknown number. According to an SPLA spokesman, Khartoum's ''Alintibaha'' newspaper deliberately misquoted

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

and said the Kenyan Defence Ministry had accused the SPLA of the second ambush. Following the second incident, the Standard reported that "Kenya and Southern Sudan security forces are conducting a joint security operation to crack down on suspected Toposa militia along the border". A May 2010 report said the fighting between Toposa and Turkana had claimed over 40 lives and about 4,000 livestock had been stolen. It also said that

George Echom George Echom Ekeno is a politician who was deputy governor of Eastern Equatoria state in South Sudan, and was later appointed state minister for Environment, Wildlife Conservation & Tourism. Shortly after being appointed Deputy Governor, in August ...

, Deputy Governor of Eastern Equatorial State, had claimed that Nadapal belonged to South Sudan.

Commerce

In February 2008 the South Sudanese government awarded a contract to upgrade the road between Nadapal and

Juba Juba () is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria State. It is the world's newest capital city to be elevated as such, and had a populatio ...

from gravel to international trunk road bitumen standard. The start of work was delayed due to security problems and the need to remove mines laid during the civil war. The road had assumed a vital role in supply of goods and services to Southern Sudan, forming part of the "Northern Corridor" linking the port of

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

through Kenya to Southern Sudan. In July 2008 the border crossing was closed after Kenyan police prevented truckers from bringing arms into their country. A dispute flared up, with troops from both sides arriving, and the border remained closed for two days as the dispute was sorted out. About 80 trucks from South Sudan were held up during the closure. The South Sudan government established an Immigration office at Nadapal to promote trade and boost security, and built 51 housing units for South Sudan Immigration Office, Public Health, Police and other government workers. The facilities were opened early in July 2011. That month, the South Sudan government imposed a ban on entry of

Somali people The Somalis ( so, Soomaalida 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒆𐒖, ar, صوماليون) are an ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic Somali language is the shared ...

to the country, forcing hundreds of traders and truck drivers to camp at the Nadapal border. After a two-week delay the government relaxed the rule, saying that Somalis of Kenyan origin could enter as long as they produced their national identity cards or passports. For security reasons, non-Kenyan Somalis were still rigidly excluded. This came at a time when growing numbers of Kenyans were seeking business opportunities in the newly independent South Sudan, making the border crossing increasingly busy.

References

{{reflist , refs= {{cite web , url=http://africanpress.wordpress.com/2009/10/24/kenya-never-ending-war-between-turkana-and-sudanese/ , title=Kenya: Never ending war between Turkana and Sudanese , work=African Press International , date=24 October 2009 , accessdate=22 July 2011 {{cite web , url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200910200037.html , title=Calm Restored on Sudan Border , work=Daily Nation , author=Barnabas Bii and Dominic Wabala , date=19 October 2009 , accessdate=22 July 2011 {{cite web , url = http://dagaal.com/2011/07/21/juba-grants-access-to-somalis/ , date = 21 July 2011 , title = Juba grants access to Somalis , work = Daily Nation , accessdate = 23 July 2011 , url-status = dead , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110724092101/http://dagaal.com/2011/07/21/juba-grants-access-to-somalis/ , archivedate = 24 July 2011 {{cite book , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DyHsGUBNOCgC&pg=PT1 , page=1ff , title=Kenya National Assembly Official Record (Hansard) , date=26 August 2009 {{cite web , url=http://www.newsudanvision.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2021:-kenya-southern-sudan-move-to-address-borders-killings&catid=2:diaspora&Itemid=8 , title=Kenya, Southern Sudan move to address border killings , work=The New Sudan Vision , date=15 February 2010 , accessdate=23 July 2011 {{cite web , url = http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/archives/mag/InsidePage.php?id=2000000285&cid=459& , title = Boundary dispute that’s an embarrassment to Kenya , work = The Standard , date = 5 January 2010 , author = Isaiah Lucheli , accessdate = 23 July 2011 {{dead link, date=February 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes {{cite web , url=http://unhcr-south-sudan.org/villages/Village%20Assessment/EES/Kapoeta%20East/Nadapal%2028.06.2009.pdf , title=Village Assessment for the Potential Return Area: Nadapal , publisher=UNHCR , date=28 June 2009 , accessdate=23 July 2011 Populated places in Turkana County