South Sudan: Disarmament jitters in South Sudan’s Jonglei state

South Sudan’s plan to start collecting some 20,000 weapons from civilians in Jonglei state in March, by force if necessary, is likely to worsen the volatile security situation there and complicate efforts to deliver essential humanitarian aid, the UN and several analysts have warned. 'Disarmament efforts could contribute to increasing tensions in an already tense environment,' the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a 23 February bulletin. 'Jonglei’s rival communities are wary of relinquishing their weapons, regardless of government promises to carry out disarmament simultaneously in each area,' it added.