| Western Equatoria | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — State — | |||
| Arrow Boys local defense force | |||
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| Location in South Sudan. | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | South Sudan | ||
| Region | Equatoria | ||
| No. of counties: | 10 | ||
| Capital | Yambio | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 79,319 km2 (30,625.2 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2008) | |||
| • Total | 619,029 | ||
| Time zone | EAT (UTC+3) | ||
Western Equatoria is one of the 10 states of South Sudan. It has an area of 79,319 km². Its capital is Yambio. The state is divided into counties, each headed by a County Commissioner. Western Equatoria seceded from Sudan as part of the Republic of South Sudan on 9 July 2011.
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In the 1880s, Western Equatoria was home to the Azande administration of King Gbudwe, which ruled much of the area at the time.
In the middle of twentieth century, after Sudan's independence in 1956, a number of southern Sudanese independence liberation movements, such as the Anyanya and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M), led by John Garang de Mabior, made their impact on the area, as they envisioned a New Sudan.
In 2005 a peace treaty was signed, but there is still some insurgent activity.
The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), under the command of Joseph Kony, moved its base from Uganda to the southern Sudan border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, and operates in the Western Equatoria region. Before the 2005 peace deal, the LRA had used Western Equatoria as a base for its operations against the Ugandan government of President Yoweri Museveni. But SPLA troop patrols in the region largely maintain control.
In 2009 local communities in Western Equatoria formed a self protection unit, the Arrow Boys, using traditional weapons such as bows, arrows and spears to combat the LRA.
There are a total of 10 counties in Western Equatoria:
The economy of Western Equatoria is largely agricultural, with high quality timber being one of its most important products.
Western Equatoria is home of the Azande people, the third largest nationality in South Sudan.[1]
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