20th century The capital of the state,
Bor, became an administrative centre under the
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1899 -1956) for the
Dinka Bor. It was in Malek, a small settlement, about , south of Bor that the first modern
Christian mission in present-day South Sudan was established by
Archibald Shaw in December 1905. Bor became the first area to host a
Church Missionary Society station in 1905. Shaw opened the first primary school in Malek. This school produced the first indigenous
Anglican bishop to be consecrated in Dinka land, Daniel Deng Atong, the first person to be baptized in 1916 in Bor. In 1912, the British established
Pibor Post, a colonial era outpost which was originally called Fort Bruce in the eastern part of Jonglei State. From 1919 to 1976, the territory belonged to the state of the
Upper Nile region in what was initially
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. The state has a long history of unrest which affected other parts of Sudan. The
First Sudanese Civil War which lasted from 1955 until 1972 broke out with a Southern rebellion in
Torit in imatong state) against Northern armed officers. In 1983, the
Second Sudanese Civil War also broke out in
Bor. In the 1970s, the Investigation Team was established by the Sudanese government to investigate affairs and development potential in the region. In 1976, Jonglei was split off from the Upper Nile as a separate province. Construction of the
Jonglei Canal project, a 360 km long canal between Bor and where the
Sobat River joins the
White Nile began construction in 1978 but was halted in 1983-4 for political, financial and technical reasons.
21st century Jonglei State has long suffered from tribal infighting. Much of the conflict is over basic resources of food, land, and water, In November and December 2007, clashes between Murle and Dinke tribesmen had worsened to revenge attacks, killing over 34 people and injuring over 100. On one outbreak in late November 2007, eight Dinka tribesmen and 7,000 cattle were stole near the village of Padak, about 20 kilometres north-east of Bor. Many fled to the
Kakuma Camp in northwestern Kenya, and they amounted to some 85 percent of the total 3,000 or so refugees reaching the camp. A civilian disarmament operation targeting primarily the Nuer communities in 2005–06 resulted in a
major outbreak of violence against the authorities, who believed that the crackdown was politically motivated. In August 2007, some 80 people were killed in Murle–Lou Nuer clashes. In 2009 alone, some 86,000 people were displaced, and at least 1248 killed as a result of violent clashes. One attack at
Lilkwanglei in March 2009 claimed 450 lives, wounding 45 and displacing 5000 people. In January 2012 clashes between Murle and Nuer tribes again broke out over cattle. Outbreaks between Nuer and Murle people have been the most severe in
Nyirol and
Pibor counties but have also affected other counties. In May 2012, state governor,
Kuol Manyang Juuk stated that 3,651 people had been killed, 385 people wounded, 1,830 children abducted, and 3,983,613 cattle stolen. The UN estimated at the time that ongoing clashes had affected the lives of over 140,000 people. The
Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), international defence forces, and UN Peacekeepers are struggling to defuse the ongoing conflict and protect civilians against raids. The
Bor Peace Conference was signed on 6 May 2012 in Bor, and has since been trying to improve the situation in the region. Despite the peace agreement, attacks continued to follow. On 9 May 2012 two people were killed and one was injured in an attack by the Murle on 32 cows in Twic East. On 9 April 2013, five Indian UNMISS troops and seven civilian UN employees (two UN staff and five contractors) were killed in a rebel ambush in Jonglei while escorting a UN convoy between Pibor and Bor. Nine further UN employees, both military and civilian, were wounded and some remain missing. One of the dead soldiers was a lieutenant-colonel and one of the wounded was a captain. According to South Sudan's military spokesman, the convoy was attacked by Yau Yau's rebel forces that they believe are supported by the Sudanese government. UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon labelled the killings a
war crime, and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. Rebel group
South Sudan Democratic Movement/Army (SSDM/A) denied responsibility for the murders of the UN peacekeepers. ==Geography==