
Lakes State is a
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* '' Our ...
in
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 ...
. It has an area of 43,595.08 km
2.
Rumbek
Rumbek ( ar, رمبك) is the capital of Lakes State, central South Sudan, and the former capital of the country.
Location
Rumbek is approximately by road northwest of Juba, the capital and largest city in the country. Its coordinates are a ...
is the capital of the state. Lakes is in the
Bahr el Ghazal region of South Sudan, in addition to
Northern Bahr el Ghazal
Northern Bahr el Ghazal is a state in South Sudan. It has an area of 30,543 km² and is part of the Bahr el Ghazal region. It borders East Darfur in Sudan to the north, Western Bahr el Ghazal to the west and south, and Warrap and the ...
,
Western Bahr el Ghazal, and
Warrap states. Bahr el Ghazal itself was a former province which was split from the Anglo-Egyptian ''
mudiriyat'', or
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
of
Equatoria in 1948. The eastern border was the
White Nile with
Jonglei State on the opposite bank. To the northeast lied the
Unity State. Other borders included
Warrap State towards the northwest,
Western Equatoria
Western Equatoria is a state in South Sudan. It has an area of . Its capital is Yambio. The state was divided into counties, each headed by a County Commissioner. Western Equatoria seceded from Sudan as part of the Republic of South Sudan ...
to the south and west, and
Central Equatoria to the south.
In July 2011,
Ramciel in Lakes state was under consideration by the federal government as a site for a new national capital, which would replace
Juba.
Administration
Like all states in South Sudan, Lakes was divided into counties; there were eight counties, each headed by a County Commissioner.
The counties are further divided into ''Payams'', then ''Bomas''.
Disestablishment and re-establishment
Lakes State was disestablished in October 2015 due to South Sudan's President
Salva Kiir Mayardit issuing a decree establishing 28 states in place of the 10 previously established states. As a result, the states of
Eastern Lakes,
Gok and
Western Lakes were created. Lakes state was re-established by a peace agreement signed on 22 February 2020.
Conflict
Cattle raids were persistent in the Lakes State, between the Republic of Sudan and the former rebel group SPLA/M, since the CPA was signed in 2005. Human rights journalist Manyang Mayom reported heavily on government oppression in the Lakes State; his work won him the Human Rights Watch Award on August 4, 2010. Mayom was expelled from the Warrap State in November 2021 for his work in that region with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lakes (State)
States of South Sudan
Bahr el Ghazal