Many children are being forced to work as the state, which was badly affected by Sudan's 21 years of conflict, grapples with reconstruction challenges. The state is mainly inhabited by the Nuba (central highland tribes) and Baggara Arabs (the Hawazma and Misseriya).
A lack of development has also led to discontent. "Signs of insecurity are widespread in the western area where grievances about lack of access to services and employment and the blockage of pastoralist movement towards the South have led a number of Misseriya youth to resort to armed violence," Sara Pantuliano, research fellow at the Humanitarian Policy Group of the Overseas Development Institute, a London-based think-tank, told IRIN.
