A/HRC/43/56 C. Unity State 10. In furtherance of a pattern previously documented by the Commission, credible information was received that boys remain within the ranks of the Taban Deng-allied SSPDF in Unity State.111 The Commission further received information that a 17-year-old boy, recruited by the SPLA-IO (RM) when he was 13, was seen in September 2019 together with SPLA-IO (RM) soldiers at the market in Adok, Leer County. 112 The Taban Deng-allied SSPDF is listed in the annex of the latest Secretary-General report on children and armed conflict as persistent perpetrators of grave violations against children, including recruitment and use.113 11. In April 2019, approximately 500 South Sudanese civilians, most of them women and children alongside approximately 50 men, travelled from Khartoum (Sudan) to Rubkona town,114 following an offer by National Patriotic Alliance Forces (NPAF) 115 of free transportation believed to have been paid by the First Vice President Taban Deng. 116 Upon arriving in Rubkona town, they were transported to the joint barracks of the then SPLA-IO (TD) and the NPAF117 in Tong, Rubkona County.118 In Tong, young men were separated from their families for recruitment by NPAF.119 Approximately 17 men who refused to be recruited were detained,120 among them between three and four minors.121 By July-August 2019, most detainees had either escaped or were released.122 12. At the end of November 2019, the National Patriotic Alliance Forces forcefully recruited a 14-year-old boy outside of the Bentiu POC site,123 who was able to escape some five weeks later.124 Facilities for new recruits between 2018 and 2019 are mapped in annex I, map 4. II. Localized conflict(s) – emblematic incidents 13. While the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) addressed the conflict at a national level, less attention has been focused on addressing localized conflict(s). Legacies of conflict and inter-communal violence which have played out between and within ethnic groups 125 have long roots, but these conflicts have been exacerbated by new actors, new competitions over resources and the mismanagement and abuse of transhumance. A failure to properly understand the 111 In September and October 2018. See, e.g., ERN 101626 - 101631, para. 13; ERN 101638 101642, para. 10; Confidential Meeting, 21 September 2018. 112 ERN 103279 - 103284, paras. 3-4. 113 Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict, UN Security Council, A/73/907– S/2019/509, 20 June 2019, at Annex I, p. 40. 114 ERN 103101 - 103104, para. 6, ERN 103097 - 103100, para 8, ERN 103064 - 103068, paras. 4 and 9. 115 The NPAF are based in Tong (Unity) in the same barracks as SSPDF (former SPLA-IO (TD)). They are aligned to SSPDF though not yet integrated. 116 ERN 103101 - 103104, para. 8, ERN 103097 - 103100, para. 8. 117 Following the dismissal of General Robert Ruai Kuol Jal from the position as SPLA-IO Military Governor for Liech (Unity) State by SPLM/ SPLA-IO Chairman Rick Machar end of 2017, the General founded the NPAF (ERN 103101 - 103104, para. 5; and ERN 103097 - 103100, para. 7). His forces settled in Tong in November 2018 and aligned with the then SPLA-IO (TD) Forces (ERN 103101 - 103104 para. 5: ERN 103097 - 103100 para. 7; Investigator’s Report). 118 ERN 103101 - 103104, para. 9: ERN 103097 - 103100, paras. 8 and 10: ERN 103064 - 103068. 119 ERN 103064 - 103068, paras. 7 and 9. 120 ERN 103101 - 103104, para. 10; ERN 103064 - 103068, para. 9. 121 ERN 103101 - 103104, para. 10; ERN 103064 - 103068, para. 9. 122 ERN 103097 - 103100, para. 10; ERN 103064 - 103068, para 13. 123 ERN 103310 - 103310, para. 22. 124 ERN 103310 - 103310, para. 25. 125 Acknowledging that some of the deadliest attacks perpetrated this year were among Dinka subclans. 28