A/HRC/40/CRP.1 Less than three months later, Ruweng and Eastern Upper Nile States were created as part of the 28 States Decree, largely matching the Padang’s proposal and putting almost all of South Sudan’s oil fields under their control.897 In December 2015, President Kiir appointed Chol Thon Balok, a Padang Dinka as Governor of Eastern Nile despite the fact that ARCSS had given the SPLM/A-IO the right to appoint the Upper Nile governorship.898 On 1 February 2016, an Administrative Order was issued in Malakal, which had been the capital of Upper Nile State, terminating the employment contracts of all government employees from the areas of what formed the new Western Nile and Latjor States.899 It indicated that government employees from the Eastern Nile State areas should remain in their positions of work and take over the positions occupied by those from Western Upper Nile and Latjor States. The order summarily terminated the employment of people on the basis of their place of origin and effectively terminated the employment of Shilluk and Nuer employees. The order was to have immediate effect. The 28 States Decree and the administrative order aggravated already high tensions in Malakal, particularly in the PoC site which hosted 48,000 IDPs from Dinka, Nuer, and Shilluk communities. These tensions boiled over in the PoC site between 16 and 18 February 2016, two weeks after the issuance of the decree. On 16 February, a breach in the fence of the PoC site was discovered in the sector 2 area of the PoC site (the Dinka area) and SPLA forces were observed on the outside of the breach. The same day, two SPLA soldiers were detained trying to smuggle weapons into the PoC site. Fighting broke out the following evening in sectors 1 and 2 of the PoC site predominantly between the Dinka and Shilluk and Dinka IDPs were seen streaming out of the PoC site, aided by SPLA soldiers. The incident resulted in 30 deaths and 123 injuries. 900 In January 2017, when Western and Upper Nile were reconfigured into Central and Northern Upper Nile and Fashoda States under the 32 States Decree, Panyinkang County, a Shilluk community, was severed from the Shilluk dominated Fashoda State and annexed onto the Dinka dominated Central Upper Nile State. This annexation was seen as an appeasement of the Shilluk community who claim Malakal in order to right some the perceived wrongs that were caused by the 28 States Decree and to secure the allegiance of Shilluk General Johnson Olony to Taban Deng Gai. However, both Shilluk and Dinka communities in Malakal reacted negatively to this annexation,901 and the issue ignited the next round of fighting in Upper Nile. By the end of January 2017, fighting broke out on the west bank near Malakal and in February, the SPLA launched a coordinated offensive to capture the Shilluk-populated Wau Shilluk and surrounding areas on the west bank of the White Nile, approximately 10 kilometers north of Malakal. The ensuing offensive and human rights violations were documented in detail in the Commission’s previous Report.902 b) Lol State The 28 States Decree divided Western Bahr el Ghazal into two states: Wau State in the east, with Wau town as its capital, and Lol State in the west, with Raga as its capital. Lol State included what had been Raga County in Western Bahr el Ghazal and also Aweil North and Aweil West Counties which had previously been part of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State. Raga, which makes up the vast majority of the territory of Lol State, is a sparsely populated area of predominantly Fertit people (approximately 54,000 inhabitants). Aweil North and 897 Ruweng state contains Blocks 1, (partially) 2 and 4; Eastern Nile state (created under the 28 States Decree) contains the largest oil fields from Blocks 3C and 7. These are currently the only operational oil blocks in the country. 898 Sudan Tribune, “South Sudan’s Kiir appoints governors of 28 new states”, 24 December 2015. 899 Republic of South Sudan Upper Nile State Administrative Order No (1) 2016, 1 February 2016, in ERN D103051-D103075. 900 Confidential Document, ERN D103051-D103075; Confidential Document, ERN D104115-D104151; Confidential Document ERN D103353-D103369. 901 Confidential Document, ERN D103955-D103957. 902 United Nations Human Rights Council, Report of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, A/HRC/37/71, 13 March 2018, section VIII(D); United Nations Human Rights Council, Conference Room Paper to Report of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, A/HRC/37/CRP.2, 23 February 2018, section VIII(D). 119