A school bell rings out in Malakal.

It is the first time since 2013 that this particular bell, which signals the start of the South Sudan school certificate exams, has been heard here.

Limited or non-existent police presence in rural areas in South Sudan make it increasingly difficult to respond to critical security threats in these hard-to-access communities.

Following a series of consultations among residents of the Twic area in South Sudan’s northwestern Bahr El Ghazal region, it has been tentatively decided that Mayen-Abun will remain the capital.