Showing posts with label Agok. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Agok. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 06, 2024

South Sudan: Origins of the Ngok-Twic conflict

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The above Feb 4 post at X by Eddie Thomas contains an informative thread.

From Small Arms Survey (as per link in above Feb 4 post at X by Lauren Blanchard @LaurenBinDC):

Origins of the Ngok–Twic conflict 

The Ngok and Twic Dinka are historically very close. Friction only emerged in 2017, when the Abyei Area Administration (AAA) began a land registry in Annet, a bustling market near Agok, in southern Abyei. The Twic Dinka denounced the land registry, which was subsequently halted. The putative reason for this discontent was that some Twic Dinka claimed that Agok and Annet are located within Twic county, Warrap state. The Ngok Dinka, however, consider the boundaries of Abyei to have been determined by a decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 2009, and Agok and Annet to be part of their territory. The Twic’s claim to these territories is very recent in origin and is not actually about long-standing territorial disagreements, but rather an attempt to control Annet and the humanitarian hub in Agok, where many international NGOs based themselves following SAF’s invasion of Abyei. 

Twic claims to southern Abyei are bound up in the mutual marginalization of the two communities. The Ngok Dinka feel forgotten by a South Sudanese government intent on forging a relationship with Khartoum. The Twic, too, feel marginalized; the removal of Bona Panek (the then Twic governor of Warrap) and his replacement by Aleu Ayieny Aleu saw the Twic lose influence in Kuajok and Juba (Craze, 2022). The Twic saw the weakness of Ngok Dinka as an opportunity. Agok’s status as a humanitarian hub and the tax base offered by Annet have provided a source of income for the AAA. Twic county has seen almost no economic development and, like the rest of South Sudan, has suffered from a government in Juba bent on the illegitimate acquisition of resources (Craze, 2023). Twic county is not alone: communities across the country have made exclusive claims to control of territory and resources in response to the exploitation of the country by politicians in Juba, and the withdrawal of the government from the provision of wages and services (Craze and Marko, 2022). 


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Sunday, February 04, 2024

Sudan & South Sudan: Peacekeepers and civilians killed, burning of houses & Abithouk Market in Abyei

GOD help the people of Sudan and South Sudan. Continuing intercommunal clashes in the disputed Abyei region between Sudan and South Sudan have left more than 50 people dead including two peacekeepers, the UN said on Monday. NRC's Will Carter says Abyei came under heavy attack today killing civilians, burning of houses and Abithouk Market. Read more below.

Related Reports (Update 1: Mon 5 Feb 2024 01:28 GMT added AP report)


From UN News

Dated Monday, 29 January 2024 - here is a copy in full:


Peacekeepers and civilians killed during clashes in disputed Abyei region

UNISFA A medical member of the UNISFA Pakistan Battalion provides treatment and medicines to the local community in Um Khae, Abyei (file)


Continuing intercommunal clashes in the disputed Abyei region between Sudan and South Sudan have left more than 50 people dead including two peacekeepers, the UN said on Monday. 


Armed youth from rival factions of the Dinka ethnic group have been battling over the location of an administrative boundary in the oil-rich region, claimed by both countries, according to media reports.


The UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) reported that clashes erupted on Saturday in the Nyinkuac, Majbong and Khadian areas, leading to casualties and the evacuation of civilians to its bases. 


Refuge from violence 


UNISFA is engaging with local authorities to verify the numbers of those killed, injured and displaced, noting that 52 civilians have lost their lives while 64 others are said to be gravely wounded. 


The Mission has allowed all persons in imminent threat of danger to seek refuge in some of its camps, in line with its mandate to protect civilians.


Peacekeepers under attack 


On Sunday, peacekeepers were transporting affected civilians from a UNISFA base to a hospital when they came under heavy fire. A peacekeeper from Pakistan was killed, and four uniformed personnel and a local civilian were injured.


The incident happened one day after the Mission repelled an attack on the UNISFA base in Agok during which a Ghanaian peacekeeper was killed, prompting it to call for “a swift and thorough investigation”. 


UNIFSA issued a statement on Monday strongly condemning the attacks against civilians and peacekeepers, stating that violence against “blue helmets” may constitute a war crime under international law.


Call for investigation


“The Mission is making every effort to restore calm, including proactively and robustly protecting civilians, and reiterates its call for a swift investigation so that perpetrators can be held accountable,” according to a statement.


UN Secretary-General António Guterres is deeply concerned about the violence that occurred in Abyei over the weekend, his spokesperson said in a statement later on Monday. 


“The Secretary-General condemns the violence and attacks against UNISFA and calls on the Governments of South Sudan and Sudan to swiftly investigate the attacks, with the assistance of UNISFA, and bring the perpetrators to justice,” it said.  


Mr. Guterres conveyed his deepest condolences to the Government and people of Ghana and Pakistan and to the families of the deceased civilians.


UN in Abyei 


UNISFA was established by the UN Security Council in June 2011 in response to renewed violence, escalating tensions and population displacement in the Abyei region, as southern Sudan was preparing to formally declare independence from Sudan the following month.


The weeks prior to the Council decision were marked by deadly clashes that forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes.


The war between rival military forces in Sudan has compounded the challenges in Abyei, according to senior UN officials who briefed the Council last November. 


They said the conflict has interrupted encouraging signs of dialogue between Sudan and South Sudan and talks over the disputed region have effectively been put on hold. 


View original: https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/01/1146007

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From AFP News via The Barron’s Daily

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Dated Sunday, 4 February 2024 - here is a copy in full:


Inter-Sudanese Clashes Leave 19 Dead Over Weekend


Nineteen people, one of them a humanitarian worker, were killed in ethnic clashes over the weekend in the Abyei region straddling the border between Sudan and South Sudan and claimed by both, local authorities said.


Violence between the two countries is common in the oil-rich territory, with 54 people killed last week alone, including two UN peacekeepers.


Another 64 people were injured in fighting last week between two tribes of the main ethnic Dinka  -- the Abyei-based Ngok and their Twic rivals from the neighbouring southern state of Warrap.


Both sides have sought to press their own claim since the South gained independence in 2011, whereupon the area was placed under UN protection.


"The attacks on civilians culminated in the loss of life, setting the market ablaze, property looting and raiding livestock," the Abyei Administrative Authority (AAA ) said.


The AAA said the fighting over the weekend "contravenes the presidential order that calls for a peaceful settlement of the communal conflict between Ngok Dinka and Twic of the Warrap State."


The Authority stated one person was killed and another three abducted on Saturday.


It said that on Sunday 18 people, including "four women and three children, as a well as a humanitarian aid worker from Doctors without Borders," were killed in another attack by Twic youths and armed militiamen.


The conflict between the tribes began in 2022 over land claims in an area located on the southern edge of Abyei and the state of Warrap.


In January, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir called for a ceasefire, months after at least 32 people were killed in November clashes between the two groups. 


str-sva/cw/gv The Barron's news department was not involved in the creation of the content above. This article was produced by AFP. For more information go to AFP.com. © Agence France-Presse


Source: https://www.barrons.com/news/inter-sudanese-clashes-leave-19-dead-over-weekend-2c5e69fd

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From Associated Press (AP)

By Deng Machol

Dated Monday, 5 February 2024, 12:43 am GMT - here is a copy in full:


37 people killed in disputed oil-rich African region of Abyei in fighting linked to spiritual leader


JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — Thirty-seven people were killed over the weekend in fighting apparently tied to a land feud in the disputed oil-rich region of Abyei, an official said Sunday. The bloodshed came a week after 52 people died in a land dispute in the same region.


Information Minister Bolis Koch in Abyei, which is claimed by South Sudan and Sudan, said the fighting erupted in Rum-Ameer, Alal and Mijak counties with an attack by armed youth from South Sudan's Warrap state who were backed by fighters loyal to spiritual leader Gai Machiek from the country's Unity state.


Koch said the fighting left 19 people dead and 18 injured Saturday and claimed the lives of 18 more people Sunday, including four women and three children. He said 1,000 head of cattle also were stolen.


“The Abyei Special Administrative Area strongly condemns the terrorist attacks, the heinous killings of innocent civilians, the burning of local markets and residential areas,” Koch said in a statement.


Ethnic violence has been common in the region, where Twic Dinka tribal members from Warrap are contesting for land with Ngok Dinka people in Abyei's Aneet area, located at the border.


Although land is seen as the major driver of the conflict, officials allege the armed Twic young people are being incited by Machiek, an ethnic Neur spiritual leader who has been accused of formenting conflict. He also was blamed for the attack a week ago that killed 53 people, including two U.N. peacekeepers.


Machiek has denied any wrongdoing in interviews with local media.


Sudan and South Sudan have disagreed over control of the Abyei region since a 2005 peace deal ended decades of civil war between Sudan’s north and south. Abyei's status was unresolved after South Sudan became independent from Sudan in 2011, though it is under control of South Sudan.


The region’s majority Ngok Dinka people favor South Sudan, while the Misseriya nomads who come to Abyei to find pasture for their cattle favor Sudan. An African Union panel proposed a referendum for Abyei but there was disagreement over who could vote.


View original: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/37-people-killed-disputed-oil-004350997.html

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From BBC News

By Ian Wafula
Africa security correspondent, BBC News, Nairobi

Dated Tuesday, 30 January 2024 14:32 - here is a copy in full:

Bodies of UN peacekeepers killed in Abyei flown home

 Reuters Copyright: Social media footage captured locals gathering 

at a UN peacekeeper camp following deadly attacks.


The bodies of two UN peacekeepers killed in the disputed region of Abyei along South Sudan's border with Sudan have been flown back home.


The Ghanaian and Pakistani peacekeepers from the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (Unisfa) were killed in separate incidents following recent intercommunal clashes, according to the UN.


On Saturday, 52 people were killed including the Ghanaian peacekeeper when armed youth launched attacks in different parts of Abyei. The UN said another 64 people were seriously wounded in the process.


Later on Sunday, a convoy transporting some of those injured in Saturday's attack was ambushed killing the Pakistani peacekeeper.


A ceremony attended by the leaders of the nine chiefdoms of Abyei was in held in honour of the two before their bodies were flown home.


Unisfa said it condemned the attacks on their peacekeepers and that this could constitute a war crime under international law. 


There have been continued clashes between local communities in Abyei over land and resources with fears that the ongoing war in Sudan could spill into the region.


A local resident told the BBC that there is tension following recent clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Babanusa, a town 260km (160 miles) north of Abyei.


He added that should either of the warring sides in Sudan advance to Abyei, they might clash with the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces personnel who have set camp in parts of the region.


Both Sudan and South Sudan have claimed the oil-rich Abyei but agreed on temporary administrative arrangements in a 2011 deal.


However, the two sides have been accused by human rights activists of going against the agreement.


Abyei currently remains under the protection of UN peacekeeping troops.


Click here to view original. 


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Monday, November 27, 2023

S. Sudan: Abyeins demand SSPDF & SAF withdrawal

Report at Radio Tamazuj, Abyei 
Dated, Monday 27 November 2023 - here is a copy in full:

Abyei citizens protest insecurity, demand SSPDF and SAF withdrawal

The Abyei Civil Society Organization (ACSO) is calling for the withdrawal of the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) from the disputed Abyei region.


In a position paper shared with Radio Tamazuj on Saturday, the people of the Abyei Special Administrative Area protested against what they perceive as the “explicit failure of UNISFA in protecting Ngok Dinka.”


The ACSO Secretary for Information highlighted concerns about the presence of SSPDF in certain areas in Abyei and SAF in Diffra. 


They argue that these deployments compromise UNISFA’s mandate to protect civilians and represent a violation of the agreement adopted by the United Nations Security Council in resolutions No. 1990 (2011).


“We, the Ngok Dinka, demand the immediate withdrawal of the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) from Abyei. Our statement reflects the collective sentiment of the community, as we have mobilized from all villages and areas of Abyei to express our deep dissatisfaction and frustration with the repeated failure of UNISFA to protect the lives of innocent civilians,” the statement declares.


“The ongoing series of deadly attacks on Ngok Dinka villages have resulted in the death and injury of hundreds of civilians, predominantly women and children. The recent attacks on the villages of Ayuok, Athony, Malual Aleu, Ka-dhian, Nyiel, Angot Wuncuei, and Wunpeeth have left more than 47 people dead and 34 people wounded,” the letter details.


Miyen Ayuong Ajuong, the spokesperson for Abyei Civil Society, told Radio Tamazuj on Sunday that the presence of the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) in Agok town and other areas south of the River Kiir constitutes a violation. Ajuong asserted that the SSPDF, along with the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in Abyei, should be withdrawn.


“This stance is not solely that of ACSO but reflects the sentiment of the entire Ngok Dinka population in Abyei. We are discontent and unwilling to accept the situation affecting innocent civilians in Abyei. 


Civilians are being attacked and killed, especially with the SSPDF spreading in the south of River Kiir. Their involvement in certain attacks, facilitated by Twic armed youth and other militia forces, is a cause for concern. The SSPDF should function as a national army protecting all inhabitants of South Sudan,” he emphasized.


He further criticized the current UNISFA commander, asserting that Major General Benjamin Olufemi Sawyerr is ineffective in leading UNISFA. According to him, the mission commander has failed in his responsibilities.


He stated, “The 20 June 2011 agreement stipulated that Abyei should remain a weapons-free zone under regional protection, such as that provided by UNISFA. However, Major General Sawyerr is unable to effectively lead UNISFA. Therefore, the Nigerian and Ghanaian peacekeepers must be replaced by other forces capable of ensuring civilian protection.”


Meanwhile, Bulis Koch, Abyei’s Minister of Information, acknowledged the existence of the protest letter. He clarified, “Abyei’s people, through civil society organizations, have expressed their protest in a peaceful manner. The government is not involved in the protest. Civil society has the right to voice their frustrations, and we do not condone any harm or aggression towards foreign personnel.”


Sudan and South Sudan are still disputing the oil-rich Abyei area. The two countries have yet to agree on the border mapping since South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011.


The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) was deployed in June 2011 to protect civilians under the imminent threat of physical violence.


View original: https://radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/abyei-citizens-protest-insecurity-demand-sspdf-and-saf-withdrawal


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