Oct. 3-5 - At least 23 people killed, 21 injured in cattle raids between Mundari and Dinka Bor in two Central Equatoria State villages near Juba

Dinka and Mundari tribesmen clashed throughout the weekend in two Central Equatoria State villages near the southern capital of Juba, Hussein Mar.  At least 23 people were killed,  including six civilians and four soldiers, 21 injured and more than a thousand fled their homes.

More than 2,000 people have died and 250,000 been displaced in inter-tribal violence across the south since January, according to the United Nations, with the rate of violent deaths now exceeding that of war-torn Darfur in west Sudan.

The remote and marshy Jonglei state, where French oil giant Total (TOTF.PA) holds a massive, mainly unexplored concession, has been particularly hard hit by cattle raiding and related killings that have fractured communities along ethnic lines.

Source:  Report from Cairo, Egypt (AFP) ‎Oct 3, 2009
South Sudan tribal clashes leave 23 dead

At least 23 people were killed and more than a thousand fled their homes in ethnic clashes in volatile south Sudan over the weekend, a Sudanese official said on Monday.

Dinka and Mundari tribesmen clashed throughout the weekend in two Central Equatoria State villages near the southern capital of Juba, Hussein Mar, deputy governor of neighbouring Jonglei state, told AFP.

"The violence killed at least 23 people, including six civilians and four soldiers," he said, adding that 1,700 had been displaced in the fighting.

Parts of the Christian and animist south have been rocked by ethnic violence over the past year.

More than 2,000 people have died and 250,000 been displaced in inter-tribal violence across the south since January, according to the United Nations, with the rate of violent deaths now exceeding that of war-torn Darfur in west Sudan.

Clashes between rival ethnic groups in southern Sudan erupt frequently -- often sparked by cattle rustling and disputes over natural resources, while others are in retaliation for previous attacks.

However, a wave of recent raids has shocked many, with an apparent sharp rise in attacks on women and children and the targeting of homesteads.

Sixteen people were killed on Saturday in clashes between forces loyal to an ex-warlord and the governor's guards in oil-rich Unity State.

Last month, more than 100 people were killed in several days of clashes in the troubled Jonglei state.

Southern officials have accused Khartoum of arming some ethnic groups, an accusation Sudan's government denies.

North-south tensions remain high, with the country still divided by the religious, ethnic and ideological differences that fuelled a 22-year civil war which ended in a 2005 peace deal.

Under that deal, the south has a six-year transitional period of regional autonomy and takes part in a unity government until a 2011 referendum on self-determination.

- - -

TIMELINE-Violence spirals in south Sudan

Oct 5, 2009 (Reuters) - South Sudan's president has blamed the military in the north for an escalation in violence in his semi-autonomous region emerging from decades of civil war, a southern official said on Monday.

More than 1,200 people have been killed by ethnic fighting this year, fuelled by a huge supply of weapons left over from over two decades of north-south war that ended with a 2005 peace deal, now faltering. Khartoum denies any involvement in the escalation in violence.

The north armed proxy militias in south Sudan during the war to intensify divisions.

The remote and marshy Jonglei state, where French oil giant Total (TOTF.PA) holds a massive, mainly unexplored concession, has been particularly hard hit by cattle raiding and related killings that have fractured communities along ethnic lines.

Here are details of some of the worst fighting:

MARCH 5-13 - At least 453 people, mainly women and children, are killed in attacks by the Lou Nuer tribe on at least 17 villages of the rival Murle ethnic group in Jonglei. The Lou Nuer say the incidents were retaliation for large-scale cattle raiding and attacks on Lou Nuer villages in January.

APRIL 18-19 - At least 177 people are killed in attacks on 16 villages of the Lou Nuer tribe by Murle fighters. Women and children are targeted in what are widely seen as revenge attacks for the March violence.

JUNE 12 - Jikany Nuer, like the Lou a sub-group of the large Nuer tribe, attack barges carrying U.N. food aid on the Sobat River to Lou Nuer areas in Jonglei. At least 40 southern soldiers and boat crew are killed.

AUG. 2 - Murle attack a Lou Nuer fishing settlement near Akobo town in Jonglei State, killing 185 people. Southern soldiers guarding the camp are also killed.

AUG. 28 - Around 800 Lou Nuer attack Wernyol, a Dinka Bor village in Jonglei State, killing 38 and wounding 76. The south's army said this was the work of a Lou Nuer militia, adding that a Murle militia also exists.

SEPT. 20 - A large group of fighters from the Lou Nuer ethnic group attack Duk Padiet village, inhabited by the Dinka Hol tribe, in Jonglei. More than 100 people are killed.

OCT. 3-5 - At least 23 people are killed and 21 injured in tit-for-tat cattle raids between the Mundari and Dinka Bor tribes, the deputy governor of Jonglei state says.

Mundari – Bor clashes kill scores, enter third day

Sudan Tribune - ‎5 October 2009:

October 4, 2009 (MAGALA, Central Equatoria) — Initial casualties of Mundari and Dinka Bor fierce clashes left scores of people dead on both sides and ...

Lou Nuer say armed civilians, not militia, attacked Dinka Duk in Jonglei, South Sudan

Report by Sudan Tribune, Saturday 26 September 2009:
Lou Nuer say no organized militia behind Jonglei’s attack

September 25, 2009 (JUBA) — The Lou Nuer Youth today denied that recent attack on Dinka Duk in Jonglei state had been carried out by organized militia saying armed civilians were behind it. They also accused the southern Sudan army of taking Dink’s side

Armed men from the Lou Nuer attacked the positions of southern Sudan army and police in the locality killing a significant number of regular troops in addition to the civilians. The attack has left over 160 people dead and more than 80 wounded according to the latest figure released by authorities in Juba on Friday.

Southern Sudan officials were alarmed by the escalation of violence in Jonglei. Following a visit to the affected area on Monday, the southern Sudan interior minister, Jonglei governor and UN coordinator for the semi-autonomous region agreed they attack had been directed to the government forces and institutions. They all also spoke about a structured and heavily armed militia.

In a strong statement released in Juba on Friday the Lou Nuer Youth Association (LNYA) which advocates the cause of the tribe, said the attack on Duk Padiet last Sunday had been carried by "ordinary civilians" in retaliation to previous attacks they suffered.

The tribal group condemned statements by southern Sudan officials who described the attackers as militia saying "the Greater Akobo is in full control of the SPLA forces and if there are militias in the area we believe their first attack would have been on the SPLA forces at Renk the way to Malakal."

They also said they had been preaching for southern Sudan unity and peaceful coexistence but warned they would now take the side of their tribe accusing the southern Sudan officials of favoring the Dinka ethnic group.

"This time we are going to write differently because the Jonglei State Government (JSG) and the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) have taken side with the Dinka Bor, and we also have right to take side with our community in whatever cost. "

The Lou Nuer association also said opposed to a probable decision to disarm them first in a disarmament campaign that the government plans to implement in the restive state of Jonglei.

"The LNYA would like to make it clear to the JSG and the GoSS under the 1st Lt. General Salva Kiir Mayardiit that if the Lou-Nuer is going to be disarmed first as we have heard then please expect a full resistance from our civilians."

The Lou Nuer had been attacked in the past by their neighbors in the past following after their disarmament in 2006. They accused Juba of retrieving their arms while Dinka and Murle tribes kept their weapons at hand.

The two latest attacks by Lou Nuer on Dinka ethnic group in Twic East and Duk Padiet pushed some southern Sudan officials to point blaming finger to their peace partner, National Congress Party and also speak about the emergence of organized militias supported by Khartoum.

On the other hand, there are people, particularly from Nuer ethnic group who say the causes of the surge of violence are local and can be explained by the control of land, water and pasturages as well as cattle. They also stress that the Lou Nuer attacks on Twic and Duk are retaliatory.

On Sunday’s attack on Duk County they say it was to revenge an attack on Lou Nuer around Poktap in January 2009 that had been carried out by armed men hailing from Holl and Nyarweng. They accuse the local authorities of mistreating them and speak about looting and killing of their people by the regular forces in the area.

To explain their attack on Twic East, another Dinka locality in Jonglei, where over 40 people were killed on August 28, they accuse the Twic of looting their cows after their disarmament in January 2006.

Lou Nuer Counties of Ayod, Uror and Nyirol signed a peace accord with Dinka of Greater Bor Counties of Duk and Twic East on May 14, 2009 at John Garang Institute of Science and Technology in Bor Town.

Village chiefs who attended the peace conference are also accused of catalyzing violence. Paramount chiefs complained during peace negotiation that Government failed to arrest chiefs who encourage conflicts.

May’s deal is the fourth signed between Lou Nuer and Jieng Bor (Dinka Bor) since the 1991 split which set Jonglei’s major tribes against each other. The other three dishonoured agreements already were made in 1994, 2004 and 2007 in Poktap, Duk County Headquarters.

Click into original report to view 50+ comments.

S. Sudan: 8th Aug another Twic East County raid, 7 killed

From Sudan Radio Service, Monday 10 August 2009:
Seven Killed in Twic East County Raid

(Bor) – Following an attack on Nyuak payam by raiders from Uror county two weeks ago, bandits have again attacked Lith payam, Twic East county. Seven people were killed and 30 cows were stolen in the raid, which took place on Saturday.

Chol Majok Chol is the SPLM Twic East county secretary who was sent by the state government to asses the situation. He talked to our correspondent Mayom Biar in Bor.

[Chol Majok]: “They attacked one of the cattle camps called Kiir in Lith Payam, Twic East county on 8th August on Saturday night, at 11pm. They attacked the kraal, shooting at animals and people. They killed about 6 people, leaving 5 others injured. Yesterday (Sunday) in the morning, the number again increased because there was more fighting in the eastern part of the county when the youths ran after the cattle. They managed to rescue some of the cattle while one of the youth was killed. The real suspects are people from Uror county because people could hear the language they were speaking.”

Speaking from Bor, our reporter Mayom Biar sent this report on the background to the latest raid.

[Mayom Biar]: “This is the third incident that has occurred in Twic East and Duk county after the signing of the agreement in May this year. Not only the lost of life but the loss of more than 68 cattle will be a big blow to the cattle keepers because this year there is great hunger in the state; people are not cultivating well like last year because many people rely on the cattle for survival. So people will face a lot of hunger this year, according to observers. The Twic East community is calling on the government of the state to provide better security to the people so that they can stay with no fear as the elections approach next year.”

Click on Twic County label here below for related reports and updates.

S. Sudan: 2nd Aug massacre by Murle in Akobo, Jonglei

Horrors of South Sudan massacre
By Peter Martell, Monday, 10 August 2009
BBC News, Akobo

Photo: A girl shows spear cuts and gunshot wounds from the attack

First the gunmen surrounded the fishing camp in the hour of darkness before dawn.

Next they opened fire, then moved in with spears to finish off the wounded.

"They shot me in the arm and I fell, but as I was getting up they put a spear in my back," said Nyakong Gatwech, a 20-year-old pregnant mother.

"They thought that I was dead so they left me."

The attack on 2 August was carried out by fighters from the Murle ethnic group in the remote region of Jongeli state.

It was one of the worst single outbreaks of violence in South Sudan since the end of the civil war four years ago. Officials say at least 185 people died, mainly women and children.

These kind of attacks are becoming increasingly common in the troubled south, a region still recovering from decades of war with the north. It is one of Africa's longest conflicts.

'Clear massacre'

The few wounded survivors of the attack recounted their experiences as they recovered in a basic hospital in the town of Akobo.

"They shot me in the leg, but I made it to the river and I hid until they had all gone," said 10-year-old Dobol Jok.

His father sat by his bedside and watched in silence. Dobol's younger brother was speared to death.

"It was a clear massacre," said Akobo Commissioner Goi Jooyul Yol, who visited the site of the attack.

"We saw children and women lying floating in the river," he added. "I am wondering why people would do this to innocent children."

It is a situation that is causing deep concern.

Fighting is common in the region, often over cattle or land, but an upsurge in violence has left many in shock.

Even the unit of soldiers sent to guard the group as they fished could not provide protection - 11 were killed in the attack.

Many of those targeted had fled to Akobo in April after earlier clashes, but had returned in search of food.

Akobo has been accessible only by air for months, with its roads closed by heavy rain and its river route blocked by hostile neighbours upstream.

The last river convoy of 700 tonnes of UN food aid was stolen or sunk by gunmen in June. The military convoy was killed.



Photo: A village elder recovers from a gunshot blast to the groin

"We needed to fish because we have no food," said Nyakong Gatwech. "The soldiers were sent to protect us."

The United Nations say that more have died in the south in recent months from violence than in the war-torn western region of Darfur.

Many in the south blame former civil war enemies in the north for encouraging the attacks.

"There are definitely indications of the hand of the north," said Commissioner Yol.

He said cattle herders had reported sighting "unknown aircraft" landing on unmarked airstrips in the remote region and offloading cargo. But they could not provide further details.

There are fears the north wants to destabilise the oil-rich south ahead of a 2011 independence referendum, which many believe will see Africa's biggest nation split in two.

Distrust remains high between the two sides, still divided by the religious, ethnic and ideological differences over which the civil war was fought.

Officials have vowed to open the river route, increase supplies and to beef up security.

But the youth of Akobo are itching for revenge.

"We cannot sit back and let our enemies knock us down," said James Gatwech, a young man in a market empty of basic supplies. "If they kill us, we will kill them."

- - - -

Video report from Al Jazeera, 07 August 2009

The UN says survivors of a Sudanese massacre in which 185 people were killed are desperately short of food.   Al Jazeera's Tarek Bazley reports on the violence near Akobo in southern Sudan, 07 August 2009:



Click on Jonglei label here below for related reports and updates.

Jonglei, S. Sudan: Mostly Lou-Nuer women and children killed in Akobo massacre by group of Murle from the east

Survivors of south Sudan massacre short of food-UN
Thu Aug 6, 2009 10:53am EDT
By Andrew Heavens

KHARTOUM, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Survivors of a tribal massacre that killed 185 people in southern Sudan are desperately short of food, a senior U.N. officer said on Thursday.

Mostly women and children were killed in the raid by heavily armed members of the Murle tribe on a fishing camp in Sudan's swampy Jonglei state on Sunday, in what is thought to be a revenge attack for earlier fighting.

The killings, near the town of Akobo, were the latest in a string of ethnic clashes in Sudan's oil-producing south, many of them attacks and counter attacks provoked by cattle rustling.

Traditional disputes have been exacerbated by a ready supply of arms left over from more than two decades of a north-south civil war that ended in a fragile 2005 peace accord.

The head of the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) in the south, who has just returned from the Akobo area, said she saw piles of bodies and signs of food shortages.

"I saw dozens and dozens of dead bodies. The stench and the vultures gave us a clue to the magnitude," Michelle Iseminger said in a statement. "Clearly women and children were the majority of victims.

"People said that a group of Murle from the east attacked them and pushed them into the river, and, using machine guns, spears and other arms, continued killing them," Iseminger said.

Jonglei officials said most of the victims were from the Lou Nuer group, locked in a tribal war with the Murle that has already claimed more than 700 lives this year.

They estimated 185 people, including a small unit of southern soldiers protecting the camp, were killed in the raid which was later condemned by the U.N. Security Council.

Iseminger said dried fish was the only food she could see for sale in Akobo markets and that some 350 children, suffering from earlier food shortages, were being treated for severe malnutrition in the town's hospital.

"Food assistance is the number one humanitarian need in Akobo, besides protection," said Iseminger.

Emergency food supplies in the area started running low after members of the Jikany Nuer tribe, who have also been fighting the Lou Nuer, attacked a convoy of barges carrying U.N. aid long the Sobat river, close to the border with Ethiopia, towards Akobo in June.

Since then, the United Nations has had to use aircraft and helicopters to fly in smaller loads of food at greater expense.

The 2005 peace accord that ended Sudan's civil war promised national elections, due in April next year, and a referendum on southern secession in 2011. But many in the south are frustrated by the continuing lack of development and economic stagnation. (Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Bring all Jonglei attackers to justice

Sudan Tribune - Zechariah Manyok Biar - ‎13 hours ago‎

August 5, 2009 — On July 29, 2009 armed youth from Uror County of Jonglei State attacked Twich East County of the same State, ...

UNSC deplores deadly attacks in Sudan

Hindu - ‎Aug 5, 2009‎

The killings took place on Sunday in Akobo in Jonglei state and the victims reportedly include more than 100 women and children. At least 60 people from the ...

Tribal clashes death toll reaches 185 in Akobo County

ReliefWeb (press release) - ‎Aug 5, 2009‎

The Deputy Governor of Jonglei State, Hussein Mar Nyot, confirmed on Monday that State authorities have deployed reinforcements from the Sudan People's ...

Akobo County appeals for immediate humanitarian aid

ReliefWeb (press release) - ‎Aug 5, 2009‎

Roads leading to Akobo County in Jonglei State have been blocked following the recent tribal clashes in the area. Commissioner of Akobo, Goi Jooyul Yol, ...

Analysis: Hurdles on the road to Sudan peace

IRINnews.org - ‎Aug 5, 2009‎

Southern leaders have started to blame the north over related inter-communal clashes in Jonglei State, between the Murle and the Lou sub-section of the Nuer ...

Click on Jonglei label here below for related reports and updates.

Jonglei, S. Sudan: Khartoum 'arming Sudan militias'

Quote of the Day
"There must be a force somewhere, a force that keeps arming these militias, a force that keeps sending ammunition to the militias.  There is not another force in this way that can keep arming and sending ammunition to the local population apart from the Sudanese army" - SPLA's Maj-Gen Kuol Deim Kuol, 04 August 2009.

From BBC News at 18:03 GMT, Tuesday, 04 August 2009 19:03 UK:
Khartoum 'arming Sudan militias'

A general in South Sudan's army has told the BBC the government in the north is arming militias accused of being behind recent ethnic violence.

Maj-Gen Kuol Deim Kuol said his SPLA army was trying to disarm the local population but was being hampered by the continuing supply of weapons.

At least 185 Lou Nuer people were killed in Jonglei state when reportedly attacked by Murle fighters on Sunday.

Several hundred people have died in such clashes this year.

The UN says this is more than in Sudan's Darfur conflict.

Violence over land and cattle in South Sudan is exacerbated by a ready supply of firearms following the 22-year civil war with the north, which ended in 2005.

"There must be a force somewhere, a force that keeps arming these militias, a force that keeps sending ammunition to the militias," Maj-Gen Kuol told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

"There is not another force in this way that can keep arming and sending ammunition to the local population apart from the Sudanese army and the [northern governing] National Congress Party," he said.

Northerner officials have previously denied similar accusations, claiming southern politicians want to shift the blame for their failure to establish peace and restore security since the end of the war.

Officials in Jonglei said members of the Lou Nuer community had gone fishing south of Akobo town amid a severe food shortage when they were attacked.

Eleven SPLA soldiers, who were guarding their camp, were among those killed.

An aid worker who has worked in the area told the BBC's World Today programme that the clashes in Jonglei have escalated.

"Many people have been displaced into Akobo town, some have gone south into Pibor - everyone is worried because this hasn't happened on this scale before," she said.

"Since 2005 there have been some disarmaments but there are still very many people in South Sudan in these two tribes who are still armed," she added.

Analysts say the violence comes at a critical time for Sudan, as tensions grow in the north-south unity government.

Elections are due in April 2010, the first chance to vote for many in decades.

After that, a 2011 independence referendum is due for the south, which many believe will see Africa's biggest nation split fully in two.

Could clashes herald new conflict?

Further reading

See Sudan Radio Service's report at  Sudan Watch, Tuesday, August 04, 2009 - S. Sudan: SPLA accuses Sudanese army of involvement in Akobo, Jonglei clashes.

Report from Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi) via AllAfrica, 04 August 2009:
Sudan: 185 Killed in Ethnic Clashes, Catholic Radio Says

Juba — At least 185 people have been killed and another 31 wounded in inter-ethnic violence in South Sudan.

Catholic Radio Bakhita FM confirmed to CISA that thousands of other people have been displaced in Jonglei State following an attack on Mareng Village near Akobo County by alleged Murle tribesmen on Sunday.

The number of casualties was confirmed to Bakhita FM by Goi Jooyul Yol, Akobo's County Commissioner, who spoke to the radio station by telephone from Malakal.

Jooyul said that the Sunday attacks were the latest round of fighting between the Murle and Lou Nuer communities which started in March. There is a big food crisis in Akobo because many people have been displaced and the insecurity disrupted agricultural activities, the County Commissioner said.

"The first attacks of March displaced some 50, 000 people. Because of hunger around Akobo, there are a lot of people moving to town. They are in thousands. It is becoming worse because there is no rain and people could not cultivate because of insecurity around their home", Jooyul explained.

It is believed that the March clashes between Murle and Lou Nuer claimed over 1,000 lives.

Jooyul spoke from Malakal where he had gone to discuss the opening of the Sobat River corridor with the governor of Upper Nile State and the Commissioner of Nasser County.

The river was closed in June when the Jikany Nuer attacked a UN barge convoy bringing food to Akobo. Some 100 people, mostly SPLA soldiers escorting the flotilla, were killed in the raid.

During the rainy season, River Sobat is the only way to access Akobo. The World Food Program has been flying food to Akobo County, but it is too expensive and not enough to meet the needs of the displaced persons.

Jooyul said the alternative is to buy food from Ethiopia but there is no road in Akobo linking the two countries.

Click here for Jonglei State Map at ReliefWeb.

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Sudan: 185 Killed in Ethnic Clashes, Catholic Radio Says

AllAfrica.com - ‎1 hour ago‎

Catholic Radio Bakhita FM confirmed to CISA that thousands of other people have been displaced in JongleiState following an attack on Mareng Village near ...

BigPond News

UN urges action over south Sudan clashes

BigPond News - ‎3 hours ago‎

'The Secretary-General notes with extreme concern the August 2 attack in Akobo, Jongleistate, southern Sudan, and condemns the reported killing of 161 ...

Ban extremely concerned over deadly Sudan attack

SmartBrief - ‎4 hours ago‎

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned an attack that killed more than 160 people, mostly women and children, in southern Sudan. ...

Khartoum 'arming Sudan militias'

BBC Afrique - ‎11 hours ago‎

At least 185 Lou Nuer people were killed in Jonglei state when reportedly attacked by Murle fighters on Sunday. Several hundred people have died in such ...

Scores dead in South Sudan clash

AngolaPress - ‎12 hours ago‎

Their camp is some 25 miles (40km) south-west of Akobo town, in Jonglei state. Akobo commissioner Goi Jooyul Yol said that 185 bodies had been counted, ...

Afrik.com

South Sudan: Distrust and violence ahead of vital polls

Afrik.com - Konye Obaji - ‎13 hours ago‎

Tribal war has continued to widen the divide between North and South, as well as tribes of South Sudan, buttressing the necessity for division, ...

UN - Daily Press Briefing (3 August 2009) - Sudan, Darfur, Niger ...

ISRIA - ‎14 hours ago‎

The Secretary-General notes with extreme concern, the 2 August attack in Akobo, Jonglei State, Southern Sudan, and condemns the reported killing of 161 ...

'Families wiped out' in southern Sudan raid

Toronto Star - Sarah El Deeb - ‎14 hours ago‎

The camping area overlooks the Geni River, near the Ethiopian border, in Jonglei state. Yol, who gave the death toll, blamed the attack on the rival Murle ...

Over 180 killed in tribal violence in southern Sudan

Xinhua - Wang Guanqun - ‎15 hours ago‎

An unknown number of the armed men raided the Lou Nuer village near Akobo County in Jonglei state in the worst violence in three months, according to the ...

Japan & WFP sign agreement to provide humanitarian aid to Sudan

ReliefWeb (press release) (press release) - ‎16 hours ago‎

The meeting will also discuss the situation in the South after the Jonglei and Upper Nile incidents, in addition to the repercussions caused by activities ...

Click on Jonglei label here below to see previous reports and further updates.

S. Sudan: SPLA accuses Sudanese army of involvement in Akobo, Jonglei clashes

The Commissioner of Akobo County, Goi Jooyul Yol, told Miraya FM that the recent death toll from the clash in Akobo, Jonglei State, southern Sudan has risen to 185 including twelve soldiers. 

Jooyul said that bodies are being retrieved from the river for burial, adding that most of the dead are women and children. Further details here below.  

Repeat.  The clashes claimed the lives of more than 180 people, mostly women and children.  

This terrible story does not make sense.  Sudanese men killing defenceless Sudanese women and children?  Why?  Surely, there is more to this story than meets the eye.    



Photo: A Murle gunman moves with his rifle in a village. (Photo Source: Bor Globe/Sudan Tribune)

From Sudan Radio Service, Tuesday 04 August 2009:
SPLA Accuses SAF of Involvement in Akobo Clashes

(Juba) – The SPLA has accused SAF of being behind the fighting on Monday which left more than 180 people dead after clashes in Akobo county, Jonglei state, between Lou Nuer and Murle communities.

SPLA spokesman Major General Kuol Diem Kuol spoke to Sudan Radio Service from Juba on Tuesday.

[Kuol Diem Kuol]: “Before the civil war, the Jonglei area was well-known for cattle rustling incidents. The situation escalated when the Sudanese army armed the people in these areas with automatic weapons, including Kalashnikovs, RPGs and Doshkas. There are clear indications that SAF is behind all the problems in southern Sudan. We have information that helicopters belonging to SAF fly over Murle areas, and that some injured Murle people are being taken to hospital in El-Obeid. The National Congress Party is arming both communities. Riak Gai is arming the Lou Nuer and other elements are arming the Murle.”

SAF has dismissed the SPLA accusations.

SAF spokesman Lieutenant-colonel Abdul Sameei Haj Ahmed described the allegations by SPLA as “baseless” and “nonsense.”

[Abdul Sameei Haj Ahmed]: “These are incorrect and baseless accusations and the situation doesn’t exist on the ground. How can SAF arm militias in southern Sudan to create conflict? They always accuse SAF whenever they have problems in the south. I don’t know why they accuse us. Our army has nothing to do with what is happening in the south, this is nonsense.”

Lieutenant-colonel Abdul Sameei Haj Ahmed was speaking to Sudan Radio Service from Khartoum.

From Miraya FM Tuesday, 04 August 2009
Calm presides over Akobo following tribal clashes

Calmness returned to River Geni area in Akobo County in Jonglei state, following tribal clashes on Sunday between the Murle and Lou Nuer. The clashes claimed the lives of more than 180 people, mostly women and children. The Deputy Governor of Jonglei State, Hussein Mar Nyot, told Miraya FM the region is totally calm now after sending military forces to the area.

Mar Nyot said the humanitarian and health situations are extremely poor which calls for immediate assistance.

The Commissioner of Akobo County, Goi Jooyul Yol, told Miraya FM that the recent death toll from the clash has risen to 185 including twelve soldiers.

Jooyul said that bodies are being retrieved from the river for burial, adding that most of the dead are women and children.

Meanwhile, a delegation from the government is expected to visit Akobo County today, to inspect the security and humanitarian situation on the ground.

In the same context, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, expressed his sorrow over the magnitude of the developments in Akobo.

Moon expressed his condolences to the Government of South Sudan and the families of the victims.

He also directed the UN Mission in Sudan, UNMIS, to extend all possible assistance to those affected by this heinous act and work with local authorities to restore calm.

Ban Ki Moon further urged the local authorities in south Sudan to bring to justice all those responsible for these events.

Some of the many comments at Sudan Tribune article [by Philip Thon Aleu, 04 August 2009 - Bloody day in Sudan’s Jonglei, U.N. chief condemns violence] suggest that the attack in Akobo, Jonglei State was engineered.  

Note the following report from GoSS USA website dated last April and the text I have highlighted in red:

Jonglei clashes stakeholders commit to peace
THURSDAY, 30 APRIL 2009
Source: Miraya FM

The leaders of the warring tribes in Jonglei State have pledged to end the fighting and refrain from violence.

This came following mediation efforts led by a joint fact-finding committee from the State government and the United Nations Mission in Sudan.

Speaking to Miraya FM, the Governor of the Jonglei State, Kuol Manyang, said the fact-finding committee managed to convince the leaders of the Lou-Nuer and Murle tribes to stop fighting each other.

In return, the State government said it will implement a disarmament plan in their areas and provide them with basic services.

The Governor described the visit to the affected areas as successful.

Meanwhile, Governor Manyang hinted that parties from outside the region may have stood behind the tribal clashes which claimed the lives of hundreds of people in the last few weeks.

Governor Manyang said he cannot name these parties adding that all indicators show they are instigating the fighting by smuggling arms into the area.

He further called on the Government of South Sudan to investigate the matter.

Click on Jonglei label here below for related reports and latest updates.

Also, note Sudan Watch, January 14, 2009: Ugandan LRA are agents of forces who are against South Sudan's peace agreement

S. Sudan: 161 people killed, 29 injured in fighting between Lou-Nuer and Murle in Akobo County, Jonglei State

More terribly sad news coming out of southern Sudan.  Reportedly, some 161 people from Lou Nuer group have been killed and 29 injured in an attack on Geni River at Mareng, 40 Kilometers south west Akobo Town in Jonglei State, South Sudan following an attack by gunmen yesterday, Sunday, August 2nd.  

Apparently, the fighting broke out yesterday between Lou-Nuer and Murle communities. According to news filed here below, the attackers, who carried out their raid at dawn, are believed to be one of the groups of Murle tribesmen that had attacked Lony village on July 29 and reportedly killing a couple and abducting a child.  Further details here below.

From Sudan Radio Service, Monday, 03 August 2009:
161 People Killed in Akobo County Attack

(Khartoum) – One hundred and sixty-one people have been killed in an attack in Akobo county, Jonglei state.

The attackers, who are allegedly from Pibor county, attacked Mareng payam in western Akobo on Sunday. One hundred women and fifty children were killed in the attack. Eleven SPLA soldiers also died as they tried to defend the civilians.

Our correspondent in Bor, Sirocco Mayom sent this report:

[Sirocco Mayom]: “The commissioner said that 161 people were confirmed dead in the Akobo county clashes. The fighting broke out on Sunday between Lou-Nuer and Murle communities. According to the commissioner, five attackers were killed but they killed 100 women and 50 children, and 11 SPLA soldiers who were deployed around the civilian camp who were displaced during the first violence three months ago. When the attack took place, the SPLA were attempting to defend the civilians or end the fighting. When some of them were killed, the force decided to withdraw. The cause of the fighting is still not clear because the area that was attacked doesn’t have cows; people there were just depending on food relief.”

That was our correspondent, Sirocco Mayom, reporting from Bor, the capital of Jonglei state.

From Sudan Tribune by Philip Thon Aleu, Monday 3 August 2009:
BREAKING NEWS: Gunmen kill 161 people in Jonglei’s Akobo

August 3, 2009 (BOR TOWN) – Some 161 people from Lou Nuer group are counted dead and 29 injured in Akobo County following gunmen attack on August 2, officials say here.

Speaking at an emotional press conference in Bor Town Monday, Commissioner Goi Jooyul Yol detailed that 100 women, 50 children and 11 SPLA soldiers are among the dead during the attack on Geni River at Mareng, 40 Kilometers south west Akobo Town.

"Of the 29 wounded, 3 are SPLA and the rest are civilians,” he added.

The attackers, who carried out their raid at dawn, are believed to be one of the groups of Murle tribesmen that had attacked Lony village on July 29 and reportedly killing a couple and abducting a child.

Rest In Peace + + + God bless the children of Sudan.

Click on Jonglei label here below for previous reports and latest updates.

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