At least 26 people have been killed and 82 others injured in days of intercommunal fighting in a disputed region on the border between South Sudan and Sudan. Reporting the death toll on Thursday, the United Nations said it had reinforced its security presence around Abyei town.
Clashes are frequent in Abyei, and the region’s status has remained unresolved since South Sudan gained independence from Sudan and became a nation in 2011. The violence erupted at Amiet Common Market in response to separate killings of a Ngok Dinka man on Monday and a Misseriya man on Tuesday, the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) said in a statement.
UNISFA said the initial killings escalated tensions between the two rival communities around the market. Similar fighting has broken out between Ngok Dinka and Misseriya pastoral communities that often involves grazing lands and watering points for their animals. The Misseriya, Arab pastoralists from Sudan, migrate south into Abyei during the dry season in search of grazing land, sometimes clashing with the Ngok Dinka, the region’s permanent residents.
“We are actively engaging with the leaders of the two communities who have reiterated their commitment to dialogue and a peaceful resolution to the hostilities,” said Lieutenant General Ganesh Kumar Shreshta of UNISFA. “Our priority is to prevent further loss of life. We urge all community leaders to embrace dialogue and advance peaceful coexistence.”
In a statement posted on X on Thursday, UNISFA said, “On the ground, we are taking all measures to protect civilians and prevent retaliation”. The UNISFA force is composed of 3,000 police and soldiers whose mission is to protect civilians.
Abyei is an oil-rich region that is jointly administered by South Sudan and Sudan, with both countries staking claim to the territory. South Sudan has been mostly at peace since a 2018 agreement ended a five-year conflict during which thousands of people were killed. The country is due to hold its first elections since independence in December.
Source: www.aljazeera.com