Nine people dead as 175 people flee clashes in Lakes state
By Manyang Mayom
January 25, 2009 (JUBA) — Inter-tribal fighting erupted in Lakes state in southern Sudan on Tuesday, ending Thursday after nine people from the two sides had been gunned down. The clashes resulted in 175 residents of Wulu County fleeing their residences.
This is not the first time the Jur-Beli community fought with the Agaar Dinka community in Lakes state: the first fighting was in 2006 in a place called Makundur. This now fighting became the second between the Agaar and Jur-Beli, in a placed called Wulu-Gadim.
The conflict erupted between the Agaar community of Rumbek East County and youth of Wulu County in revenge for the shooting of a SPLA solider. The soldier who was killed belonged to the Dinka Agaar tribe of Rumbek East County and he was the bodyguard to one of the Jur-Beli officers working there in Wulu. The killing of this soldier indeed annoyed Rumbek East Youth to continue revenge against Wulu natives, and then fighting overwhelmed the county, said a police source in Wulu.
Rumbek East County youth attacked Wulu inhabitants and looted over 100 houses and shops as the fighting compelled everyone to flee from home in Wulu county.
The Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) Minister of Interior Affairs, Paul Mayom Akec, who hails from Rumbek East County, appeared in Wulu to impose calm in the county as hundreds fled in fear of revenge attacks..
According to Minister Akec, over seven trucks loaded with SPLA soldiers were on their way rolling to Rumbek with instruction to proceed to the conflict zone before the weekend. “We must protect Wulu natives and those who committed atrocities must to be brought to face justice,” he said.
“All culprits must be captured,” said the minister during a speech at a forum representing three counties inhabited by the Agaar community in Lakes state, held in the state capital of Rumbek on Friday at Akon Buoi. He said that the one who killed the solider in Wulu County is the cause of this fighting in Wulu and he must face his crime accordingly. He also added that those who are wounded and admitted at Rumbek Regional Hospital in the matter related to Wulu fighting must be detained in their admission bed and later they must to be brought to face justice.
Despite the clashes, the Governor of Lakes State Lieutenant General Daniel Awet Akot noted that in the period since the new year, 25 people were reported killed in Lakes state in matters related to inter-clans fighting or cattle theft, compared to 1,420 people reported killed in 2008.
Akot affirmed that the fighting in Wulu county has forced 175 people to flee to Western Bhar-El-Gazal state (Wau) and that the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs), mostly children and women, has been continuously increasing. The numbers of people wounded in Wulu fighting is not yet clear.
The clashes come as inter-clan and inter-tribal fighting renewed this week in Warrap state as well, leaving dozens of dead and hundreds fleeing or wounded, according to official sources.
There is also violence between Dinka Agaar of Rumbek East and Yirol West County in Lakes state, which left several people killed on Thursday. In response to the tensions, Lakes State Deputy Governor Awan Guol Riak is present there to restore normalcy. Nevertheless, the house belonging to the Wulu commissioner in Rumbek Central County at Malakia was burnt down by an unknown group of people last night.
Moreover, the house belonging to Asunta Buoda, the Lakes state gender advisor, was also looted. Lakes state police authorities are trying to investigates the crimes.
The local chiefs of Lakes state usually blame the state authority for failing to protect civilians, but the state government overlooks the blame.
Rumbek East County has key positions in the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) that include: Paul Mayom Akec, who is the minister of Interior Affairs, and John Wol Makec, who is the chief justice. In the Lakes state cabinet the county is represented by Awan Guol Riak as the deputy governor and minister of local government and the law reinforcement agency, Maker Abol as minister of education, plus some top veteran politicians in Lakes state Legislative Assembly.
(ST)
marshall majhok chaw
Nine people dead as 175 people flee clashes in Lakes state
dear citizens of the south sudan,when are we going to learn to love one another and coexist in a peaceful environment? why are we killing one another, and pointing fingers with names calling of tribes?!does it matter who starts the fight and who respond to the fight, it’s always a tragedy when people died and property destruction.the government of the south sudan is very weak indeed or slava kiir and riek machar are not protecting the people of the south. what happen to the disarmament project,what is the functions of the military if the police fail to manage crown controls. this is what i think need to be done across southern, sudan.
1. military need to intervene to solves these problems
2.24 hour patrol on foot, motorbike, on sea, land and on air.
3.hearing must be conducted for the governors of why are these conflicts are happening on their watch
4.accountability and impeachment.
for the colleague who is calling dinka junglese, am not sure what he meant by that, stop harassing journalist let them do their job, am not saying that the prefect but they will get there. for you my friend you got some serious hanger problems and you really need help. calling people by their tribes is the number one reason why we can not defeat the Arabs.we need to solves our problems as one people of the south regardless of your home state.divisions is a poison to our destiny and a failure to our dreams. during war many tribes in the south sudan did not give one hundreds percent to fight for liberation’s, but that is not the case right now.i personally fought during the war and i have received and penny from peace dividend. I’m not bitter for that, it was my duty as a citizen to fight for the right of my people of the south.so wise up and man up to build our nation.i,m not supporting any party involved this mess, i,m for peace for all of us.those who are responsible must be brought to face justice. stop the killing, lets make development happen. majhok n. chaw, united states marine corps.
Nuer
Nine people dead as 175 people flee clashes in Lakes state
Mission accomplished by the Arab north in dividing southerners. That’s all they aim for. Divide southerners so that they would fear their own destiny into the referedum and after. Now, southerners are so scared of separation from the north wondering what kind of a nation southern Sudan is going to be with all these internal-clan conflict.
David De Dau
Nine people dead as 175 people flee clashes in Lakes state
This is absolutely detestable!!!
lotueng Junub
Nine people dead as 175 people flee clashes in Lakes state
God only knows what is happening to our people in Southern Sudan. people who once seen united in the yoke of fighting oppressions against Arabs during the last decade North-South war of which God gave us everlasting peace in the name of CPA but instead of calculating a head of this year general election and referendum in 2011 on how to bring about total freedom of the marginalized people of Sudan and end arab policy of divided and ruled.we have now resorted in eliminating our fellow brothers and sisters in struggle.instead of enjoying dividens of peace across all corners of Southern Sudan we have chosen wrong destiny.all you hear from Southern Sudan is tribal clashes, corruptions, displacement of IDPS, power hunger or power struggle among our leaders.last but not least, as son of Rumbek East County of Lakes State I would like to condemned in strongers term our people of Rumbek East for what they did to Wulu and Atuot of Yirol West County these are our people whom we combined with to make up Lakes State no matter what they did like the killing of SPLA soldier in Wulu shouldn’t be responded with full force of tribal confrontatiions but through legal settlement knowing that as Agar we are big community in Lakes State so we should be lenient on our other small tribes of lakes State.allow peace and harmony to prospers between us, Atuot of Yirol West County and Bele of Wulu of Rumbek South County and above all to all parts of Southern Sudan and learning to live in peaceful co.existence and harmony as national community.
Lotueng Junub is aganist division of Southerners, but incase of any issues of misunderstanding between us we should act in refrain to allow law to take its due course.
marial mach aduot mach
Nine people dead as 175 people flee clashes in Lakes state
I am not blaming any body in lake state of killing one another because there is no leadership in their state. People at the highest point like Awet and others are very busy shipping the state’s funds over sees to fulfill their own needs let alone the Goss that give them money to perform the state duties. On my judgments I believe people of lake including their leaders are suffering from the mantle recession which is not easy to get away from them unless they are allow to hands the benefits of their own acts.
Geovanny
Nine people dead as 175 people flee clashes in Lakes state
We are sick and tied of you bad governance in the Lakes State. It has been a habbit and still a habbit to fight unreasonably with neighbors initiated by the top government officials from Agaar community including the socalled governor Awet Akot who is too sinile to hold the office and sort out problems diplomatically.
Does it make sense to fight your own nieghbor to the extend of burning houses? And people are reporting it as being burned by unknown group. Who are these unknown group. They should be known only people have blanket these culprits from facing justice.Manyang Mayom have reported that Maker Abol,Paul Mayom,Wol Makec and Awan Guol Riak are the veteran politicians.They are not politicians but wealth seekers through corruption and love to watch people kill by their own brothers and pretend to calm the situation.They are the ones even suppying arms to their people.
Malual Jongbai
Nine people dead as 175 people flee clashes in Lakes state
“Inter-clan clashes will never ease”
If we don’t stopped tribalism or clanism or should I say clanisation, where will be no wehere this atrocities will ease in Dinka community,especially in Lakes states. It is the government responsibility to punished the person who has killed another person not civilian basis on the fact of being families or clans or credentaility?
Moreover, Everyone is important in the eyes of God and anyone can die in any zero hour God has given. It is outrageous that civilians tooks the law into their own hands, instead, the government play its role, When will the fighting ease at Rumbek when intellectual are discriminate and disqualified of being favouring their family one’s. It is GOSS responsibility to makes law and enforces them.
Thanks