Ambororo kill local vigilante in Western Equatoria

October 5, 2010 (NADIANGERE) – One member of vigilante group, the Arrow Boys, was killed on Monday in clashes with members of the Ambororo tribe in Western Equatoria, South Sudan, according to a member of local Nadiangere parliament, Singira Robert.

Western Equatoria chiefs have emphasized the need for the cattle-herding- Ambororo to leave Western Equatoria state (WES), which is largely agricultural.

Singira Robert MP told Sudan Tribune on Tuesday, that the Ambororo’s “surprise attack”, which killed Arrow Boy Richard Mbepe, showed that, “the Ambororo who claimed that they are leaving WES were just lying.”

The Ambororo and their estimated 100,000 cattle have been ordered to leave Western Equatoria state by the local authorities.

The Ambororo Chief, Mohamed Suleiman, who represents the group in Southern Sudan, said that his nomadic tribe was honoring the order which instructed Ambororo to evacuate the state. “We have reached, Yangiri Payam (locality), Ezo County heading towards Tambura finding [our] ways to Western Bahr el Ghazal,” he said.

However, the areas representative, MP Robert, says that the Ambororo and their cattle have not yet left the state:

“The group which left Nangume went as far as Sue stream in Nadiangere and made a U-turn towards Nzara County. They have opened a clandestine cattle market between Namaiku and Yubu east of Ringasi Payam.”

Robert said that Richard Mbepe was patrolling Nadiangere, with other Arrow Boys, in order to ascertain whether the Ambororo had left the area when he was shot as he entered a market. “Two armed Ambororo cocked their guns and fired at the deceased and his colleague,” said Robert.

Richard Mbepe was shot in the chest and then shot again in his waist and right hand as a colleague tried to rescue him, according to Robert.

The Arab nomads known locally as “Ambororo” are part of the Fulani or Fula West African ethnic group, known in Sudan as Falatah.

The name Ambororo is given to nomads from the Falatah group, but others are believed to have settled in the Blue Nile States, Damazin and Northern Darfur.

The majority of the population effected by the Ambororo’s presence in Western Equatoria come from the Zande tribe. The word Zande means “land owners”, in the local Pazande language, reflecting the fact that most Zande are farmers by tradition.

The grazing patterns of the Ambororo herders have also created tensions with local Zande farmers, who feel their land is threatened by the pastoralists’ cattle.

As nomadic herders, the Ambororo are thought to frequently come across the Ugandan rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) while travelling in the bush in search of pastureland.

In the Congo and Sudan this has led the Ambororo being accused of are collaborating with the LRA by Zande communities.

There are many Ambororo groups with different cultures and languages.
Many are Muslims although some groups practice animism.

In Central African Republic Ambororo have settled in towns like Mboki and Obo and have intermarried with the Zande.

These intermarriages, which are most often unions between Ambororo men and Zande women, may explain the relatively good relationships between the communities in comparison to Southern Sudan and the Congo.

(ST)