South Sudan sends high level delegation to Abyei after several clashes

January 11, 2011 (JUBA) – The regional government of the semi autonomous government of south Sudan on Tuesday sent a high level delegation to the oil-producing region of Abyei to assess the security situation following series of clashes between armed elements associated with Arab nomads and local police in the area.

The visit came following reports of a series of attacks on the area as officials from Abyei and in the regional government of south Sudan accused Khartoum-based government of arming the Missiriya tribe in southern Kordofan town of Muglad, central Sudan.

On Monday, the southern government claimed that ten southerners were killed when crossing the border in to south Sudan accusing the Misseriya of ambushing a convoy of returnees – an accusation the nomadic group deny.

News agencies reported that at least 36 died in clashes between the Misseriya and Abyei police and security forces. However, it is believed that both sides are underestimating their own loses. The real figure could be much higher judging from interviews Sudan Tribune has made with the relatives of the deceased.

Miyen Alor Kuol, a senior member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Abyei, told Sudan Tribune there had been a high level meeting in Abyei between southern officials and the from the Khartoum government.

“We have been receiving a lot of calls since these clashes started on Friday. There were a lot of people both inside and outside Sudan wanting to know what happened and why. Others were members of the international community while others were members of our community and government officials from SPLM,” said Alor Kuol.

“Today, we received a high level delegation from south Sudan led SPLM Secretary General, comrade Pagan Amum and minister of regional cooperation comrade Deng Alor Kuol and the minister of internal affairs General Gier Chuang Aluong,” he said.

The official said they also received federal minister of internal affairs and deputy director of Khartoum’s of National Intelligence and Security Service, General Majak Agot. Haile Menkerios, the Special Representative of Secretary General of the United Nations with his force commander also travelled to the region to attend the talks.

Alor said the visit of the top officials was to assess security situation on the ground and to brief the local people on the way forward.

“They have held a lot of high level meetings today with officials in the local administration, church leaders, and civil society organization and with members of the United Nations mission in Sudan in Abyei. Other meetings will be held tomorrow,” he explained.

Washington today said the fresh upsurge in violence in the dispute area would not affect the referendum process in southern Sudan.

Ambassador Princeton Lyman, the lead US negotiator with Sudan, said “nothing in these unfortunate situations is impacting on the referendum,” adding “Nevertheless, this is a worrisome situation,”.

The clashes began on Friday and continued until Sunday when southern Sudan began voting in a vote on independence. Abyei was also due to hold a referendum to decide whether it joins the potentially newly independent south but it was derailed over the Misseriya.

The Khartoum government demanded the Misseriya be given full voting rights, despite only entering Abyei for only a few months each year. This has been rejected by the SPLM – the south’s governing party – say that the Dinka Ngok, who align themselves with the south are the only people who should be allowed to participate.

Speaking to Sudan Tribune from Abyei on Sunday, Deng Arop Kuol, the Abyei chief administrator, said that an armed element of the Missiriya, attacked Miakol Abior village, to the extreme north of Abyei town, on Friday. The Misseriya deny that they started the violence.

Kuol says that one person was killed in the first attack, with a nine others killed on Saturday, numbers confirmed by Juac Agok, an acting SPLM chairman in the area in a separate interview with Sudan Tribune.

Agok said that a further 18 were killed in Sunday’s attack which lasted for nearly 6 hours, started at 11:30AM and ended with the defeat of Misseriya at 5PM, which he suspects was, because they ran out of ammunition.

Philip Aguer, the spokesman for Southern Sudan’s army, told Sudan Tribune in Juba that the Missiriya, attacked the village of Maker-Abior on Sunday with anti-tank weapons and artillery. Aguer believes the attack was planned.

“They were not with cattle, they were coming for an attack,” Aguer said, adding, they (Missiriya) were accompanied by uniformed militia men known as the Popular Defense Forces, a militia backed by the Sudanese government in Khartoum whose existence was outlawed by the 2005 peace agreement that ended the second north-south civil war, which began in 1983.

However, the spokesperson of the northern army the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), Al-Suwarmi Khalid, was not involved in the violence.

The military spokesperson further said the main reason of the week end clashes that “the SPLA prevented the cattle herders from crossing to Bahr Al-Arab” (Kiir River). He also accused the SPLA of arming the Dinka Ngok in the area.

(ST)