Rival Abyei tribes ink framework agreement, independently, to end clashes

By Ngor Arol Garang

January 13, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – Traditional leaders representing the two rival tribes of Missiriya and Dinka Ngok, signed a framework agreement in the south Kordofan town of Kadugli, on 6 January, five days after a weeklong clashes in the oil producing region of Abyei.

Speaking to Sudan Tribune from Kadugli, capital of South Kordofan state, Chief Kuol Deng Kuol, said they have signed a framework agreement with members of the Missiriya tribe, to stop further bloodshed between the two tribes.

“We have this evening signed the framework agreement. This is an agreement which will lay concrete steps on the way forward to stop clashes in the area. It will discuss how to allow Missiriya with their cattle to get access to water and grazing areas in Abyei. It will also examine traditional mechanisms and modalities of how to compensate those they have killed in the three different attacks last year and in the recent attack,” said Kuol, without giving additional details.

The agreement came following a series of clashes between armed groups described by officials from the Government of Southern Sudan in the oil contested region of Abyei as Arab militiamen allegedly backed up by the Khartoum based government and the local police.

Official reports say up to 28 policemen were killed and 30 were wounded in the three attacks.

The last attack coincided with the first day of Southern Sudan’s self-determination vote, an exercise widely predicted to break Africa’s largest country in two. The referendum was promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended two decades of civil war between the south and north.
The seven days of balloting are likely to produce an overwhelming vote for independence. Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmed el-Bashir has promised to respect and accept the outcome of the referendum.
But Abyei remains a major sticking point between the two political parties of the north and south which were signatories of the 2005 Comprehensive Agreement Agreement. While the Dinka want the referendum to be conducted in the area with or without approval of the two parties, members of the Missiriya tribe have repeatedly come out openly warning against the conduct of a referendum which does include their participation.

Speaking from Kadugli, Rahma Abdul Raman El Nur confirmed the signing of the agreement, saying that it assures the commitment of the two communities to ending their conflict.

“Yes, it is true they have signed the agreement. This is the right choice and an encouraging step. It shows the commitment of the two communities to resolving their differences without external intervention.

“Members of the delegation from the Dinka Ngok have agreed to allow nomads from the Missiriya tribe go further south with their cattle to access water and grazing areas. They have also agreed to end hostilities and open roads in order to allow movement of people and goods between the two areas resumes,” said Rahma

Sheik Omer Issa Dudu, a member of the delegation representing Missiriya in the talks in a separate interview with Sudan Tribune from Kadugli hailed the agreement, saying Missiriya and the Dinka Ngok have always been good neighbours and have their own ways of settling differences.

“The signing of this agreement without external intervention reminds me of the traditional mechanisms our fathers used to settle differences between them in the past. Our courts were integrated. The way of settling court cases was the same. Deng Majok could settle a case on behalf of Baba Nimir and Babo Nimir for Deng Majok. There were no differences between them. That was why, in the past we called Dinka Ngok, black Missiriya Zuruk,” explained Sheik Issa.

(ST)