Joint command deploys additional forces in Abyei

February 5, 2011 (JUBA) The joint military command forces representing the Sudan’s southern and northern armies said Saturday they have deployed what they described as “well trained” and “professional” armed personnel to the contested oil-producing region of Abyei to restore security and peace and stability in the region.

As part of a 2005 peace deal former southern rebels the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) became the second official army of Sudan along with the Khartoum-controlled Sudan Armed Forces (SAF).

Speaking to Sudan Tribune in Juba on Saturday one day after visiting Abyei, Major General Marial Cinduong Yol, the overall Joint Integrated Units commander for the SPLA said he was in Abyei to witness the arrival and integration of additional Joint Integrated Units (JIU’s) in Abyei.

The joint units were established as part of a 2005 peace deal that gave the south the right to secede through a referendum. The plebiscite conducted in January saw an overwhelming 99 percent vote in favor of separation.

The week-long referendum on self determination for the people of south Sudan ended peacefully, with exception of the clashes in Abyei. International observers representing European Union, African Union, the Arab League and individual countries as well as individual foundations have said that the voting and counting processes saying the whole process was orderly and credible.

Abyei was due to hold its own referendum to decide whether it will join what will be a newly-independent South Sudan but it has been delayed over disputes between the north and south over who can take part.

The delay has raised tensions in the border region with over 30 killed in clashes between the Misseriya tribe and local, mainly, Dinka Ngok security forces. Khartoum wants the Misseriya, a pastoralist group who enter Abyei with their cattle for a few months each year, to be accorded full voting rights. However south’s ruling SPLM say the Dinka Ngok, who live in the area all year round are the only group who can vote in the referendum should it take place.

The SPLM fear that Misseriya votes might sway the poll in favor of remaining part of South Kordofan state in northern Sudan, putting the region permanently under Khartoum’s control.

Yol, a senior military officer said main purpose for deploying additional forces to the region is to reinforce and strengthen security requirements in the area and provide adequate security.

“I went [to Abyei] to witness the arrival and integration of the additional joint integrated units there. There are now two additional battalions in the area. They will add up to the previous battalion to make three battalions in the area”, said General Yol.

“The deployment of these additional forces is to reinforce and strengthen security requirements in Abyei so that there should be no insecurity concerns. Their presence means provision of adequate security in the area. It also means protection of lives and properties of the citizens”, said Yol.

The top military officer said the deployment of the additional forces a respond to official request made by the two parties after an agreement to deploy Joint Integrated Units (JIU’s) along flash point areas along Abyei’s borders.

“Apart from being deployed as reinforcement, they would replace police forces at the border lines. This is a respond to the official request made by the two parties to replace police forces with joint integrated units at the border lines as agreed during talks held in Kadugli”, he said.

Yol denied allegations that his forces lack professionalism. “The two battalions are selections of Special Forces who are mostly well trained personnel. They are professional soldiers. We actually deployed them to Abyei for this purpose. Some of them were in Wau where they exhibited professionalism during the period of their deployment,” explained Yol.

Now the south’s referendum is concluded diplomatic attention, has turned towards Abyei, which analysts say could trigger renewed conflict between north and south if violence erupts there.

“So the referendum, which should have happened simultaneously with the one last week [in South Sudan], never materialized—and Abyei now stands in a state of dangerous limbo. We are like people stranded in the middle of journey. “We are actually like people dropped to the desert or on an island,”says Ngok Dinka sub Chief Bagat Alor in an interview with Sudan on Saturday.

He expressed worries that the uncertainty over Abyei’s status could escalate tensions between his people and the Misseriya, who are currently in the middle of their annual migration south in to Abyei. “We are confused in the middle of movements. There is never clear information about progress of the discussions. We only hear movements without breakthroughs”, said Bagat.

Clashes often erupt between the two rival groups during the Misseriya’s annual migration. The rival groups hold an annual peace conference to deal with these clashes, but the conference for this year was delayed as a result of the political disputes surrounding the referendum and Abyei’s future. Following consecutive days of violence between Ngok Dinka and Misseriya at the start of the southern vote in January, government and international officials have pushed the groups to finally hold the conference.

From the conference a deal was agreed calling for better regulation of Misseriya migration and compensation for victims of the violence in 2010 — though not for those of the more recent fighting. While a welcome development, the agreement did not address the controversial referendum, and it is unclear how long the fragile peace will hold.

The new agreement requires that the Misseriya follow only certain routes when moving south, to avoid key population areas but still reach the land and water their cattle need, and they may only do so once they have paid compensation (41 cows) for each person killed during last year’s migration. The blood money has to be paid within 15 days for the migration to proceed. But the agreement was not without dissent. Some of the nine Ngok Dinka chiefs refused to attend the meeting, which took place in the Misseriya stronghold of Kadugli, the state capital of South Kordofan.

Chief Bagat Deng said knew the talks would not produce meaningful agreement adding that it did not make sense for him to rush to the talks, while people in the area were still mourning the dead.

“I knew there would be no meaningful agreement with Misseriya because it does not make sense to talk yet people are still mourning the dead. With which hearts can people talk? If the Misseriya kill your people today why do you sit and meet with them the next day?” Deng said in an interview with Sudan Tribune on January 17.

Deng said the agreement does not have the support of many in Abyei.

Indeed, even if the Misseriya pay the compensation, this may not be enough to stop the Ngok Dinka from disrupting further migration. Many of the Ngok Dinka are well-armed and see the nomads as the biggest sticking point standing between them and a brighter future for Abyei.

The Ngok Dinka and Misseriya have a proud history of local diplomacy they have used to negotiate a peaceful coexistence in this restive region. But, as the paramount chief of the Ngok Dinka, Kuol Deng Kuol, told Sudan Tribune last year, “It may not be possible anymore for the traditional leaders to resolve this on our own.”

(ST)