Kiir condemns South Sudan politicians and Khartoum for Jonglei violence

January 5 ,2011 (JUBA) – Politicians in Jonglei state should refrain from inciting violence between the Luo-Nuer and Murle communities that has displaced thousands and possibly killed hundreds, South Sudan’s president Salva Kiir Mayardit said on Tuesday.

Kiir warned politicians that those behind Jonglei conflicts should stop inciting violence. South Sudan’s Vice President, Riek Machar, has also said that he believes politicians in Juba and Bor – the Jonglei capital – may be encouraging the armed groups.

“Those having hands in the crisis between Lou Nuer and Murle in Jonglei needs to stop instigating violence between these two ethnic groups. They need to work for peace and stability in the area instead of war”, Kiir said.

The violence that has blighted the new country can also be blamed on north Sudan, according to Kiir, as groups receiving arms from Khartoum-backed militias. Khartoum deny this.

The President Kiir condemned the ongoing fighting in Jonglei State and said that it was a primary duty of the government to protect all the citizens of South Sudan without discrimination.

“We do not want our citizens to fight themselves, and we would protect all and this is not an hour that our people should fight,” he said, a week after ordering the national army and the police to contain the fighting in Jonglei State.

Thousands of extra police and troops were dispatched to Jonglei to try to contain the conflict.

“All the people around the world are talking about South Sudan because of the fighting in Jonglei State, people know that we lack capacity and they are not talking about crisis in other countries that got independence long time ago,” the President said.

Over 1,000 have died in fighting between the two groups since June 2011.

“The government will not accept and will never allow the two ethnic groups to keep on killing themselves. It will work to ensure that this crisis is put to an end, and will also work to ensure those behind this attack are identified and brought to justice”, Kiir said.

Ban Ki Moon, the United Nations Secretary General on Monday urged Kiir to focus on addressing the root cause of the recurring conflict between Murle and Luo Nuer communities in the country’s most populous Jonglei state.

(ST)

Al Jazeera – Situation tense in South Sudan

2 Jan. 2012