Lakes state protesters close road between Yirol and Rumbek towns
June 29, 2015 (RUMBEK) – Yirol West county youth of Lakes state have blocked the road linking Rumbek town to Yirol counties as communities protest over diversion of roads construction that was supposed to connect their areas.
Hundreds of cars have stranded on the road as youth group prevented them from crossing into Rumbek town or from Rumbek town to Yirol West county. All passengers coming all the way to pass by Rumbek have remained stranded on the road since Saturday.
According to Yirol West county protesting youth spokesman, Mark Deng Dut, the youth of Aluakluak, Mapuordit and Ngop as well entire Yirol West communities were unhappy with a decision of caretaker governor Matur Chut Dhuol to divert the feeder roads construction to Cueibet county.
“The reason for the protest was that military caretaker governor Matur Chut Dhuol has diverted our community development feeder roads to Abiriu, Cueibet county. This feeder road construction would be from Aluakluak payam, Mapuordit payam to Ngop payam as agreed by the community of that area,” he said.
He said the road project was initially meant to link payams [sub-districts] of Aluakluak, Mapuordit, Ngop and Yirol West town but the governor decided to divert the roads to Cueibet county in the state.
Dut claimed that greater Yirol West county chiefs contributed cows to buy fuel for the roads project, adding that even UN-OPS accepted to contribute to the project by brining trucks to transport construction materials.
He accused the governor’s administration of allegedly neglecting greater Yirol community in favour of the other Cueibet community. Both Cueibet and Yirol West counties are inhabited by rival ethnic Dinka clans in the troubled state.
(ST)