Murle abductors lock inside huts Ethiopian kids, says rescued child

May 26, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – One of the rescued 56 children this week who were abducted by Murle militia group from the Ethiopian Nuer community last month said they had been locked in huts for the past four weeks by their abductors after crossing them into South Sudan.

Jany, 11-year old, was abducted with his two brothers and one sister, but was only among the rescued kids while his siblings had remained behind under the captivity of the Murle abductors.

Jany explained to his mother, Nyandhan, how the bigger boys of his age were singled out and locked alone inside huts, surrounded by heavily armed men, and given only milk to drink during their captivity.

His mother, Nyandhan, however said she was happy to see one of his children back, but added that she longed to see all of them rescued, as she praised the Ethiopian troops who have crossed into South Sudan for the rescue mission.

“I didn’t believe that I would see him [Jany] ever again,” she told the BBC on Wednesday, while feeding his rescued son as she held up the plate by her hand.

“I am really happy to have one of my children back. It is a blessing and it is thanks to the on-going rescue mission. I have been worrying day and night about my children, that I might never ever see them again. I am still waiting for the others,” she said.

Nyaduel, another mother who lost her 7-year old boy to the Murle, told Sudan Tribune that she had been praying day and night that her son should return back home safely.

“I pray that soon I will see my son. He is going to come back to me,” she told Sudan Tribune on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the President [governor] of Gambella region in Ethiopia, Gatluak Tut Khot, has assured Gambella residents that their safety would be guaranteed by ensuring that such cross border attack will not repeat itself.

He said the first step was to rescue the rest of the children, adding that border security with South Sudan would afterwards be established by the two neighbouring countries.

“After we get our children and cattle back, we will seriously work on our border relationships. We must teach the Murle that there is a better way of life than cattle rustling and stealing children,” said Gatluak, the Gambella regional president.

He said they were getting information that some of the abducted children were going to be sold to other communities inside South Sudan by their Murle abductors.

“We have established that these children would have been sold or exchanged for heads of cattle inside South Sudan. But we are not going to rest until we get them all back home,” he said.

Some international media outlets including the BBC reported the latest figure of the abducted kids to have reached 149, from the initial reported number of 108 or 125. The youngest among the abducted children by the Murle is a 3-month old infant.

Officials from the United Nations children’s agency and the Ethiopian government are jointly providing medical help, counseling and basic necessities for the children, their families and caretakers.

The rescued children have been accommodated in a guest house in Gambella town, the capital city of Gambella region, in order to undergo treatment from sicknesses, malnourishment and trauma.

“Whenever children undergo hard conditions like this – separated from their families especially violently, and they are staying with complete strangers for something like three or four weeks – they feel completely let down and some of these experiences last for a lifetime,” said Mike Charley, UNICEF’s child protection specialist in Ethiopia.

Last month, thousands of armed Murle fighters crossed into Ethiopia and simultaneously attacked 13 villages belonging to the Nuer community, killing at least 200 people and raiding over 2,000 heads of cattle.

Ethiopia responded by deploying troops into South Sudan’s Buma state [Jonglei state], demanding release of all the abducted children and threatening to attack suspected targets if the Murle community could not cooperate.

The troops have not yet attacked any location, pending efforts to avail all the abducted kids.

(ST)