Four UN peacekeepers shot in Sudan’s Abyei
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May 10, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – Four Zambians peacekeepers that are part of
the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) were shot at by unknown
gunmen in the oil-rich region of Abyei that is disputed between the
North and South.
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A UNMIS peacekeeper patrol in Abyei, Southern Sudan, Friday, March 11, 2011 (AP)
Kouider Zerrouk, a spokesperson for UNMIS said the peacekeepers had
been forced by armed men to turn back at the village of Goli earlier
in the day, and were returning to the town of Diffra when they came
under fire.
One of them was reported to be in a serious condition. They were
evacuated for medical treatment.
“We condemn this act against peacekeepers who are discharging their
duties to try to help maintain peace and security in Abyei,” Zerrouk
said.
The U.N. has some 9,000 troops and 700 international police officers
enforcing a 2005 peace deal that the civil war between the ethnic
African south and Sudan’s Arab-dominated government.
Officials from the Abyei administration were quick to accuse Sudan
Armed forces (SAF) of deliberately conducting the attack as part of
what they described as "military tactic" to resist withdrawal from the
area.
"Armed elements belonging to Sudan Armed forces camouflaged in police
uniform that are illegally in Goli with intention to destabilize the
security of the area have this evening attacked force of the United
Nations," said Miyen Alor Kuol, a member of the Sudan People’s
Liberation Movement (SPLM) in Abyei.
"This was a clear plan and an act of the National Congress Party to
sabotage withdrawal of the unauthorized forces because they know they
have forces which are illegally deployed in the area like the 300+
troops they have in Goli", said Kuol.
However, Colonel Al-Sawarmi Khalid Sa’ad, spokesman of SAF appearing
on Sudanese state media denied that the attack was carried by
government forces, claiming that there are armed civilians with no
link to the army carrying guns in the contested region of Abyei.
"The Sudan Armed forces were not party to an ambush attack laid on
forces of the United Nations today in Abyei", he said.
A peace accord signed by the two sides in the South Kordofan state
capital Kadugli in January called on all forces to withdraw from the
bitterly disputed region except the special Joint Integrated Units
(JIUs) of northern and southern personnel, both army and police,
alongside UN peacekeepers.
Over the weekend, the Joint Technical Committee (JTC) under the
chairmanship of UNMIS Force Commander Major General Moses Bisong Obi
held several meetings both in Kadugli and Abyei to discuss a timeframe
for the effective deployment of JIUs and the withdrawal of all
unauthorized forces from the Abyei Area.
With the approval of the two parties, the committee agreed that the
withdrawal of all unauthorized forces and deployment of JIUs will
begin on Tuesday and would continue until May 17th. The committee also
agreed to meet in Abyei on Tuesday to assess the withdrawal and
deployment process, while reconvening again to confirm and ensure the
completion of the exercise next week.
Abyei’s future status is the most sensitive of a raft of issues that
north and south Sudan are struggling to reach agreement on ahead of
the south’s full independence, due to take place in exactly two months
time.
Deadly fighting and recriminations have flared since January, when the
region had been due to vote on whether to join the north or the south,
alongside a referendum in the south that delivered a landslide for
secession.
But the plebiscite was postponed indefinitely amid deadlock between
north and south over who should be eligible to vote.
(ST)
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