UN relocates staff members out of Abyei as Luka Biong resigns
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May 24, 2011 (KADUGALI) - The United Nations in Mission in Sudan has
relocated hundreds of its civilian staff members out of Abyei after
troops from the Khartoum controlled Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) occupied
Abyei town on Saturday.
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Armored personnel carriers manned by Zambian soldiers serving with the
international peacekeeping force patrol the streets of Abyei, Sudan
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 (UNMIS)
Over 25 tanks accompanied by heavy artillery mounted on vehicles, some
of which surrounded the United Nations Camp until Sunday morning,
launched a direct attack on the town. Some bombs landed in the United
Nations compound, resulting in significant damage of some vehicles and
equipments.
The seizure of the oil-producing region town of Abyei came following
an attack in which 22 SAF soldiers were killed while their convoy was
withdrawing out of Abyei on Thursday 19 May.
The military takeover saw intensified and organized looting as well as
burning of houses belongings to civilians who fled the town. Some
people are believed to have been killed but numbers are yet to be
confirmed. An estimated 20,000 have fled the town.
Brigadier General Tajadin, the overall commanding officer of the
forces of the Sudanese Army, on Saturday night declared in a message
to the United Nations in Abyei that the town was under control of the
Sudanese Army.
"The Sudan Armed forces have entered Abyei. We are in the town. The
town is currently under our full control”, Tajadin told head of the
United Nations in Abyei at 10:30pm on Saturday while giving assurances
that staff members of the United Nations would be safe.
"We will do our best not to inflict harm on you. United Nations is not
our target. We do not have problem with the United Nations. It is not
our enemy", said General Tajadin through a translator.
Despite the safety assurances, the United Nations on Monday says it
considered relocating some of its staff members for safety purposes as
well as lack of food in the town and fear of possible retaliation.
A UN member of staff who wished to remain anonymous, as they were not
authorized to talk to the media, told Sudan Tribune that some staff
were “frightened” and wanted to leave the area.
"We requested relocation because most of us have family members who
fled this violence and are confused. Others are frightened by exchange
of fire and fear of being harmed in the cross fire. This is why we
needed relocation. The other reason is that there is no food. The town
is empty. People have run away. There is no where to get food if even
there is money,” the UN staff member says.
He said that some staff members had been relocated to Kadugli while
others were taken to Wau.
Guang Cong, head of the United Nations office in Abyei, said most of
the staff expressed concerns and demanded to be relocated on a
provisional basis until the situation stabilizes.
On Tuesday, May 24, Luka Biong Deng, a minister of cabinet affairs in
the Government of National Unity in Khartoum announced his resignation
over the capture of his native town of Abyei and the dissolution of
its administration.
He accused Sudanese government of committing war crimes under the
watch of its president, Omer Hassan Al-Bashir, and that he could not
continue to be part of it.
(ST)
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