South Sudan accuses SAF of backing deadly clashes in Warrap state Article Comments (7) Email PrintSave --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Ngor Arol Garang June 26, 2011 (JUBA) - The southern Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) on Sunday accused the northern Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) of backing deadly clashes in southern state of Warrap. Peter Gadet (SMC) Armed elements allegedly allied to militia leader, Peter Gadet Yak, carried out a surprise attack in Turalei, an administrative headquarters of Twic County, killing 11 people and injuring several others on Friday. The attack comes ahead of the deployment of Ethiopian Forces mandated by the United Nations to the disputed border town of Abyei, which the northern army took from a local administration predominantly controlled by officials loyal to the South Sudan’s ruling party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement. In May SAF the oil-producing region following clashes in which the Joint Integrated Unit component of the SPLA were accused of ambushing the SAF withdrawing from the area in response to recommendation by security committee tasked to oversee withdrawal of the unauthorised forces from Abyei in accordance with the Kadugli Agreement. Colonel Phillip Aguer Panyang, SPLA spokesman accused the SAF of using the militia to stir up violence in the contested borderlines in order to provoke return to war before independence of South Sudan. "The Sudan Armed Forces are using militia groups to attack areas along the borderlines in order to provoke reaction from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. This is the ploy coined by the government in Khartoum", said Colonel Panyang. "Our people in the South together with their government under the leadership of our president comrade General Salva Kiir Mayardit, know these facts", adds the senior military officer. Panyang further said he has no clear details of the casualties. "We have not received clear details of the clashes," he said. He added that their plahas failed. "Our forces in Turalei crushed them properly", he said explaining that was part of a plan by the North to take over oil-rich areas in the South before it gains independence next month. "They want to draw border by force between the North and South because the border has not been physically demarcated. This is plan the government in Khartoum is pursuing. They want to demarcate borders by the use of the army. They are using force to demarcate borders", explains Panyang. He said the SPLA would not accept any provocation to resume war. Ariec Mayar Ariec, a member of Warrap State Legislative in Kuajok, capital of the State, confirmed the attack to have taken place on Friday and said that 11 people including women were killed. He said some of the attackers have disappeared into the community after scattering during the fighting and reportedly throwing away their guns. "Some people on the side of our Gelweng (home guards) have been killed. They have killed three policemen and more than eight fighters on the side of the attackers. Eleven lives in total have been lost", he said explaining that some of the fighters have disappeared into community and that they were still being hunted". Colonel Dominic Deng Kuoc Malek, Twic County Commissioner, in a separate interview with Sudan Tribune confirmed the attack took place. Turalei hosts tens of thousands of people who had been displaced from their homes in the contested North-South region of Abyei following an invasion by SAF. The senior member of the South Sudan’s ruling party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement said the attack was carried out by armed groups allegedly allied to Gen. Peter Gadet, who defected from the SPLA. He claimed Gadet is on the payroll of the Khartoum government. "The attack was actually targeting Turalei. And their intention was to overrun the area so that they that make as base for further attacks on other areas. All of the offensives are actually targeting the coming separation on the 9 July," Deng said. North and South Sudan ended more than two decades of civil war, in which more than 2 million people died, in 2005 with a peace deal that promised both Abyei and the South self-determination votes. The south voted overwhelmingly in January to secede and will become an independent nation July 9. Abyei’s vote never happened, so its future is being negotiated by the North and South. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
