Bahr el Ghazal governors vow to protect of Nuer community
Article
Comments (18)
email Email
print Print
pdfSave
separation
increase
decrease
separation
separation
December 30, 2013 (JUBA)- Governors from the Bahr el Ghazal region of
South Sudan have said they will not allow individuals to exploit the
ongoing unrest in the country and target members of Nuer ethnic
community in areas under their jurisdictions.
JPEG - 35.7 kb
Displaced people gather around a water truck to fill containers at a
United Nations compound which has become home to thousands of people
displaced by the recent fighting, in the capital Juba, South Sudan
Sunday, Dec. 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
After fighting between members of South Sudan’s army began on 15
December over 1,000 people have been killed, according to the UN, and
has displaced over 180,000 people.
Reports that Nuer civilians were targeted in the capital, Juba in the
first days of the fighting led to reprisal attacks in in other parts
of the country. Soldiers from the army have rebelled in Jonglei, Unity
and Upper Nile state.
Efforts to bring the government and the rebels - led by former Vice
President Riek Machar - together for peace talks have so far failed
despite international calls for a ceasefire.
The governor of Western Bahr el Ghazal, Rizik Zachariah Hassan, told
Sudan Tribune on Monday that he would not allow members of the Nuer
tribe living in Bahr el Ghazal, where the Dinka are largest group.
“As leaders of this region, we will not entertain individuals
exploiting this situation to settle their own squabbles and
differences whatsoever the case. It will not happen. I have given
orders that the members of Nuer community in Western Bahr el Ghazal
State moves freely as it was before. This is part of their country,"
Hassan said.
The Governor said that his colleagues in the other three states of
Greater Bahr el Ghaza - Warrap, Lakes and Northern Bahr el Ghazal -
have given similar directives to all county commissioners,
administrative officers at the district and sub-district level, as
well as traditional leaders.
President Salva Kiir has alleged that the fighting within the
Presidential Guards that triggered the conflict was a coup attempt led
by Machar and other members of the ruling SPLM, many whom were sacked
from senior positions this year.
"When we met as the governors with the president after the incident
[alleged coup attempt], we agreed to work for peace and unity among
our people, regardless of their ethnic backgrounds. Especially us the
leaders from Bahr el Ghazal, we agreed to do our best to provide
necessary protection to all members of the Nuer community wherever
they area in the region," Hassan said.
"In Greater Bahr el Ghazal states we have already held briefings and
told the public what exactly happened in Juba. We told them that it
was simply an attempt by individuals to take power by force. These
individuals are from all the states of South Sudan except this state
(Western Bahr el Ghazal). So you see that the issue is not a tribal
conflict as being reported in the media," explained governor Hassan.
“You in the media need to reflect in your reports exactly what
happened. People feel that you have not done your work," he told Sudan
Tribune.
"The real situation about what happened had not been out. Much of what
the media reported is all about rumours and allegations which caused
more confusion. You talk to the right people so that they give you
correct information," Hassan said.
Human Rights Watch and others have reported that civilians were
targetted along ethnic lines during the first days of the conflict in
Juba but this has been denied by the government.
Nyanut Ajiek, a native of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, presently living in
Juba’s 107 residential area, said she had lost her husband in the
bloodshed during the second day of the incident.
Politicians were trying to divide people along tribal lines for their
own ends, she said.
“Before my husband was killed in this conflict, we used to live in
perfect harmony with the members of other communities including from
the Nuer community and we became one people. So I don’t believe that
what happened was a conflict between the Nuer and the Dinka. It is a
fight between politicians who wants to control resources and power.
"They are only using tribe to divide us and I call on our people not
to accept. Our fathers and brothers did not fight as a tribe during
the war with Sudan and we also did not vote during the referendum as a
tribe, we all fought and voted as South Sudanese people."
Ajiek says she has been put in the community crisis management, peace
and reconciliation committee by the authorities, apparently to promote
dialogue and harmony with her experience.
"I think religious leaders need to pray very hard for our leaders and
this country. There are people who have never seen violence act as
this. These people have now been terrified."
Ajak, 31, added that her younger sister is married to a Nuer from
Nasir in Upper Nile State and they both are now sheltering with their
children at the UN camp in the area.
"The devil has taken control of our country," she added.
The UN says that over 7,000 civilians, including vulnerable orphans,
are going without food inside their camps amid concerns of a worsening
humanitarian situation in the world’s youngest country.
(ST)
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"South Sudan Info - The Kob" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to [email protected].
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
To view this discussion on the web visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14ooxXP6nwn0exiVQGxZN9WAS_469JEwbZRaCMsZvJ1O%3Dwg%40mail.gmail.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
