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Violence in Abyei Claims More Than 100 Lives

The recent clashes in Abyei have claimed the lives of more than 100 people and caused the displacement of at least 20,000 others.

Two United Nations civilian protection officials today voiced grave concern over rising tension in the disputed Sudanese territory.

The Secretary-General's Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect, Francis Deng and Edward Luck, said in a joint statement that there are reports that the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and allied fighters of the Popular Defense Forces, as well as the Sudan People's Liberation Army of the southern Government, have deployed forces in Abyei.

The Missireya Arabs, a nomadic herder community, are pitted against members of the Ngok-Dinka ethnic group in a conflict exacerbated by the controversy over a referendum that would give residents of Abyei a chance to decide whether to remain part of the north or join the south, which voted in January to secede.

The inhabitants of Abyei were due to hold a separate referendum simultaneously with the rest of Southern Sudan in January, but attempts to create a referendum commission remain deadlocked, amid feuds between communities in the area over the right to vote.

"Given the perception that the SAF supports the Missireya Arabs and the SPLA supports the Ngok-Dinka, a standoff between the two armies is very dangerous. We urge both parties to refrain from any actions that could put the lives of civilians in danger and risk a return to full scale hostilities." Mr. Deng

According to the Abyei Protocol of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the war between the North and the South in 2005, the Ngok-Dinka are dual citizens of the North and the South during the interim period before the referendum in the area.

Mr. Deng and Mr. Luck reminded the Government of Sudan and the Government of Southern Sudan of their responsibility to protect all people in Abyei, irrespective of their ethnicity or religion.

Meanwhile, the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) today dispatched a human rights team to the South Darfur village of Amar Jadeed to investigate recent allegations of widespread rape.

UNAMID also announced that its gender advisors will on Friday begin a series of workshops for community leaders and police officers in South and West Darfur on the impact of sexual and gender-based violence. Participants will also learn the proper procedures for reporting cases of rape and for caring for victims of the crime.

Source: United Nations