Sixty-Eight Confirmed Dead in Abyei
By Eunice Kilonzo
Khartoum — At least 68 people have been confirmed dead in Abyei since it was captured by the northern army on 21 May 2011 according to an official from Dinka Ngok. Sources, including a Sudan Tribune reporter present during the attack and who was there until 24 May says the town continues to burn as armed militia groups suspected of being allied to the Sudan Armed Forces embark upon open looting.
Majith Yak a former minister of local government in the Abyei administration and one of the current National Congress Party designated officials from the Nine Dinka Ngok to the post of deputy chief administrator said on Thursday that he has reports that 68 people have been identified dead and several others are wounded. He blamed individuals from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement for the first attack on Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) soldiers which he said provoked retaliation.
Yak lamented the lack of pre-emptive action in the face of "clear indications of tension in the area" as "these people never wanted to involve anybody in whatever proposals and decision concerning Abyei."
"They never wanted to hear any other proposal on how to address the issue of Abyei apart from their own thoughts and suggestions. They always work in isolation of other people and feel that their thoughts and decisions are the best," explained Yak.
Yak said he did not blame SAF for taking control of the area, claiming the military intervention was necessitated by attack in which 22 SAF soldiers were killed while they were withdrawing from the area.
"How would you blame other people including the Sudan Armed Forces for your own failure? Why did they allow forces under their control to attack forces they agreed to withdraw from the area? Why attack forces who have accepted to withdraw as part of the peace agreement they signed in Kadugli", asked Yak.
A member of a UN team who was in Abyei, Agok and Turalei on 23-24 May, but wished to retain their anonymity said, “We held a meeting with senior military officers of the Sudan Armed Forces including commanding officer, Brigadier General, Azeed Osman Tagadin. We also travelled to Agok and Turalei to meet representatives from local administration who are with fleeing internally displaced persons," he said.
He said the humanitarian team was headed by George Charpentier, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General of the UN, General Moses Obi, Force commander of the UN troops in Sudan and Director of Civil Affairs of the UN Mission in Sudan.
This comes at a time when the UN Security Council has demanded an immediate withdrawal of Sudan’s forces since Abyei was besieged. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has proposed the establishment of a 7,000-member peacekeeping force in Southern Sudan after the region becomes independent. The UN currently has 10,000 blue helmets to monitor the peace agreement.