Abdelbagi glues Twic, Abyei communities with peace deal
Ngok Dinka community of Abyei Special Administrative Area has inked a peace deal with their counterparts, Twic Dinka, from Warrap State, to end violence over the border town of Anet.
Anet town is an area being contested by the two communities.
The Vice President for Service Cluster, Hussein Abdelbagi Akol, who serves as the chairman of the high-level committee on the Abyei-Twic dispute, said the agreement would pave the way for reconciliation to ensure the administration of justice between the two communities.
“Finally, Abyei and Twic chiefs have validated the cessation of hostilities in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State’s capital, Aweil, to boost the reconciliation and justice processes, “Abdelbagi noted.
“Both chiefs vowed to respect the agreement that is seen to be an elaboration in restoring the shattered stays of the two communities of Twic and Ngok Dinka, “he added.
According to Mr Akol, the agreement has cancelled the land survey, which he said might have been one of the major causes of the dispute in Anet.
“The document called off the land survey that could have been one of the factors in the Anet disputes,” he added.
Time for return
Abdelbagi urged the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to return to their homes as the fact-finding committee is expected to present their report to the President soon before the final resolution of the Anet conflict after three months.
“Nevertheless, I called on the IDPs to return to their homes as the situation continues to improve. Anet fact-finding committee will present its investigation report to the President ahead of the final resolution of the Anet conflict within 90 days, “he added.
Call to protect
Last week, Abdelbagi held a meeting with the United Nations Interim Force for Abyei (UNISFA) and urged them to stick to their mandate by protecting civilians in Anet from external aggressors.
“(We) have ended our discussion with the United Nations Interim Force for Abyei (UNISFA), centred on their peacekeeping mission and concerns over the violent communal conflict between Twic and Ngok Dinka. We exchanged views on how to tackle insecurity in Anet,” said the vice president on behalf of the committee.
He stated that the two communities, which were locked in an impasse, accepted dialogue as the only solution to their differences.
“We have considered dialogue for reconciliation between two communities since the humanitarian situation of more than 100,000 internally displaced persons continues to worsen,” he said.
“We thought of reconciling the two communities at the early stage to pave the way for their resuming their living together towards economic growth as we prepare the preliminary results of our investigation.”
He had also directed the military commanders in the area to instruct their forces to maintain law and order to allow the IDPs to be protected upon their return.
“As the situation, normalises, (we) have called on the Anet residents seeking safety in the neighbouring villages on both sides of the conflict to return home and resume their economic activities in Anet, with a joint military deployment in and outside of Anet to address insecurity,” Abdelbagi said.
“(The) motive for this visit, is to assess the condition of the joint military operations and listen and talk to the commanders of the joint military deployment, in regard to their role of protection, in conflict situations,” he noted.
The committee was commissioned by President Salva Kiir on February 24, 2022, to probe the clashes and table a report within 21 days.
A report circulated by the Administration of Abyei Special Administrative Area showed that at least seven people were killed during the conflict, 10 wounded, 180 houses burned, property looted and masses displaced as a result of the conflict in question.
