Deadly Unity State clashes prompt call for calm
Lawmakers representing Unity State and Ruweng Administrative Area are demanding the creation of a buffer zone between conflicting communities in Pariang County.
They said the situation has remained tense in the area and it requires immediate intervention from the security forces to prevent potential clashes between Unity and Ruweng residents.
On Thursday, the representative of the two areas visited Vice President Taban Deng Gai and discussed ways to end the conflict.
The group resolved that security forces must be deployed to quell the conflict.
They agreed with the vice president to form a delegation that would travel to the area as soon as possible to preach peace to rival communities and ensure the deceased were buried.
“We are sorry for what happened between communities of Ruweng Administrative Area and Unity State in Pariang, and we have agreed with the Vice President to call upon security to create a buffer zone between the two areas,” said Choi Machar, who is a member of the Council of States.
Jarjet Lat Mading, another member of the Council of States representing Ruweng Administrative Area, called on the aggrieved communities of Ruweng and Unity to calm down and cease hostilities as the government delegation prepares to visit the area.
“We have agreed to visit the scene and talk with the conflicting communities to stop fighting because we want peace and stability to return and the two communities to live in peace again,” Mading said.
The triggers of the conflicts that have claimed the lives of more than 20 people and wounded many others in the oil-rich area remain unclear.
However, Dr Guor Miabak Michar, Executive Director in the Office of the First Deputy Speaker of the Council of State, equated the recent fight to the presence of heavily armed men, land conflict, and ignorance of colonial boundaries even among leaders.
Dr Miabak said peace and stability were possible between the two communities should the government and leaders in the country ensure the militia in the areas were disarmed.
“Although bitterness still holds, peace and stability are possible, but there must be a separation at the moment before reconciliation takes place,” Dr Miabak said.
“Leaders should address the issue of heavily armed militias to prevent further loss of lives.”
On Monday, politicians from the Ruweng Administrative Area, headed by the Deputy Speaker of the Council of States, Mary Ayen Mijok, held talks with President Salva Kiir on how to address the deteriorating security situation in the area.
According to Ayen, the attackers in Ruweng were not ordinary youth, but armed civilians wielding heavy weapons who were fighting the citizens of the Administrative Area.
According to the lawmakers, an unspecified number of wounded people from Ruweng have been transported to Juba for further treatment.
