Mayom County: 400 youth return from Warrap and Abyei

JUBA – The government of Mayom County in Unity State has said that it has received at least 400-armed youth voluntarily returning from neighboring Warrap State’s Twic County and the disputed Abyei Administrative Area.

This comes less than a month after President Salva Kiir Mayardit ordered Nuer youth in Abyei and Twic Mayardit county of Warrap to return to their areas of origin or to any other place of their choice in South Sudan.

Speaking during the welcoming of the youth, Mayom County Commissioner Luka Chierey said the armed youth returned to their land as part of the presidential order to resolve the conflict between Twic Mayardit and Ngok Dinka of Abyei.

“We have received 400 armed youth who used to fight alongside the Twic and Ngok Dinka community,” he told hundreds of civilians gathered to receive the armed civilians in Mayom, as reported by his office.

“This is a crucial step to deescalate the conflict between Twic and Ngok community, and positive response to the order of President that the Nuer armed youth in Abyei Administrative area and Twic County must be moved to Nuer land,” he added.

Fighting between Ngok Dinka and armed youth from Twic Mayardit have killed hundreds of civilians since last year.

President Salva Kiir had sought to deescalate the tensions by expelling Nuer youth displaced to Abyei by floods and Twic-based Nuer spiritual leader Gai Machiek, also displaced by army violence in 2021, from Abyei and Warrap State.