J1 critic to Kiir: stop brutalizing Abyei people

JUBA –  Prominent South Sudan activist and presidency critic Wani Michael has condemned the recent violence in Abyei, calling on the government of President Salva Kiir to stop “victimizing and brutalizing” the people of the disputed region.

Michael’s comments come in the wake of deadly attacks allegedly supported by the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF), which resulted in the killing of at least 75 people across the Abyei Special Administrative Area.

“President Kiir’s government should stop victimizing and brutalizing the people of Abyei. How can the National Army, whose fundamental role is basically to protect civilians, be killing, torturing, brutalizing, and committing all sorts of atrocities on innocent civilians?” Wani said.

“Abyei is bleeding and can’t breathe. The people of Abyei equally sacrificed greatly for the independence of South Sudan. Abyei is us, and we’re Abyei!” he stressed.

Wani’s call for an end to violence in Abyei echoes the sentiments of many South Sudanese who have been dismayed by the recent attacks, which the authorities in Abyei said were sanctioned by the country’s army in Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Warrap States.

The army has dismissed these claims as “baseless”.

The violence has displaced thousands of people and exacerbated tensions between communities of the disputed region and those in Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Warrap.

The international community has also expressed concern about the situation in Abyei, calling for an end to the violence and a peaceful resolution to the dispute.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) this week called on the government in Juba to investigate the killing of 75 people and hold those responsible to account.