NDM condemns attack on Upper Nile IDP camp

JUBA – The opposition National Democratic Movement (NDM) led by Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin has condemned Thursday’s attack on an IDP camp in Upper Nile state where almost 20 unarmed civilians were killed by an armed group.

Gen. Johnson Olony’s Agwelek faction alleges that forces belonging to Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual, the leader of the breakaway SPLA-IO Kitgwang faction, supported by Gawar Nuer White Army attacked Adhang camp on Thursday killing seventeen people and wounding an unknown number.

In a statement to Sudans Post, the NDM condemned the attack and termed it as a ‘criminal’ activity.

“It is unfortunate that we have received news of a brutal attack on the ‘Adhang’ camp for internally displaced persons in Pinyikang County, Upper Nile State, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians and the displacement of thousands,” the statement signed by the NDM spokesman Mahmoud Akot reads in part.

“This tragic incident is not in any way similar to the behavior of political entities claiming to struggle for the dignity of the citizen and their stolen rights. Rather, it is a criminal act and an outright attack on civilians. How can armed movements claiming progress and claiming that they came out to restore citizens’ rights kill civilians, women and children? In the camps and tyranny over them without mercy or conscience?” he asked.

The statement went on to accuse the Upper Nile state governor and his deputy of ‘cold reaction’ saying that some government officials who condemned the attack were arrested and detained by the deputy governor’s guards.

“What is surprising and strange about the matter is the cold reactions of the state leadership to the attack, as the governor and his deputy did not show any Concern about the conditions of civilians, but rather sought to silence and suppress all those who tried to denounce and point out their failure to protect and defend civilians,” the statement said.

“Some constitutional figures were imprisoned and beaten by the personal guard of the deputy governor, in light of their condemnation to the incident and their appeal to the government to act on the humanitarian crisis that affected the state,” the statement added.

CEASE VIOLENCE

The statement called on the warring Kitgwang forces to stop violence and embrace peaceful dialogue to resolve differences which it said would be in the interest of restoring peace and harmony among the people of Upper Nile state and to also avoid further bloodshed.

“We call on the leaders of the conflicting Kit-Gwang factions to cease fire, resort to peace, restraint, show wisdom and comply with the voice of harmony, to end this war in order to preserve the lives of citizens and to enhance their security and stability, and to avoid further bloodshed in pointless wars, in which everyone is a loser, and Our citizen are the ones always pays the price,” the statement said.

The statement went on to once again condemn the attack and called on peace-monitoring bodies created by the revitalized peace agreement to rein and investigate the killing of civilians in the oil-rich state.

“The National Democratic Movement strongly condemns this criminal act against defenseless civilians, and we call on our peace partners, the Ceasefire Monitoring Mechanism, and the Joint Monitoring and Reassessment Commission to urgently intervene to Change the situation, help achieve stability and protect civilians in Upper Nile State and other states affected by armed conflicts,” it said.

“In conclusion, we declare our solidarity with the displaced in this dire humanitarian crisis, and we extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and the missing, we ask the Lord to make their pure souls in the highest paradise,” it added.