Twic commissioner says non-Dinka Ngok being targeted in Abyei

JUBA – The commissioner of South Sudan’s Twic Mayardit of the restive Warrap state has claimed that people from other states in South Sudan are being targeted in Abyei by the residents there following last week’s fighting in Aneet.

Deng Tong Goch said, according to Radio Tamazuj, that the security situation in his county was stable, but raised fears about what he called intentional targeting of non-Dinka Ngok people in Aneet.

“The security situation in Twic County is stable, humanitarian organizations are moving freely but in Abyei, security is not good for people who do not belong there,” the Twic commissioner said.

“Yesterday I received a young man from Jur-man-anger who fled from Abyei two days ago and when I asked him, he even failed to explain why they were targeted and attacked,” he added.

The commissioner also revealed that armed Messiryia tribesmen from Sudan were spotted in the northern part of Twic County and that the SSPDF are on high alert but no reports of killing or cattle raids have been reported.

For his part, the information minister in the Abyei Administrative Area, Ajang Deng Miyen, denied the accusations that his people were targeting non-Dinka Ngok and blamed displaced youth from Twic County for attacking Abyei.

“They are part of us here. When Twic youth attacked places on 22 February, an 8-year-old child was killed in Akacnhial village and a woman was injured. Another old man was killed and a woman injured the same Tuesday night at Abithok village,” Minister Deng said.

He said there is now relative peace along the Abyei- Messiryia borders but said they are always on alert and disclosed that criminals from the Messiryia killed one person and wounded two others two days ago in the northern part of Anet.