Hundreds of citizens of the disputed area of Abyei held a peaceful protest Tuesday morning demanding the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) to recruit locals in various job vacancies.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Monday, one of the Ngok Dinka chiefs Bagat Makuac Abiem, said that the protests were triggered when UNISFA’s engineering department employed about 60 employees from Sudan in positions they believe should have been filled by locals.
In a statement presented to UNISFA, chief Makuac said they demanded for an urgent meeting to discuss the replacement of foreign workers with locals.
He accused the head of the engineering department at UNISFA of being an obstacle to developmental projects in Abyei. “We gave him 72 hours to leave the area” he said.
UNISFA officials could not immediately be reached for comment.