The Dinka Malual community of South Sudan’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal State and the Sudanese nomadic Rizeigat community of West Darfur have vowed to promote peace and peaceful coexistence in Aweil West County, Northern Bahr el Ghazal State.
The statement comes a week after the peace committees between the two communities concluded a peace empowerment seminar attended by 23 members from both communities in the Pau Adhot area of Aweil West County.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday, Jacob Nyibek Deng, the head of the Dinka Malual peace committee in Achana Payam, said: “We live with our Sudanese neighbors without any problems between us. We understand there are some people who do not wish to see that we live in peace. We will arrest them.”
“Here their livestock is not targeted and that is why the Rizeigat escaped from unsecured areas and now reside here in Pau Adhot because there is security. The peace committee is assisting them and they are living normally. If anything wrong happens, we can sit and solve the matter,” he concluded.
The Rizeigats’ peace committee deputy chairperson in Achana, Amin Mohammed welcomed the resolution to promote peace.
“We thank God because since we arrived in South Sudan, especially Achana and around Nyinbuoli, the chiefs, peace committees, and all the youth have stood with us,” Mohammed said. “We live peacefully and hope our other brothers and everybody coming can live as we do with the Dinka Malual. No conflicts, no robberies.”
Ngong Deng from a national not-for-profit organization empowering communities in the region said, “The Coalition for Humanity organization (CH) is supporting peace in Aweil West County on how people (Dinka Malual and Rizeigat) can live together in peace, development, awareness between the communities.”