The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has reassured the public of the government’s efforts to resolve all border disputes with neighboring countries that have encroached into South Sudan`s territory.
The reassurance follows clashes between the Toposa youth of South Sudan and the Turkana of Kenya at the border town of Nadapal in Eastern Equatoria State on Sunday through Monday.
Hundreds of Toposa who inhabit Kapoeta East County and a section of state legislators in Eastern Equatoria State last week accused Kenyan officials of inciting Turkana tribesmen to annex parts of their land leading to tensions.
However, while addressing the media on Tuesday, South Sudan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Deng Dau Deng Malek said the national government will not cede an inch of land to any country.
“South Sudan will never leave an inch of its land to another country. South Sudan is called a country because of a defined territory and population and we want to inform our youths to be calm, be patient, your country is addressing all these matters,” Dau said. “We have the National Border Commission that has been working with the Republic of Kenya and the Republic of Uganda. South Sudan has quite several areas that have been entered into by our neighbors and we have been discussing them in the context of the African Union and we have been engaging at that level between ourselves and these particular two countries.”
According to Dau, the national government in Juba is yet to receive proper official information from Eastern Equatoria State Governor Louis Lobong and the commissioner of Kapoeta East County on the recent fighting.
“We have not yet received official information from our governor in Eastern Equatoria State and the commissioner of Kapoeta East,” he said. “When we get the information, we will then inform Foreign Minister Mayik Ayii who will then officially communicate with his Kenyan counterpart Alfred Mutua.”
Deputy Minister Dau urged citizens to be patient as the government is still trying its best to consolidate peace in the country before addressing border issues with its neighbors.
“South Sudan has fought wars with Sudan and we got our independence I do not think there is anybody who can take an inch of the land of this country. We have priorities and one of them is to consolidate our internal peace so that when we have an issue outside, we face it as a unified consolidated country,” he said. “You cannot just be running around to fight when you have not yet consolidated yourself inside the country so we want to assure our youths in Kapoeta in Eastern Equatoria and elsewhere in areas of Central Equatoria, in Upper Nile, in Ruweng Administrative Area and other places including Western Bahr el Ghazal.”
Dau revealed that there are 42 disputed points along South Sudan’s borders with neighboring countries.