South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has issued an executive order removing the Chief Administrator for the Abyei region and the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defense and Veterans Affairs.
In an order read on State TV South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) on Monday night and obtained by Radio Tamazuj, Kiir removed Gen. Kuol Diem Kuol from his position as the Chief Administrator of the Abyei Administrative Area and replaced with Chol Deng Alak, who previously served in the position before being removed in June 2017.
Gen. Kuol was appointed to the position by Kiir in June 2020 to manage the Abyei area, a disputed territory between South Sudan and Sudan.
It remains unclear what prompted Kuol’s sacking less than three years after his appointment.
Last week, at least 13 people were killed and five others wounded in an attack on Abyei’s Rumamer village by attackers believed to be from the Nuer and Twic communities.
The oil-producing region has been blighted by violence and fighting over land disputes. Juba and Khartoum failed to implement an agreement providing for the appointment of a joint administration.
In another decree, the South Sudanese leader removed Mr Kiir Chol Biar Ngang from his position as the Undersecretary at the Ministry of Defense and Veterans Affairs and replaced him with Victor Atem Atem, who once served as governor of the now-defunct Gogrial State.
Separately, President Kiir removed the Commissioner of Twic County, Deng Tong Guach Tong. He is a member of the opposition SPLM-IO Party led by First Vice President Riek Machar.
Also, President Kiir cancelled the Board of Directors of the international gateway for South Sudan established in 2017 by the National Minister of Information.
Kiir, according to the presidential order, said that the letter for the establishment of the Board of Directors of the international gateway for South Sudan was not legally established.
“The National Communication Authority, as a body mandated by law under section 9 (g) of the National Communication Act, 2012, is hereby directed to take charge of the said international gateway while taking appropriate measures to protect the security of information and communication networks against intrusion,” the order read in part.
“The National Communication Authority, together with relevant government institutions, are hereby directed to come up with a legal framework or procedures for proper establishment and management of the international gateway accordingly,” it added.