The Commissioner of Bahr El Arab locality in Sudan’s East Darfur state has said that there are unconfirmed reports that Sudanese citizens from his locality are being detained in Gok Machar County in South Sudan’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal state.

Commissioner Deyuf Aliu appealed to the local authorities in Gok Machar to explain the reasons for the detention of these citizens, with a goal of finding an amicable solution to the dispute.

In an interview with Radio Tamazuj, Deyuf explained that the preliminary information indicates that the Conservatives are pastoralists and reiterated his call on authorities in the referred province to clear-up the confusion about where the detainees are.

“The detained people are civilians; nomadic pastoralists, “he said. “I tried to called the Commissioner of Gok Machar County, but didn’t manage to get connect to him. These were just preliminary inquiries as we have not yet accurately confirmed the incident with the authorities in South Sudan.”

However, Gok Machar County Commissioner, Paul Athuai denied the allegations, asserting that there are no Sudanese citizens being held by the authorities of his province.

File photo