The Ngok Dinka tribe in the disputed area of Abyei between Sudan and South Sudan has asked the United States to pressure Khartoum to withdraw its troops from the Defra (Kej) area in the north of Abyei.
The call came in a meeting during a visit by the US Ambassador in South Sudan Susan Page to Abyei where she inspected facilities and development projects being implemented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Abyei’s Acting Minister of Services Achuil Akol Mawen told Radio Tamazuj Monday that they met Page at the UNISFA offices where they raised concern over significant deterioration of the security situation he says are caused by Arab militia.
“The existence of Sudanese army at Difra area is causing anxiety to Abyei natives,” Achuil said, adding that his community remains committed to living in peace with its neighbors.
‘Negligence of the area’
Separately, Misseriya tribal leader Mahdi Babo Nemir warned against the possible return to war in Abyei area owing to what he termed “negligence of the area.”
In a press statement after the visit of head of African Union High Implementation Panel Thabo Mbeki to Khartoum, Mahdi said the insecurity in Abyei area constitutes a threat to the national security of Sudan.
He pointed out that Khartoum and Juba have failed to reach a peaceful settlement in Abyei despite the signing of a security agreement.
Mahdi said exclusion of the Abyei area from a security matrix would make it a time bomb that can explode any time.
He also reiterated the Misseriya tribe’s commitment to seek peaceful options to resolve the dispute with the Ngok Dinka tribe in the area.
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