The Ngok Dinka of the contested border region of Abyei and the Twic Community of Warrap State are attending a peace dialogue in Wau town of Western Bahr el Ghazal State.

The talks take place from 27^th to 30^th October.

This comes after the latest violent confrontation between the two communities on 10 October in Aneet town of Abyei, where 17 people were reported killed.

The ongoing talks in Wau aim at bringing the two communities together to make peace.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj at the peace venue in Wau, Yusuf Lal Ayam, the Secretary General of the Islamic Council in Abyei, said they welcome such peace initiatives as faith-based groups.

 “We welcome these peace talks because these communities are relatives, and they were staying in peaceful coexistence. This conflict has created a situation where people face education challenges, and the communities are in dire need of clean drinking water,” Ayom said.

Achok Deng, a representative of the Abyei Women’s Union, said the recent conflict has affected both sides.

 “We, the two communities, were staying in peace as relatives. So we did not expect that there could be some conflict between us,” Achok said. “In these peace talks, we expect the situation to return to normal because women are the victims of the conflict.”

Meanwhile, James Thon, a youth leader from Twic County, said: “We are very happy with this community peace conference, and we appreciate the partners who have organized it, and we hope these communities would come together again.”

The peace dialogue, attended by 42 participants from both sides,  is being facilitated by the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) with support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Concordis – Building Relationships for Sustainable Peace, UNISFA, UNMISS and UNDP.