Chiefs and sheikhs of Renk County have called for calm and encouraged people to embrace ethnic diversity even as thousands arrived in the town after fleeing violence elsewhere in Upper Nile.
Mohamed Chuom Aliny, ‘omda of Renk County, says that the traditional leaders (civil administration) in the county are committed to preserving the social fabric and peaceful coexistence.
In an interview with Radio Tamazuj on Monday, Chuom stated that the civil administration sees the ethnic diversity in the county as a strength. Renk County accommodates diverse tribes including Sudanese nomadic tribes like Dar Maharib and Rufa’a.
He noted that the chiefs and sheikhs held a meeting in which they agreed to create awareness among the citizens and convince them to refrain from tribalism and work for peace and unity among the citizens in the area.
Since the outbreak of conflict Renk has received a large number of people who were driven by violence out of Malakal, Akoka, Melut and Baliet areas. Today many trucks carrying people fleeing Malakal arrived in the town, after clashes were reported there this morning.
The Dar Maharib leader furthermore said they mobilized the local residents to provide assistance to the new arrivals who are in need of food and shelter. He added, “Some of the refugees decided to proceed to Sudan. We also facilitated their transport to the border.”
White Nile’s governor has announced that he instructed migration authorities to facilitate the entry of South Sudanese refugees, while President Omar al Bashir during a recent visit to Juba said that South Sudanese seeking shelter in the north should feel at home there.
Aliny also urged the citizens not to listen to rumours on the phone. This has been a means by which deliberate misinformation has been spread from one side to the other in the recent conflict.
File photo: Renk market at dusk