The peace conference between the Ngok Dinka of Abyei and Twic Mayardit of Warrap State which started on Monday in the Western Bahr el Ghazal State capital Wau concluded Thursday without the initially agreed resolutions being signed by the traditional chiefs of the belligerent parties.
The points of the discussion focused on the cessation of hostilities, the free movement of people, the withdrawal of armed youth from neighboring communities who allied with the warring parties, and the creation of a buffer zone.
The four points were unilaterally agreed upon by the chiefs from both sides until the point of signing when Twic Mayardit Paramount Chief Garang Nyiuol reneged and declared that he will not sign any treaty with the Ngok unless the latter leave Aneet town which is a contested area by the two communities.
“No Twic must remain in Aneet. Did you ask them if they are aware that Aneet must be vacated? We were told that people have to leave Aneet so that only the army remain there but the Ngok are still there,” he charged. “If you are solving our problem, let Ngok move away from Aneet like Twic did. We should all leave because people whose problem is being resolved should be treated equally.”
“We should all leave the area and the number of soldiers that have been deployed there must be increased,” Chief Nyiuol added.
However, Abyei Paramount Chief Bulabek Deng Kuol, before he signed the treaty, said he was doing it for the sake of peace and that it must not be misconstrued as cowardice.
“We want everybody to understand that I am going to sign the document for the sake of the lives of our people and to stop bloodshed and not out of fear,” he said. “I have to respect what our president told us in Akoon.”
For his part, Warrap State Governor Manhiem Bol Malek urged both sides not to despair in the search for peace.
“I want to tell you Twic and Ngok people that you should not get tired of searching for peace. We have not agreed today but it is not the end of dialogue and you I need you to go search for peace in your souls,” he said. “Although it was only for four days, we managed to dialogue well. Let us respect our President Kiir Mayardit so that nobody dies again.”
“We know what brought us here but did not sign because of small issues that we did not understand and this is why am saying you have to think about your people,” Governor Bol added.
Meanwhile, Abyei Chief Administrator Chol Deng Alak said that although the resolutions were not signed, the two communities will respect them.
“Although we have unfortunately not signed, let us pick the spirit of what we have accepted that there is a cessation of hostilities,” he said. “We already made a promise that those who allied with us during the conflict will not be involved again.”
“We did not sign but let us keep it in our hearts that nobody should die again,” said Dend said.
In October 2022 a similar peace conference between the two communities was conducted in Wau but clashes continued shortly after.