By Ngor Deng Matem
The commander of South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) from Third Division and Abyei Minister of Physical Infrastructure accused one another of looting commodities belonging to traders in Aneet market.
General Akuei Ajou is the Head of SSPDF infantry third division in Aweil who deployed soldiers in the Aneet area last month following the fighting between armed youth of Twic and Abyei over the land ownership.
General Akuei accused the Abyei administration of rejecting traders who are non-Ngok traders to take their goods out of the shops to safe places.
“Traders from other areas like Aweil, Twic have lots of complaints that they are not allowed to take their goods. I myself went to the administration to discuss the issues and they accepted that traders can take their goods. So Ngong Lual, a trader having goods in the market came to me with the car he hired to help him with some soldiers to guard him because he feared. From there, the said minister came to the market of Aneet and took the pictures of soldiers who were helping traders and he posted it on Facebook accusing our soldiers of looting. His intention was to destroy the image of our soldiers. As commander of the forces, my coming here was to stop the war between Ngok and Twic Dinka,” General Akuei explained.
General Akuei further accused the minister of mobilizing youth to take laws into their hands.
“The youths are mobilized to burn houses and destroy the property of suspected people and therefore the suspected minister will be held accountable for the act,” General Akuei stressed.
For his part, the Abyei Minister of Physical Infrastructure Mayot Kunit denied the allegations of rejecting non-Ngok traders from taking their goods out of Aneet market.
Mayot further accused the SSPDF soldiers from Division three of participating in the mass looting of Aneet market; however General Akuei denied the looting saying that soldiers were helping a businessman take his goods out of Aneet Market to Awan of Warrap state.