By William Madouk Garang
The Fact-Finding Committee investigating the Abyei – Twic conflict has proposed some recommendations aimed at quelling the conflict between the two conflicting communities of Ngok and Twic.
In a just released report on the inter-communal clashes in Aneet settlement the committee noted that the root cause of the conflict was due to internal borders which later aggravated into violence.
Dr. Dhieu Mathok, the Secretary of Aneet-Investigative Committee said they recommended that President Salva Kiir should establish national border demarcation commission to address internal boundaries’ conflict across the country.
“We met his Excellency President on Friday and we submitted the report (to him). What is important in that report is the policy action which the committee recommended to the government to be taken such that the issue is addressed,” Dr Mathok told journalists on Monday.
“We realized that the issue of boundaries is the one causing a lot of communal violence, it has to be taken seriously by the government not only in case of Ngok – Twic but also into many communities which are now fighting over boundaries in South Sudan,” he added.
Dr. Mathok who doubles as the Minister of Investment also called on humanitarian agencies to urgently provide food and non-food items to conflict affected populations.
The report that consists of 94 pages calls for formations of special courts in Aneet led by judges from high court to address atrocities committed during the violence.
“One of these policy action is actually the establishment of high court; there are crimes which were committed, atrocities and the crimes of murders, looting, destroying of properties, and we thought those crimes should be dealt with through competent courts,” Mathok stressed.
He also affirmed that the report recommends an inclusive peace, reconciliation and healing dialogue to be initiated in Aweil very soon to bring about peace and tranquility among the two-communities.
The committee further urged both State authorities and paramount chiefs to coordinate and cooperate with one another, as well as those in diaspora to stop fueling crisis through social media.
“As government we are working now to see into it that all the root causes of this conflict are resolved and the policy action that we recommended we’re going to follow it up. We’ll present implementation matrix such that we start implementing these issues,” Mathok assured.
“I want to tell them that the matter is very simple the issue of boundaries cannot kill people and what is happing between Twic and Ngok is everywhere even in Northern Bahr el Ghazal we have seen similar cases but people are not fighting because they are one community,” he concluded.
On February this year, armed youth from Twic and Abyei fought a deadly clash that resulted to the killings from both sides and more than 30 others sustained injuries.
According to reports the dispute started as a protest against land surveying in Aneet but later exacerbated into bloody violence and displaced thousands of residents.
On 25 February 2022, President Salva Kiir formed a high level Fact-Finding committee led by Vice President for Service Cluster Hussein Abdelbagi Akol to probe Aneet shootings and report to him within 21 days.
Some weeks ago, a State minister and three county Commissioners were put under house detention after they had been implicated to have taken part in a fresh renewed clashes in Aneet.