By Bida Elly David
The Embassy of Ethiopia in South Sudan has refuted claims that citizens belonging to its country are involved in the attacks taking place in South Sudan’s Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA).
A well-placed source at the Ethiopian Embassy told No.1 Citizen Daily Newspaper yesterday that they were shocked upon reading the sad news concerning the claimed homicide by Ethiopian youth in Pibor administrative area.
The source said that the accusation against Ethiopian citizens identified in the onslaught in Pibor was informal since the government of Ethiopia has no knowledge about it.
“The claim of the Ethiopian involvement in the Pibor-Akobo insecurity confrontation is false. This information is not official since as a representative of the Ethiopian government we were not informed about it. We are going to collect more information and thereafter, we will inform our government and hear about their stand” said the source.
In continuation, the source echoed that Ethiopia has been in a series of bilateral ties with South Sudan for decades – saying that it is impossible for sisterly countries to rebel against one another in brutal manner.
The Embassy’s representative pronounced that the administration would pass its conclusion after genuine facts are gathered from right sources concerning participation of its citizens in support of Akobo youth to attack Pibor citizens.
The source also acknowledged that parts of South Sudan and Ethiopia are in close proximity; hence, Some South Sudanese are bearing dual citizenship.
“You know South Sudanese and Ethiopia are close neighbours. The slayed fighter in the Pibor attack could be having multiple ID cards. We don’t know for sure but we will make a follow up, and will communicate accordingly” the source further expounded.
No.1 Citizen presented a copy of the ID card of the fallen holder. And the Embassy official confirmed that the identity card is invalid since its deadline showed six years of expiry date.
Moreover, the source said, the Embassy would also investigate how many Ethiopians participated in the attack as well as the reasons for participating in the act without the notice of the Ethiopian government.
“If anything, what happened in Pibor was a new thing. That had never happened before, and we don’t want to see such thing happening. Henceforth, we will follow up with this issue to verify so as to help our government in Ethiopia to know the facts” the source added.
The source said that Ethiopian government remained committed to retain its positive relationship with South Sudan at all levels for better development.
In response to the Ethiopian Embassy, Abraham Kelang, the information minister of Greater Pibor Administrative area said that the authority is going to make official condemnation letter against the intervention of the Ethiopian youth in Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA).
“Since they said that what happened was not official, we are going to issue an official condemnation letter regarding the presence of Ethiopian armed youth in the area. They should not say that it is not official. The identity card is a clear evidence that shows the presence of these youth in the area” he said.
Abraham said that his authority never managed to get the figures of the numbers of armed Ethiopians who participated in the saga due to the relentless conflict. However, he said, the ID was an enough evidence.
He said that the situation is still in the state of jeopardy as random attacks are still going on.