By William Madouk Garang
Authorities in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State said Aweil-Meiram road will remain closed until the suspect behind the killing of two government official are arrested and also to avoid revenge attack.
According to the government the decision was reached because the locals are frustrated and if transportation activities continue via the commercial route maybe there will be vengeance attack since people are still mourning.
William Anyuon Kuol, the state’s information minister, told No.1 Citizen Newspaper that the main route to Sudan will momentarily remain closed till further notice and to thwart any retaliation attack.
He also said that the situation in Aweil state in general remain claim and that the government has advised the people not to take law into their own hands.
“The road is temporarily been closed until the culprit is arrested. We close the road temporarily so that we stop the movement between Misseryia and Dinka Malual because if we allow them to move revenge will happen and that will also cause another chaos,” Kuol said.
Minister Kuol stated that according to the local agreement between Dinka Malual and Misseryia Arab of Sudan, among the resolution is to identify and culprits who are found to be behind any offense to face the law.
“The situation is okay but there are some measures for instance in local peace agreement between Dinka Malual and Misseryia – there are some details and resolution are being put in place that task the government of Western Kurdufan and Misseryia to arrest the culprits and when we confirm the culprit is being arrested then the road now will just open,” He explained.
Last Friday, an armed Sudanese man identified as Abdalla Abu-Haja Al-Naim shot and killed two local government officers, Santino Akech Angok and Peter Arol Yai, in Aweil East County’s Warguet Payam.
The police in Aweil also said they have written to their Sudanese counterparts to hand over a fugitive suspected to have murdered two local government administrators in Aweil East County, last week.
According to the state authorities, the dispute was allegedly triggered by a local court ruling which favored a South Sudanese man.
The court gave the ownership of disputed herds to the South Sudanese in question and that angered armed Sudanese man who in return shoot the two government officials.