By Tong Akok Anei Mawien
During our struggle with the Sudan government, our belief was that no Janja-weed (marr’am) or whatever would come again and take the lives of vulnerable citizens; no more bombardment of unarmed civilians in their peaceful areas; that was the dream of every child who experiences running dodging bullets. Though there are no more bombardments countrywide, that notion of no more lives to be taken by arms has not met its course comprehensively and has not yet vanished, simply because our communities are still suffering because of isolation, lack of government concern, ignorance, and frail leadership. I’m in solidarity with families who lost their loved ones from militia or gang attacks and with the families who are nesting the wounds of their dear ones for a quick recovery in Apuk-Padoc of Tonj North-Warrap State. Not a month ago on this platform that I wrote down the attack by an armed gang from Unity State on innocent civilians and their properties in Alabek Payam and Aliek Payam, respectively, now it has ensued again. Akop Payam (Apuk-Padoc) is bleeding, a bunch of well-armed militia, and gangs attacked unarmed civilians in Apuk-Padoc, killing more than 19 people, wounding a dozen others, and raiding a herd of cattle. These cattle raids and killings are so common in the areas bordering Unity State that I don’t know whether the Unity State government is involved in these occurring events.
Last year warrap state government took the initiative to disarm all the civil population in Apuk-Padoc, Alabek, and Aliek payams of Tonj-North County and the state of warrap as a whole, the exercise we all as intellectuals applauded as a splendid achievement and yes it was an excellent moved in that particular time but not unlike in this saddest movement, that exercise was with an assurance that the security and protection of this population is under the government hands, through making sure the gangs and militias in swampy areas are collectively by both states (warrap and Unity) driven away, secondly by making sure in coordination with other bordering states (Unity State) that there is an equal exercise of disarmament as well in their State, this would have been the inclusive grantee of security but now it is a poke at the face.
Why do we have to watch the deaths of our communities in cool blood? I don’t know whether the Warrap state government and the Unity state government are in coordination in regard to these gangs and militias activities, and if they are, why not arrest the situations as both state governments? Why are there still gangs and militias from Unity state that are killing innocent civilians? Commonly every week, one day is convened as a day for security meetings in both the national and state governments. Is this only Juba or the state capital? Security and not outlining measures on community security, we need the intervention of the national government to bring down these gangs and militias activities and bring the culprits into government books. The national government has to question the two governors on this increase in killings in their states; this is not isolated cattle theft anymore.
The author can be reached via Tel: 0929300008/ 0988011119; Email: tongakok7170@gmail.com / tongakok47.@gmail.com