November 2023 Abyei border attacks

Last updated

November 2023 Abyei border attacks
Part of Abyei border conflict (2022-present)
Location Abyei-Twic County border, South Sudan
DateNovember 19, 2023
TargetNgok Dinka
Deaths47+
Injured34+
Perpetrators Twic Dinka
Flag of South Sudan.svg SSPDF 3rd Division

On November 19, 2023, Twic Dinka youth and soldiers from the 3rd Division of the South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF) attacked several villages along the border between Abyei and Twic County, killing over forty-seven people and injuring thirty-four others.

Contents

Background

Dinka from Twic County south of Abyei have been involved in a border conflict with Abyei's Ngok Dinka over land and cattle since February 2022. Despite a peace agreement in April 2023, clashes broke out again in September 2023 with Twic Dinka killing Ngok Dinka civilians in raids on border towns. [1]

Ngok Dinka and Nuer mercenaries from Unity State attacked Twic Dinka and aligned SSPDF forces at the SSPDF 3rd Division's base in the border town of Ayuok on November 10, killing thirty-four soldiers and their families, and injuring thirty-two others. [2]

Attacks

Following the massacre at the Ayuok base, the head of the 3rd division, General Akuei Ajou, aligned with Twic Dinka forces known as Titweng, and a militia led by Gal Machiek. [3] The attack began on November 19 in the border area between Rummamer County and Alal County. [4] The initial toll given by Abyei officials was twenty-seven killed by SSPDF in the village of Mayot in Rummamer, including the county's former commissioner, before the Titweng and Gal Machiek militias headed to Maluel Aleu, a village in Alal County. There, UNISFA forces intervened in the conflict, repulsing the militias. [5]

Ministers from Abyei stated that this attack was the first during the border conflict in which SSPDF targeted Ngok Dinka civilians. [6] The attacks sparked protests in Abyei, with civilians urging SSPDF to leave the disputed region. [7] A statement from the protest by the Abyei Civil Society stated that the attacks killed over forty-seven civilians and thirty-four injured, and that the villages of Ayuok, Athony, Malual Aleu, Ka-dhian, Nyiel, Angot Wuncuei, and Wunpeeth were targeted. [8]

The commander of the 3rd Division, Gen. Ajou, claimed that the SSPDF was not involved in the attacks. [9] UNISFA denied claims by Abyei officials about the death of a Ghanaian peacekeeper in the attacks. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warrap (state)</span> State of South Sudan

Warrap is one of the ten states in South Sudan, located in the Bahr el Ghazal region. The state became part of South Sudan after a successful secession from Sudan on 9 July 2011. Wanhalel, the place where first Jieng Customary Laws were initiated and hometown to prominent politician, Gen. Nhial Deng Nhial is located in Tonj South County of Warrap State The current governor is Kuol Muor Muor who replaced Manhiem Bol Malek in November, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wau, South Sudan</span> City in Bahr el Ghazal, South Sudan

Wau is a city in northwestern South Sudan, on the western bank of the Jur River, that serves as capital for Western Bahr el Ghazal. It lies approximately 650 kilometres (400 mi) northwest of the capital Juba. A culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse urban center and trading hub, Wau is also the former headquarters of Western Bahr el Ghazal.

The Ruweng are part of South Sudan's larger Padang fraternity found in both South Sudan and northern Sudan. The Padang consists of Jok, Ruweng and Lual Yak. Ngok is one branch of the ten Dinka groups. The Dinka is the largest Nilotic group in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abyei</span> Condominium of South Sudan and Sudan

The Abyei Area is an area of 10,546 km2 or 4,072 sq mi on the border between South Sudan and Sudan that has been accorded "special administrative status" by the 2004 Protocol on the Resolution of the Abyei Conflict in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the Second Sudanese Civil War. The capital of the Abyei Area is Abyei Town. Under the terms of the Abyei Protocol, the Abyei Area is considered, on an interim basis, to be simultaneously part of both the Republic of South Sudan and Republic of Sudan, effectively a condominium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudanese nomadic conflicts</span> Non-state conflicts between rival nomadic tribes

Sudanese nomadic conflicts are non-state conflicts between rival nomadic tribes taking place in the territory of Sudan and, since 2011, South Sudan. Conflict between nomadic tribes in Sudan is common, with fights breaking out over scarce resources, including grazing land, cattle and drinking water. Some of the tribes involved in these clashes have been the Messiria, Maalia, Rizeigat and Bani Hussein Arabic tribes inhabiting Darfur and West Kordofan, and the Dinka, Nuer and Murle African ethnic groups inhabiting South Sudan. Conflicts have been fueled by other major wars taking place in the same regions, in particular the Second Sudanese Civil War, the War in Darfur and the Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile</span> 2011–2020 insurgency in southern Sudan

The Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile was an armed conflict in the Sudanese states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North (SPLM-N), a northern affiliate of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in South Sudan. After some years of relative calm following the 2005 agreement which ended the second Sudanese civil war between the Sudanese government and SPLM rebels, fighting broke out again in the lead-up to South Sudan independence on 9 July 2011, starting in South Kordofan on 5 June and spreading to the neighboring Blue Nile state in September. SPLM-N, splitting from newly independent SPLM, took up arms against the inclusion of the two southern states in Sudan with no popular consultation and against the lack of democratic elections. The conflict is intertwined with the War in Darfur, since in November 2011 SPLM-N established a loose alliance with Darfuri rebels, called Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deng Alor Kuol</span> Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet of South Sudan

Deng Alor Kuol is a South Sudanese politician. He has served as the minister of East African Community Affairs in President Salva Kiir Mayardit's government. He is a member of the Ngok Dinka ethnic group, and was born in Abyei region, an oil-producing border region between Northern and Southern Sudan.

Ethnic violence in South Sudan has a long history among South Sudan's varied ethnic groups. South Sudan has 64 tribes with the largest being the Dinka, who constitute about 35% of the population and predominate in government. The second largest are the Nuers. Conflict is often aggravated among nomadic groups over the issue of cattle and grazing land and is part of the wider Sudanese nomadic conflicts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Sudanese Civil War</span> 2013–2020 civil war in South Sudan

The South Sudanese Civil War was a multi-sided civil war in South Sudan between forces of the government and opposition forces. In December 2013, President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar and 10 others of attempting a coup d'état. Machar denied trying to start a coup and fled to lead the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO). Fighting broke out between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and SPLM-IO, igniting the civil war. Ugandan troops were deployed to fight alongside the South Sudanese government. The United Nations has peacekeepers in the country as part of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aweil East State</span> State of South Sudan from 2015 to 2020

Aweil East also known as Abiem, was a state in South Sudan that existed between 2 October 2015 and 22 February 2020.It had an estimated population of 571,728 people and an area of 6,172.23 KM square. It was located in northern-western South Sudan. Its capital and largest city was Wanyjok. The state is located in the Bahr el Ghazal region and it bordered Twic State and Gogrial State to the east, Aweil State to the south, Lol State to the west, the disputed Abyei State region to the northeast, and Sudan to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twic State</span> State of South Sudan from 2015 to 2020

Twic State was a state in South Sudan that existed between 2 October 2015 and 22 February 2020. It was located in the Bahr el Ghazal region and it bordered Aweil East to the west, the disputed Abyei region to the north, Gogrial to the south, Northern Liech to the east, and Ruweng to the northeast. The population of Twic State was recorded at 204,905 in 2008, and was estimated at a population of 543,410 in 2014. The capital of the state was Mayen-Abun, with an estimated population of around 2,000 people in city limits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruweng Administrative Area</span> Administrative area in South Sudan

The Ruweng Administrative Area is an administrative area in South Sudan. The area was known as Ruweng State between 2 October 2015 and 22 February 2020 when it was a state of South Sudan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016–2019 Wau clashes</span> Armed conflict in Wau, South Sudan

Armed clashes took in Wau State from late June 2016 to January 2019 between the Dinka-dominated Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and local opposition forces, consisting of tribal Fertit militias as well as fighters claiming allegiance to Riek Machar. It is unclear to what extent these rebels were actually part of the SPLM-IO or acting independently while using the SPLM-IO's name. The clashes resulted in the arrest of the state's governor, Elias Waya Nyipuoc, widespread death and destruction in the state capital, Wau town, and the displacement of up to 150,000 people.

Mathiang Anyoor, also spelled Mathiang Anyur, also known as Dot Ke Beny, is a Dinka-affiliated militia group in South Sudan. Originally an ad-hoc volunteer force founded in 2012, the militia was transformed into a private army to protect President Salva Kiir Mayardit and army chief Paul Malong Awan. However, the South Sudanese military (SPLA) claims that it is just another battalion. Much of the ethnic violence against non-Dinkas in the South Sudanese Civil War is attributed to the militia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wunlit Peace Conference</span>

The Dinka–Nuer West Bank Peace & Reconciliation Conference of 1999 was held in what was then the Southern part of Sudan. It is commonly called the "Wunlit Peace Conference" after Wunlit, the village where it was held in eastern Tonj County in Bahr El Ghazal. The conference brought together Nuer from Western Upper Nile and Dinka from Tonj, Rumbek, and Yirol. It is the most prominent and comprehensively documented case of a people-to-people peace process in what is now the Republic of South Sudan.

This article lists events from the year 2019 in South Sudan

Kuol D. Kuol is a former South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SPLA) general and the chief administrator of the Abyei Area since June 29, 2020.

In January 2022, armed Murle militias attacked Bor Dinka villages in Jonglei State, South Sudan, killing dozens of people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abyei border conflict (2022–present)</span> Conflict in South Sudan

Between February 2022 and April 2023, clashes broke out in the Abyei area of South Sudan between Twic Dinka militias against Ngok Dinka militias, regarding control of the border between Abyei and South Sudan's Twic County. The conflict ended temporarily following a ceasefire between the Twic Dinka and Ngok Dinka in May 2023. In September 2023, attacks flared up in the border area between Abyei and Twic County between Twic Dinka and Ngok Dinka youth, with several massacres against Ngok Dinka.

Between August 8 and 9, 2020, clashes broke out between soldiers of the South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF) and Luanyjang gelweng in Romic, Tonj East, Warrap State, South Sudan during a disarmament process outlined in the peace process after the South Sudanese Civil War.

References

  1. "UNISFA condemns the fatal incident of sporadic shooting in the Abyei New Market - South Sudan | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 2023-10-04. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  2. Lasuba, Memoscar (2023-11-16). "Nine survivors of Twic-Ngok clashes admitted to Wau Hosptial". Eye Radio. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  3. "SSPDF, armed Twic youth attack Abyei's Rumamer and Alal counties". Radio Tamazuj. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  4. "32 killed, 20 wounded in separate attacks in Abyei". Radio Tamazuj. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  5. "32 killed in attacks in the Abyei region, which is disputed between Sudan and South Sudan". AP News. 2023-11-19. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  6. "Abyei MPs condemn Sunday's attacks, killings in Abyei villages". Radio Tamazuj. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  7. "Abyei citizens protest insecurity, demand SSPDF and SAF withdrawal". Radio Tamazuj. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  8. "Abyei citizens protest insecurity, demand SSPDF and SAF withdrawal". Radio Tamazuj. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  9. Lasuba, Memoscar (2023-11-22). "SSPDF denies involvement in Abyei deadly attack". Eye Radio. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  10. "UNISFA condemns Abyei attacks, says no peacekeeper was killed". Radio Tamazuj. Retrieved 2024-01-29.