Abyei conflict (2022–2023)

Abyei conflict
Map of Abyei
Date February 10, 2022 – April 6, 2023 Location Twic, South Sudan and Abyei Result Ceasefire Twic Dinka and Ngok Dinka sign a ceasefire Intermittent attacks between Misseriya Arabs and Ngok Dinka
Belligerents
Misseriya Twic Dinka Bul Nuer	Ngok Dinka	UNISFA South Sudan
Commanders and leaders
Stephen Buay Rolnyang	Belbel Kuol Deng	Benjamin Sawyerr[1] Kuol Deim Kuol Chol Deng Alaak
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown	81+ killed, dozens injured 50,000 refugees

Between February 2022 and April 2023, clashes broke out in the disputed Abyei area in South Sudan between Twic Dinka and Misseriya militias against Ngok Dinka militias. The conflict ended following a ceasefire between the Twic Dinka and Ngok Dinka, but sporadic attacks by Misseriya Arabs continue.

Prelude

The Abyei area is inhabited by the Ngok Dinka, a sub-group of the Dinka people who live in South Sudan.^[2] In the early 1900s, Misseriya Arabs moved to the area following the British conquest.^[3] Following the independence of South Sudan from Sudan in 2011, Abyei was left as a disputed area as no side wanted to give up the rich oilfields in the region.^[4] A short war broke out in 2012 over the area, but was resolved by the creation of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). As of 2023, South Sudan holds de facto control over the area.^[4]

Most inter-communal violence is driven by Misseriya Arabs and Twic Dinka against the Ngok Dinka. Due to land disputes between the nomadic Misseriya and farming Ngok combined with climate change exacerbating dry seasons, Misseriya Arabs have encroached on Ngok Dinka land in the past few years.^[5] The Misseriya are also the only group that boycotted the 2013 referendum proposing Abyei fall under South Sudanese control, instead favoring Sudanese rule.^[6]

Conflict

Misseriya attacks

The first attack happened on February 10, 2022, after Twic Dinka militants attacked a group of Abyei administrators surveying land on the Abyei-Twic State border.^[7] The surveyors were at the Aneet market whenever the Twic militants sent by Twic tax collectors attacked the surveyors. Four people had been killed by the time UNISFA was sent to relieve tensions.^[7] Twelve others were wounded in the attack.^[7] The death toll later increased to 27 dead and 26 injured, according to Abyei Security Advisor Kiluk Kon.^[8]

A second attack occurred on March 4, although little is known about it. A larger attack occurred the next day in the villages of Mading-Thon and Kuol-Bol in western Abyei. In the attacks, twenty-seven people were killed and four were injured, predominantly the elderly.^[9] The Misseriya later claimed responsibility for the attack.^[10] By March 6, over 50,000 refugees had fled to Abyei town.^[10]

Between March and April, attacks occurred in Nong, Lu, and Kolom. The Nong attack killed seven people, the Lu attack killed five and one was injured, and in Kon, four people were killed. Around 2,000 heads of cattle were stolen in Lu as well.^[8] Kon also stated that in the attacks, the perpetrators wore the uniform of the Sudanese Armed Forces.^[8]

In May 2022, the SSPDF intervened in the area. South Sudanese President Salva Kiir also announced the creation of a panel to assess and relieve the violence.^[11] Peace talks also began in Entebbe, Uganda in May between Ngok Dinka and Misseriya tribal leaders, sponsored by the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, a South Sudanese aid organization.^[12]

On May 22, 2023, an attack by Misseriya militants killed five people and injured six others in the Hafir El Sillik area of Abyei.^[13]

Twic Dinka-Ngok Dinka conflict

Starting in June 2022, and intensifying in September and October 2022, Ngok Dinka and Twic Dinka clashed at the borders of Abyei and Twic states.^[14] The SSPDF intervened a second time, and a CEPO-mediated peace negotiation saw a peace treaty between Twic and Ngok Dinka.^[15] However, fighting re-erupted in December 2022 at the village of Wou Chien on the Abyei-Twic border.^[16][17]

In January 2023, an attack by around 200 Twic Dinka and Bul Nuer led by former SPLM commander Stephen Buay Rolnyang attacked the Abyei village of Rumamier, killing thirteen civilians and aid workers, and injuring four others.^[18] UNISFA troops intervened, but the village was burnt down.^[18] A week later, three people were killed and two injured by Ngok Dinka militants in Twic State.^[4] On January 27, battles between the Bul Nuer and Ngok Dinka saw several dozen civilians killed and hundreds of cattle stolen in the Abyei villages of Tong Liet, Makoac-Madou, and Makeibum.^[4] Due to the violence, Abyei chief administrator Kuol Deim Kuol resigned after protests. Kuol, however, alleged that officials from Warrap and Abyei were behind the violence.^[19] The new administrator, Chol Deng Alaak, vowed to establish peace.^[20]

On February 28, UNISFA denounced the movement of South Sudanese armed forces to Abyei.^[21] A second peace treaty between the Twic Dinka and Ngok Dinka was signed in Wau on April 6.^[22] However, the Ngok Dinka sultan, Belbek Kuol Deng, stated that attacks by Misseriya Arabs still continued against Ngok Dinka communities.^[23] At the outbreak of the War in Sudan on April 15, tensions rose between the Twic, Misseriya, and Ngok Dinka, but no attacks were reported.^[24]

References

This page was last edited on 31 December 2023, at 12:37