South Sudan leaders discuss intercommunal conflicts

JUBA, South Sudan

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir on Thursday met leaders from Abyei and Twic communities to discuss communal conflicts between the two groups.

The meeting, attended by representatives and Members of Parliament from Abyei and Twic, discussed at length the issue of communal conflicts between the two communities.

Speaking to reporters in Juba, the Presidential Affairs minister, Barnaba Marial Benjamin urged the representatives from the two communities to cease hostilities.

He said the meeting, chaired by the president, ended with both parties embracing peace.

South Sudan’s East African Community Affairs minister, Deng Alor Kuol said the two communities should desist from the culture of violence and embrace peace.

For his part, Majok Yak, a member of the national assembly observed that relations between both communities could worsen, if conflict continued.

Twic county and the Abyei Special Region have been embroiled in land disputes for years. The recent conflict was sparked on account of a survey conducted by the Abyei Special Administrative authorities related to the ownership of the profitable trade hub known as Aneet Market, which, subsequently, led to an escalation of hostilities between the two communities.