At least 21,444 residents of Fashoda County in the southern Sudan state of Upper Nile require relief

July 26, 2010 (KHARTOUM) - At least 21,444 residents of Fashoda County in the southern Sudan state of Upper Nile require relief assistance, according to UN agencies.
The victims are part of a month-long clashes between forces loyal to former southern Sudan wildlife officer turned rebel, Robert Gwang, and SPLA forces in the area.

There were 30 people reported killed in the series of clashes which occurred on earlier this month between the same group loyal to colonel Gwang and SPLA forces. This has left hundred displaced and an unrecorded number of local settlements burned down in the main clashing points around Lul.

Clashes further spread to villages of Kiji, Padual, Owekiel, PangKuai, Reeth lep, Wichdewad, Omir, Koyiel, Otuwele, Aguabai among others.

A joint report by United Nations, state government and other relief organizations in the area conducted on July 12, says reports of ill-treatment and torture by officials, mainly directed at innocent civilians mostly women, children and elderly, are worrying.

"People are still very scared. There is a big problem between the groups loyal to colonel Gwang allegedly fighting against disarmament proper process allegedly in favour of local communities and SPLA forces executing regional policy as stipulated in the 2005 peace deal signed by the two former warring parties now turned peace partners" said a staff member from one of the relief organizations in an e-mail to Sudan Tribune on Sunday from Malakal.

"They do not trust each other; they do not speak to each other as people of the same state and as people with the same identity let alone being natives of the same region. they are scared of each other. There's a huge problem of psychological trauma. It's still very, very fresh for them, for those who lost their relatives. It is very difficult for them to forgive and forget and lead a normal life".

Asked what he and others in the area think could have contributed to the root cause of this conflict, he said, in our assessment, depending on who you talked to, the root cause of this instability in the area cannot be established.

"It is complicated and appears to be a politically motivated conflict to heighten long rivalry over land ownership between Dinka and Shilluk in the area. These cousins have long history over territorial rivalry. The Dinka claim ownership of Malakal town and so does the Shilluk. It is not a new rivalry but a long which an honest attention to settle it once and for all," he said.

"When a Shilluk sees a Dinka in disarmament exercise, he views it differently and regards it as conspiracy," he adds urging the government to conduct disarmament without the use elements from both side.

"For me I would prefer government conduct civil disarmament using members of different tribes in the army in both areas" he added

The relief official said the key needs now are protection-related activities. The assessments are coming in and there is still quite a lot of arbitrary detention. In its latest situation report, the group said there was still concern about reports of abuse of power, arbitrary detentions, and excessive use of force, ill-treatment, torture and extortion by law enforcement officials.

Relief organizations in the area such as VSF-G and Medair which took part in the assessment have also voiced concern about access to health care due to the presence of armed personnel in and around some medical facilities in Fashoda.

In a move to bolster the fragile peace, the deputy governor Andrea Maya in a meeting with Shilluk chiefs announced last week the state government would send a police force to the area but a small one.

Meanwhile, some aid workers said they expected more turbulence around referendum exercise scheduled to take place in January 2011.

A lack of documentation has contributed to a general sense of insecurity in the former ruling national congress party controlled state with birth and marriage certificates, papers proving ownership of property and passports burned or destroyed during the clashes.

UNHCR has set up a way station in Malakal for people arriving from Fashoda to raise their concerns and seek help. According to the local official who declined to be named, the situation report shows that the most frequently raised issues were detention.

Source :http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article35773