N. Bahr el Ghazal government closes Aweil-Meiram road over insecurity

Goods trucks from Sudan at the border. (File photo)

The government of South Sudan’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal State on Monday announced the closure of the Aweil-Meiram road which connects South Sudan and Sudan over insecurity and said it was a measure to protect travelers.

Last Friday, an armed Sudanese man identified as Abdalla Abu-Haja Al-Naim shot and killed two local government officers, Santino Akech Angok and Peter Arol Yai, in Aweil East County’s Warguet Payam.

The killer is said to have held a grievance against the government officials he gunned down from a case involving the stealing of his five cows by an SSPDF soldier two years ago. The deceased local officials are said to have ruled in favor of the soldier to the chagrin of the Sudanese man.

William Anyuon Kuol, the state’s information minister, told Radio Tamazuj Monday that the main route to Sudan will remain closed till further notice.

“We have now closed down the borders (Aweil-Meiram commercial route) until the suspect is arrested so that citizens will not have and or cause any problem,” he said. “The government has taken this decision because the locals are frustrated and if transportation activities continue via the commercial route, many crimes may erupt and we want to avoid that.”

Citizens and traders in the border towns of Awarwar and Majok Yinh Thiou said the closure of the commercial corridor will lead to the suffering of people and increased commodity prices.

“There will be negative effects because the road serves both Sudanese and South Sudanese nationals, especially citizens in Northern Bahr el Ghazal who depend on goods imported from Sudan,” said Dut Deng. “South Sudan has been badly affected by floods and that means there is no locally produced grain.”

Mou Akot, a trader in Awarwar, said that the Aweil-Meiram road is shorter than the Aweil-Juba road and that goods that come through the latter road are very expensive.

“The closure of the road is going to make life difficult for citizens because the goods that come from Juba are too expensive due to dollar scarcity,” he said.