Attacks and roadblocks in Sudan's Abyei and Keilak

March 17, 2008 ( Abyei NSV ) - Armed men believed to be from Misseriya ordered citizens from Todoc to relocate inside Abyei town due to insecurity in the last 48 hours.

The incident has disturbed locals in Abyei town. Todoc is 20km north of Abyei where some remnants of southern militias are stationed. The militia platoon is believed to be conniving with the Misseriya and SAF's Battalion 31.

"The Misseriya came and forced people away from the area," said one of the residents who got resettled there in 2004. Several IDPs inside the town of Abyei, who spoke to NSV, expressed willingness to go back to their villages.

An official from local authority, who spoke to NSV on condition of anonymity, said, "We are making final arrangements to either put the police force there or the army. But we want our people to go back to their ancestral home in Todoc."

During the war, Todoc was abandoned by the Ngok clans who lived in the place because of frequent attacks by the Murahileen. Through a local organization, National Development Organization (NDO), many returnees from northern Sudan settled back in the place which was renamed DOMBOLOYA by nomadic Misseriya during the war. With the attacks in Todoc, the Misseriya are closing towards Abyei inch by inch.

In a related development, traffic to Abyei and Bentiu are being halted by Misseriya roadblocks around Lake Keilak.

One NGO official was stopped yesterday on his way to southern Sudan. The official told to NSV how he was interrogated by the Misseriya.

"They demanded that their cows be provided with water because they are dying of thirst," he said. The official further commented that complaints of the Misseriya are against the government that is playing and victimizing them. When he met with the second group in Difra Rig he said they were cruel to him asking if he was a Dinka or carrying Dinka men and women in his lorry.

The continuation of the roadblock to Abyei is disrupting flow of goods and development services especially during this dry season where transportation services are cheaper than during the wet season. The motives for the attacks and roadblocks in Todoc have to be addressed by concerned authority to facilitate safe return of the IDPs.