President Salva Kiir has said the rights of the Ngok Dinka must be respected and their lives protected from armed militants from the Republic of Sudan.
The African Union should demand that Sudan controls the movement of armed Misseriya to the Abyei region during the grazing season, President Kiir told African heads of State yesterday in Addis Ababa.
President Kiir said when Sudanese nomads return to Sudan after spending rainy season in South Sudan, they steal cattle of the indigenous people, “and when people complain, they are killed.”
“The killing of the Dinka Ngok paramount chief would create problems during the next dry season, and I urge President Mbeki and his panel to take immediate action so that the situation in Abyei is resolved,” he added.
President Salva Kiir and Omar Al-Bashir failed to agree over the status of Abyei during their sideline meeting on Friday.
Doctor Luka Biong, an official of the Abyei region was quoted by the media as saying that President Kiir demanded that a referendum takes place in Abyei this year as proposed by the African Union, but President Al-Bashir reportedly rejected the proposal and demanded for the formation of Abyei joint administration.
Last year, the African Union, AU, is proposing that a referendum take place in October of 2013 in which the people of Abyei will decide to link themselves to South Sudan or to Sudan.
The proposal includes provisions for the Misseriya and Ngok Dinka who cross the borders between the nations.
The AU suggests a “soft border” which would allow relatively free travel across the national boundaries regardless of the outcome of the referendum.