United Nations peacekeepers evacuated more than 100 civilians, mostly women and children, from a village in the disputed Abyei region after clashes broke out between armed forces, a U.N. spokesperson said Friday.
The oil-rich territory is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan.
The crisis unfolded after fighting erupted earlier this week involving elements of the unified forces of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF), according to Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general.
In response, the U.N. Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) transported the civilians from the village of Malual Aleu to the safety of its peacekeeping base in Kadhian.
“At the base, the civilians are being provided with shelter, food, water and medical assistance,” Dujarric said during a press briefing in New York.
In a separate but related incident, he said more than 90 additional civilians sought refuge and were granted protection at the mission’s base in Rumamier, located in the southern part of the Abyei area.
Dujarric stated that the mission’s Quick Reaction Force has “stepped up patrolling in the area to prevent further escalation.” The actions are part of the mission’s core mandate to protect civilians in the disputed border region.
14 Soldiers Killed
South Sudanese army spokesman Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang said the incident occurred Tuesday and was not politically motivated but stemmed from a “misunderstanding” between two officers. He presented conflicting accounts of the trigger, stating it may have been an argument at a tea shop or a dispute over a woman.
“The first version says it was a love triangle. The two men were reported to be in an affair with one lady,” Lul told a press conference in Juba. “The officer from SPLA-IO opened fire on the SSPDF captain, killing him on the spot, and then their bodyguards opened fire on each other.”
Lul said the clash spread from a market to a checkpoint and barracks, resulting in the deaths of 14 servicemen — eight from the SSPDF and six from the SPLA-IO, a rival armed group.
A local commander, Lt. Gen. Peter Bawa Jamus, provided a similar account to Radio Tamazuj, identifying the officers as a second lieutenant and a captain. He said the shooting began after the lieutenant found the captain speaking with his wife.
In the aftermath, the unity of the force was fractured. Jamus said more than 400 former SPLA-IO soldiers, part of the unified unit, deserted their positions in several villages and moved north toward the Abyei Administrative Area.