Representative photo courtesy unnews.org
Juba: The United Nations Mission in South Sudan said in Juba that it helped reunite 58 women and children, who had been abducted last year during inter-communal fighting in Jonglei State. UN helicopters helped women and children be reunited with their communities and families.
The UN Mission had been working with other UN partners since December to broker peace between the Lou Nuer, Murle and Dinka Bor communities in the country. Both the Lou Nuer and the Murle communities feel politically and economically marginalised by the politically dominant Bor Dinka. The Murle in particular feel threatened as they have little physical presence in the capital, Bor town. On the other hand, while both Nuer and Dinka are communities of cattle herders on the vast savannas of the region, since the Nuer supported the Sudanese government in the civil war, they were seen as not supportive enough of the new South Sudanese government, which has caused much bloodshed between the Dinka and Nuer.
David Shearer, the head of the Mission, said the agreement reached to release abducted women and children was an essential step to build trust and avoid the cycle of revenge. He stated that the Mission believed that as many as 686 women and children were abducted during the clashes that took place between January and August of last year. “Tragically, these abductions often involve sexual violence,” he said.
In New York, Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said the UN was supporting efforts for the return of the remaining women and children.
– global bihari bureau
