South Sudan’s Kiir, Machar meet over renewed violence in oil-rich region

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his first vice president Riek Machar convened a joint meeting on Tuesday to address the security and humanitarian crisis in Abyei.

This followed renewed clashes that have displaced civilians.

Several security figures attended the meeting at the presidency in Juba.

The two leaders focused their discussions on land-related conflict between the Ngok and Twic communities.

Presidential Affairs Minister Joseph Bakosoro said the meeting further discussed the upcoming elections, particularly funding of the electoral institutions and phase II of the security arrangements in accordance with the peace deal.

On Monday, the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) released a statement confirming clashes occurred in areas located south of Abyei town.

These clashes led to loss of lives, destruction of properties, and forced displacement of civilians to safer locations.

According to the statement from the peacekeeping mission, the attack came from the direction of Twic County in Warrap and Unity states of South Sudan.

The motives behind the attack remain unclear, but clashes have occurred over the past two years between the two sides due to territorial ownership disputes.

About 40 people lost their lives in the violence over the weekend.

Repeated clashes have occurred in the Abyei region between competing factions of the Dinka ethnic group due to a disagreement regarding the location of an administrative boundary where significant tax revenue is collected from cross-border trade.

Abyei is an oil-rich region jointly administered by both South Sudan and Sudan, with both countries asserting claims to it. UNISFA peacekeepers were also attacked in the latest bout of violence.

An armored personnel carrier came under heavy fire in an ambush, the force said in a statement.

In late January, at least 54 people, including women, children and two UN peacekeepers, were killed in attacks in the same area.

UNISFA said more than 2,000 people were now sheltering at its bases due to the fighting in January and the past weekend.