May 4, 2013 (JUBA)- Kuol Deng Kuol, the paramount chief of the Nine Ngok Dinka of the disputed border region of Abyei has been killed in an ambush, officials here said today.

Troops from the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) in Abyei (REUTERS/Tim McKulka/UNMIS Handout)

Edward Lino, the Co-Chair of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee (AJOC), representing South Sudan said that chief Kuol, among others, were shot dead in an ambush by members of the rival Arabs nomads of Misseriya while they were in a convoy belonging to the United Nations Interim Force for Abyei (UNISFA) on their way back to Abyei town from a visit north of the area.

“The paramount chief Kuol Deng Kuol known as Kuol Adol in the area has been killed today in Abyei by the members of the Misseriya. He was part of my team which went to Abyei yesterday to hold a meeting with Sudanese delegation and after the meeting they visited Kej (Difra)" Lino told Sudan Tribune.

"You know Kej which they call Difra, literally meaning push away which clearly tells you that the area was inhibited by some people who are being pushed away, is where the oil is produced in Abyei which the government of Sudan is exploiting”, Lino added.

"As part of my team he went together with Sudanese delegation and they toured the area after talks, then the Sudanese delegation left to Muglad after concluding the visit and our team started returning to Abyei but they fell into an ambush on their way by members of the Misseriya who asked UNISFA force to surrender them. They started negotiating for release. This happened at around 1:00PM to 2:00PM when they were stopped and the negotiations went on until 6:00PM when they finally opened fire on the convoy and the chief was killed with others", the South Sudanese official explained.

He said the team had Deng Mading Mijak who is his deputy and Maguith Deng who is a senior member of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee and the late paramount Chief Kuol Deng Kuol.

There were also other members from the area who were being escorted by UNISFA . They were together with Force Commander and his team.

Juac Agok, the deputy Chairperson of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the area also confirmed the incident, describing the killing as what the international community had wanted to happen first in the area before they could begin to take seriously what they warned about Khartoum seeking to sabotage conduct of the referendum in the area.

“They have killed the chief. Our paramount chief has now been confirmed dead. There are also some people but I do not know how many. I have heard of three people but it could be more because they were in a convoy. I think this was what the international community had wanted to hear first. The international community never showed any interest in resolving the conflict of Abyei. They wanted the people of Abyei to be wiped out as this is the policy of the government of Sudan" Agok said.

"We have been saying that the government of Sudan did not withdraw forces from Abyei and it is openly arming Misseriya tribes. The international community is always quick to condemn and put pressure on the government of South Sudan but does nothing when Sudan violates and defies directives of the African Union and Security Council of the United Nations”, the emotionally charged official told Sudan Tribune Saturday.

South Sudan’s Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Deng Alor Kuol. who is also from the area and is a relative of the deceased paramount chief, said his government will hold the government of Sudan responsible for the killing because the incident shows that Khartoum armed the Misseriya members and sent them to the area “to carry out terrorist-like activities”.

“It is with deep regret that I inform you of the death of our paramount chief Kuol Adol. He was killed this evening in an ambush by Misseriya. The government of Sudan will definitely pay for his death and those who have died with him. This is clear act of terrorism and Khartoum must not be allowed to get away with it like other atrocities it had committed in the area before”, Alor told weeping family members who gathered in his house after learning the incident on Saturday.

South Sudan’s Inspector General of Police, Pieng Deng Kuol, said “armed activities of the government of Sudan in the area were no longer bearable” before collapsing, indicating the level of anger generated by the incident within the community.

Kuol Deng, a senior civil servant in the Abyei said the killing of the paramount chief of the area was an organised plan by the government of Sudan because it happened after its delegation left.

“There should be no guesswork as to who is behind this incident. The killing of our chief and those who have died with him today was an organised plan. The government of Sudan knows it. You can see that it happened just after the Sudanese delegation left the area. The delegation knew it well. They knew even the time the plan would be carried out. This is clear terrorist work”, Deng told Sudan Tribune.

The United Nations Interim Force for Abyei did not respond to a call by Sudan Tribune on Saturday and there was no immediate official release by the government South Sudan.

A Misseriya chief speaking to Agence France Presse (AFP) also confirmed the death, saying Kuol "was killed today" but accused UNISFA of provoking the clash.

"A group of Misseriya stopped the convoy and started negotiations. Then a clash happened when a UNISFA soldier shot one of the Misseriya who was readying his weapon," said the Misseriya chief who asked to remain anonymous.

During the resulting clash, "the Dinka leader’s car was hit by an explosion and he and his driver were killed".

Another anonymous resident told AFP that the Misseriya wanted to know why a Dinka was being taken through their zone, and negotiations "continued for a long time".

At some point gunfire broke out, "and they shot the car of the Dinka chief", he added, without specifying who opened fire.

In New York the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon issued a statement condemning the assassination of Kuol.

"The Secretary-General strongly condemns the killing of the Ngok Dinka Paramount Chief Deng Kuol Deng and a UNISFA peacekeeper in an attack by a Misseriya assailant on a UNISFA convoy in the Abyei Area, today. Two peacekeepers were also seriously wounded in the incident" said the statement.

He urged Khartoum, Juba, Ngok Dinka and Misseriya communities "to remain calm and avoid any escalation of this unfortunate event".

"This proves again how crucially important it is for the two Governments to establish the temporary institutions as stipulated in the 20 June 2011 Agreement and continue discussions on the final status of the Abyei Area" Ban said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Ambassador to South Sudan condemned the May 4 attack that killed Kuol and a United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) Ethiopian peacekeeper.

"The U.S. Government strongly condemns this act of violence and demands that those responsible be held accountable. We urge the governments of South Sudan and Sudan to exercise restraint during this sensitive and volatile period," Susan Page said in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune.

We appeal for calm in Abyei and implore all sides to avoid further escalation of violence, she added.

The US envoy urged the parties to the conflict in Abyei to use the mechanisms, namely the Joint Security Committee, which they have put in place, to investigate these acts of violence and to facilitate a transparent and effective investigation to bring those responsible to justice and to ensure this tragic incident does not escalate into further violence.

"We especially urge all parties to cooperate fully in the investigation," she stressed.

Abyei was scheduled to have a referendum in January 2011 to decide its fate but it never took place as Khartoum and Juba disagreed on who should be able to participate.

Last year, the African Union mediation team proposed that a referendum be held in the contested region this October, but that only those residing permanently in the area would be allowed to vote in the plebiscite, and decide whether they want to join Sudan or South Sudan.

This proposal would effectively make the majority of voters come from the Dinka Ngok tribe, aligned with South Sudan, thus putting the Arab Misseriya nomads, who spend several months in Abyei every year grazing, not part of the voting.

According to the mediators, exclusion of the Misseriya nomads, in line with the decision of the Hague-based arbitration court, which defined the territory of the nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms in July 2009.

However, Sudan swiftly rejected the plan, which received the blessing of the AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC)

(ST)