AU, US Condemn Murder of UN Peacekeeper

{{The African Union (AU) has condemned Saturday’s attack in Sudan’s disputed Abyei region, in which the paramount chief of the Ngok Dinka, Koul Deng Majok, and a UN peacekeeper were killed.}}

AU chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said she had been shocked to learn of the attack on the United Nations Interim Security Force in Abyei (UNISFA), which occurred on the same day as a meeting held between members of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee (AJOC).

Koul and an Ethiopian peacekeeper were shot dead in an ambush by members of the rival nomadic Arab Misseriya tribe, while they were travelling in a UNISFA convoy on their way back to Abyei town from a visit to an area further north.

Two other peacekeepers were also seriously wounded.

“The chairperson condemns, in the strongest possible terms, this heinous crime, which threatens the stability of Abyei, as well as the progress recently achieved by Sudan and South Sudan in addressing their common security and socio-economic challenges”, the AU said in a statement on Sunday.

Dlamini-Zuma has urged Sudanese government to ensure that those responsible for the attack are brought to justice.

She also called on the leadership of both Sudans to exercise restraint and to ensure that the current situation does not spiral out of control.

The chairperson reiterated the AU’s support for decisions adopted by AJOC, including calls for Abyei to be a ‘weapons-free area’, as per an agreement on temporary arrangements for the administration and security of the area, signed by Sudan and South Sudan in June 2011.

“She calls on the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan to take all steps required to assist UNISFA to exercise its mandate in Abyei, and in particular calls on the two governments not to arm their citizens”, the statement adds.

The AU chairperson also expressed her condolences on behalf of the commission to the Ngok Dinka community, as well as to the family of the Ethiopian peacekeeper killed in the attack.

{ST}