SPLA-IO, Nando forces ‘ejected’ from Tombura
JUBA – The government has started the demilitarisation of Tombura County to quell deadly inter-ethnic clashes that left hundreds dead and thousands displaced.
The process encompasses the relocation of rival forces loyal to Gen. James Nando and those of SPLA-IO – who have been blamed for initiating the ongoing inter-communal violence in the county.
Humanitarian organizations report that over 30, 000 people are at the brink of hunger as the man-made crisis in the Western Equatoria State County deepens.
Last week, the county authorities told local media that over 30 dead bodies were recovered by advanced gubernatorial forces who travelled to the county ahead of Governor Alfred Futuyo’s arrival to deescalate the conflict.
This came as the government intensified efforts to solve the ethnic clashes that have so far reached worrying levels.
President Salva Kiir convened a meeting with regional leaders after getting back from a trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to address the ongoing crisis.
On Tuesday this week, a senior Western Equatoria State official said three people were killed in a renewed tension on Monday night.
Dozens of houses were burnt and property looted in Zangia Village, about seven miles East of Tombura Town.
Speaking on the state-owned SSBC on Tuesday evening, Western Equatoria State Governor Futuyo confirmed that the transfer of the rival forces had begun as agreed by the principal leaders.
“They have started withdrawing the forces of Nando and after that, the forces of SPLA-IO will be taken to the training centres to be trained to become professional national forces,” he stated.
Tombura County descended into an inter-communal fight in May this year, forcing thousands to displacements in villages around the town with thousands of others fleeing to neighbouring counties.
Western Equatoria State political leaders and elites have been trading accusations among themselves .
In June, Governor Alfred Futuyo pointed fingers at four politicians, among them Jemma Nunu Kumba, the cureent Speaker of Parliament, and Patrick Raphael Zamoi, the former governor of defunct Tombura State.
Others were two Members of Parliament; Pascal Bandindi and Saleh Sayid Uku. The quadruple were accused of supporting deadly clashes in the County.
The governor was later pressured to apologise for revealing the identities of those he accused of funding the conflict.
However, Nunu Kumba denied the accusation and suggested that the withdrawal of forces of SPLA-IO and those of Nando could help stop the conflict.
But last week, Edmund Yakani, CEPO Executive Diurector who mediated the conflict, maintained that the violence was politically motivated to outseat Futuyo as Governor of Western Equatoria State.
“The problem is that political elites who are under the cover, using ethnic groups –armed one [community] separately and the other [community] separately and [pushed] them to fight then they count that as a failure on the state leadership,” said Yakani.
“The atrocity which is happening in Tombura now is meant to remove the governor from the seat [of] governorship.
“This is a new culture that is coming up and Tombura is suffering from that. When political elites start using violence to claim political powers, they take huge lives of innocent civilians, displacement, destruction of farms and imposed food insecurity,” Yakani stressed.
Ex-county commissioner killed
The former area county commissioner Charles Babiro was also killed in the clashes. The skirmishes triggered an outcry from leaders such as former national assembly speaker Anthony Makana who called for quick remedial action.
“The situation is very bad and it does not seem to get better. The national government should urgently intervene to save the lives of people in Tombura,” Makana told City Review Digital.
“Humanitarian actors should also step up to assist those displaced without shelter and food”.