By Adia Jildo
The Ugandan Defense Forces are reported to have created a barrack and blocked roads leading to Uganda on Sunday.
The commissioner of Kajo Keji Panuel Dumo said the act has gone out of his powers as the incident has continued to happen leading to arrest, death and ambush by the Ugandan forces.
He called on both the national and state government to intervene on the interference by UPDF soldiers into the territorial border of South Sudan.
“That deployment is illegal and against international law.” He said. “Among the countries of CES, Kajo Keji has witnessed the worst encroachment our by Ugandan authorities.”
He stated that the issue of encroachment by the Ugandan Citizens and their national army couldn’t wait for 2027 for the issues to resolve amicably for peace to reign in the area.
He said the push to resolve border issue by demarcation is too far for the country to witness it being encroached by its neighbors.
“If this kind of behaviors continue in this way, do you think we shall reach that year without fighting (2027).”
He called on the national government to intervene by engaging the Ugandan government to know of their intentions and also deploy SSPDF to prevent the incidence of further encroachment.
“Its not the mandate of the UPDF/ SSPDF to interfere with the issues related to the local government act which is community based. Land issues are resolved by land lords especially when it comes to the issues of borders,” he said.
Edmund Yakani the Executive Director for Community Empowerment Progress has called on the government of the Republic of South Sudan to take action to resolve border dispute and encroachment by its neighbors rather than waiting for 2027.
He said, the country has lost vast land to the border for neighbors citing giving deaf ears to community will cause dispute which can be avoidable.
“As civil society we call for specifically national legislative assembly to make a resolution to discourse and do a proper survey and to bring the attention of African Union or Inter-governmental Authority on Development. Keeping this in a low profile will not help the country in anyway.
He further urged the minister of foreign affair and international cooperation to attend to the matter citing interference from the nation army of Uganda, which such issues are not their mandate.
“The 2027 is too far and south Sudan can not wait till 2027 when there is an attack at the border. It must intervene immediate by protecting the land. We do not want the land to be demarcated. There is need for the government to take up and act,” he said.
Yakani stated that the move by the UPDF into the border to interfere is politically motivated, as the army’s mandate does not include border interference.
“This barracks may shift definitions of boarders or negotiations of borderlines and I think it’s the primary responsibility of the government to intervene in the issue of the UPDF interfering with community frictions on the issues of the border line control,” he warned.
Dispute on land and border encroachment by Ugandan citizen has continued for passed year which has lewd to blood shed and interference by the UPDF.
Engagement by two countries has been there despite slow improvement.
