Members of the traditional authority in the Abyei Administrative Aea are being trained on local peacebuilding, identifying community needs, and handling conflict root causes.
The workshop is under the United Nations Joint Program to Promote Inclusive Social Cohesion and Economic Resilience in the Abyei Area.
It is facilitated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with generous funding from the Korea International Cooperation Agency.
The three-day learning exercise began on Monday and will be concluded on Wednesday this week. It involves participation of 60 people including 14 women members of different traditional courts in the area.
Chief Mijok Kuol Lual of Mareng Chiefdom said they have learned a lot and would disseminate the peace culture in the Abyei region.
Ms. Nyanlueth Chol a member of the local court in Abathok village said she learnt early response skills, negotiation methods, and conflict management techniques.
Ngok Dinka tribe of the Abyei region has multiple conflicts to handle regarding governance (traditional & modern), resources and urban land sharing, and unjust employment according to some elites.
The area has borderland disputes with Misseriya in the north and Twic in the south which emerged in 2022. Both Tribes of Misseriya and Twic are believed to be supported directly or indirectly by central governments in Khartoum and Juba respectively.
Peace cluster organizations in Abyei Area are convening a corridor conference between Ngok Dinka and Misseriya early next week in a bid to mitigate dry season pasture and water-related conflict.
A peace conference that was meant to bring to the table both Ngok Dinka and Twic early this month in Bentiu, Unity State failed over disagreement on the facilitator and venue. The conference was organized by the VP for Service Cluster Hussein Abdebagi Akol.
Ngok Twic conflict has over a year while the feuding with the Misseriya had more than one hundred years.
