In recent weeks, inter-communal violence has engulfed Sudan's disputed Abyei region. Escalating tensions between Abyei's Ngok Dinka community and the nomadic Misseriya group, which are fueled by the area's unresolved status, have been exacerbated by the internal conflict in South Sudan, which has caused some to fear that Abyei has fallen from the South Sudanese political agenda. A new policy alert by the Enough Project warns of the potentially devastating consequences of this dichotomy of escalating conflict and limited attention by external actors. If a concerted commitment to resolving Abyei's final status is not undertaken by the two governments and the international community, these clashes between Abyei's communities may spiral into a regionalized war.
Abyei is home to the Ngok Dinka semi-sedentary communities, and the nomadic Misseriya who migrate across the area annually to graze their cattle and access water sources. New internal and external dynamics have heightened sensitivities to levels not seen since May 2011, and sparked a new violence. Since early February, attacks on communities and cattle have been reported in the villages of Makir, Athony, Marial Achak, Todac, and Dungop.
The policy alert, "Looming Crisis: Open Wounds in Abyei Increase Risk of New War," analyzes this deadly chess game, in which the Ngok Dinka and the nomadic Misseriya each continue to escalate the conflict towards a stalemate that could result in a resurgence of war between Sudan and South Sudan. Due to long-term grievances that a referendum has yet to occur, and recent events concerning the murder of the Ngok Dinka paramount chief in May 2013, the Ngok Dinka are now challenging the Misseriya's traditional, annual migration south ahead of the rainy season-an act which is threatening the livelihood of the Misseriya and exacerbating already high tensions.
In response to previous tensions, the U.N. peacekeeping mission for Abyei, UNISFA, has sought to create a buffer between the Ngok ...
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