ADC warns communal violence could affect elections

The Chairperson of the Action for Democratic Change (ADC) Party, Jong Anthony, has appealed to the revitalised government to deal with the ongoing communal conflict before it interferes with the election.

The politician raised concerns after a series of killings in the areas of Warrap, Abyei, and Jonglei in recent days.

Jong said that failure by the government to control communal conflict would allow communities to equip themselves with weapons, and this would be detrimental to the elections.

“As the country is going for an election in 2014, there is a high chance of citizens rearming themselves to protect themselves and their properties from other groups, and this would later be part of the insecurity that may affect the upcoming elections,” Jong said.

He blamed the government for failing to protect civilians across the country, adding that it is the responsibility of the government to provide security and maintain peace.

“We strongly blame the government of national unity for its failure to address the communal conflicts across the country and instead allow the civilians to take the law into their own hands,” he said.

He claimed that most areas continue to encounter a series of communal conflicts without being addressed.

“Looking at what is happening now in Jongeli, Warrap, Western Bahr el Ghazal, and Abyei Administrative Area, one can agree with me that the government failed to meet its mandate,” he blamed.

Last week, South Sudan deployed the first phase of necessary unified forces with sticks, citing the government’s inability to acquire weapons due to an army embargo.

Although the forces were meant to curtail insecurity, Minister of Information Michael Makuei told journalists during that event that forces were deployed with sticks.