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STORY: SUDAN / SALVA KIIR ABYEI
TRT: 3:21
SOURCE: UNMIS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 26 MAY 2011, JUBA, SUDAN, 25 MAY 2011, ABYEI, KADUGLI, SUDAN
1. Med shot, President Salva Kirr walking out of his office
2. Wide shot, Salva Kiir addressing the press
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Salva Kiir, President of South Sudan:
“I am calling upon my president, President Omar Al Bashir to pull out his force from Abyei, that is unconditional and so that we allow the deployment of international forces that will keep peace in the area and so that we allow the people who have been displaced from their homes to go back to their places and to allow the humanitarian organizations to go in to deliver humanitarian assistance to these people.”
4. Wide shot journalist at the press conference
5. Med shot, southern Sudan Ministers at the press conference
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Salva Kiir, President of South Sudan:
“We did not really take it upon ourselves that we must now go back to war because we have been provoked, no it will not happen. I must state here that, we remain committed to peace and if anybody thinks that SPLA and the government of Southern Sudan are going to retaliate by attacking Abyei or attacking anywhere in Sudan, we are not going to do it.”
7. Wide shot, journalist at the press conference
8. Close-up, journalist writing
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Salva Kiir, President of South Sudan:
“I believe they will never block the independence of South Sudan, South Sudan will become independent on the 9th of July, whether the north recognize the south or not that is not my problem, the whole world knows we have taken we have never go wrong anywhere.”
10. Wide shot, President Salva Kiir leaving
25 MAY 2011, ABYEI, SUDAN
11. Aerials, Abyei burning
12. Various shots, huts burning
25 MAY 2011, KADUGLI, SUDAN
13. Wide shot, UN delegation
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Georg Charpentier, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan:
“Since there are no local population residents in Abyei town at the moment we can estimate that between twenty and thirty thousand are on the move.”
25 MAY 2011, ABYEI, SUDAN
15. Wide shot, militia and vehicle passing by
16. Wide shot, women carrying luggage
25 MAY 2011, KADUGLI, SUDAN
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Major General Moses Bisong Obi, Force Commander, United Nations Mission in Sudan:
“I got assurances that United Nations would not be obstructed in doing its job. And I also got assurances and the risk concerned about the numerous militia men that I saw in Abyei.”
18. Med shot, troops on flight, part of the UNMIS Force Reserve Battalion which has been deployed to Abyei
The President of the Government of South Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit today called for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Sudan Armed Forces from the disputed Abyei region, which the forces have recently claimed control.
SOUNDBITE (English) Salva Kiir, President of South Sudan:
“I am calling upon my president, President Omar Al Bashir to pull out his force from Abyei, that is unconditional and so that we allow the deployment of international forces that will keep peace in the area and so that we allow the people who have been displaced from their homes to go back to their places and to allow the humanitarian organizations to go in to deliver humanitarian assistance to these people.”
The conflict could tip the two sides back to civil war, which ended in 2005 after more than two decades of bloodshed. Addressing the press and representatives of the international community in Juba today, South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir ruled out a return to war with former enemies in the north over the contested Abyei region.
SOUNDBITE (English) Salva Kiir, President of South Sudan
“We did not really take it upon ourselves that we must now go back to war because we have been provoked, no it will not happen. I must state here that, we remain committed to peace and if anybody thinks that SPLA and the government of Southern Sudan are going to retaliate by attacking Abyei or attacking anywhere in Sudan, we are not going to do it.”
Kiir further reiterated claims that Abyei belongs to the Dinka Ngok. He also added that Southern Sudan will remained focus on the Independence Day celebrations and will not be drawn into a new conflict with the North.
SOUNDBITE (English) Salva Kiir, President of South Sudan:
“I believe they will never block the independence of South Sudan. South Sudan will become independent on the 9th of July, whether the north recognize the south or not that is not my problem, the whole world knows all the process we have taken; we have never gone wrong anywhere.”
On Saturday May 21, Sudan Armed Forces, the north Sudan army took control of Abyei, forcing tens of thousands to flee over the border to South Sudan, sparking an international outcry.
The members of the Security Council condemned the escalatory military operations being undertaken by the Sudanese Armed Forces, which have taken control of the area in and around Abyei town, and called on the Government of Sudan to halt its military operations and to withdraw immediately from Abyei town and its environs.
Meanwhile, the situation in and around the Abyei area remains tense. The recent upsurge in violence has displaced large numbers of civilians, possibly hundreds of thousands, according to the mission.
UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Georg Charpentier said that there were no local population residents in Abyei town and estimated there were between 20 and 30 thousand were on the move.
SOUNDBITE (English) Georg Charpentier, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan:
“Since there are no local population residents in Abyei town at the moment we can estimate that between 20 and 30 thousand are on the move.”
UNMIS deployed additional troops on Wednesday. Armoured Personnel Carriers were also redeployed to the town of Agok, south of Abyei, where most civilians affected by the conflict fled to.
The Mission has temporarily relocated some of its civilian staff based in Abyei pending a return to normal security conditions.
Initial patrols around the area of conflict suggest that looting and pillaging have left the town badly damaged and empty. No civilian casualties have been observed. Sporadic gunfire persists in the area.
