Ambororo Demand Settlement In WES

23 July 2010 - (Yambio) – Western Equatoria state authorities have accused the Ambororo nomads of causing insecurity in the state.

According to the governor of the Western Equatoria state, Joseph Bangasi Bakosoro, the Ambororo presented a petition to the GOSS demanding settlement in the area.
Governor Bakosoro spoke to SRS on Tuesday from Juba.

[Joseph Bangasi Bakosoro]: “A group of Ambororo went from Yambio to Juba to meet the leadership there. They were demanding three things; land to settle, social services like education and health and security. That was the demand from them but we told them by the way you are refugees or displaced from where and they were unable to answer. The deputy governor is scheduling a meeting with them on 27th of this month to tell them to move away from the state.”

The state government initiated negotiations with the Ambororo. The deputy governor of Western Equatoria Alsapana Abui also accused the Ambororo of causing insecurity in the state.

[Alsapana Abui]: “First, there is no free land to be given to the Ambororo, second the presence of the Ambororo in this state in the last five years has cost lots of insecurity and the Ambororo and the LRA have made life difficult for the people here. We are suspecting Ambororo maybe collaborating with LRA because lately Ambororo has gone to the extent of burning villages and they are preventing and restricting the movement of people from their villages.”

However, speaking to SRS from Yambio on Thursday, the head of the Ambororo delegation, Issa Adam Osman, said that they want security for the Ambororo in Western Equatoria.

[Issa Adam Othman]: “We just want them to provide us with security for our wealth and our people without attacking them because there are so many things happening to them now. Many of us are being beaten. So we want to make sure that they are secure and we want to live together like Sudanese who have a right to movement. But if the people of the area are not ready to accommodate us and the government agrees, then we want to make sure our people go back to their areas of origin in south Darfur and if possible Western Bahr el-Ghazal state.”

The Ambororo are a nomadic community who move from place to place in search of pasture and water for their animals.