The Chief Administrator of Abyei Administrative Area, Kuol Deim Kuol has said President Salva Kiir has promised to support the demilitarization of Abyei region. The new chief administrator said this during his reception ceremony in Agok on Monday.
Kuol confirmed that the armed militias in Abyei Administrative Area under the command of Thomas Thiel, a South Sudanese, will be relocated to Eastern Equatoria state in South Sudan. He said, he was informed that Thomas Thiel will be dismissed from the Sudanese army where he has been getting support.
Kuol added that Thiel armed men will be integrated into South Sudan People’s Defense Forces. He assured the people that Thiel and his followers will not be the cause of instability in the area soon.
South Sudanese armed militiamen supported by Sudan’s government have been a security threat in Abyei Area since 2008. This is according to several statements by the government and the community leaders in the area.