A group of armed youth in Twic County has freed a 21-year-old man that had been holding for days over spying suspicion.
The group, locally known as gelweng, has been engaging in fighting with youth in Abyei Administrative Area over land dispute since early 2022.
After months of monitoring Koor Mayen Aru – a native of Gogrial West County – they picked him up at Wunrok bus station while boarding a car to Abyei at the weekend.
“We are not after wealth and that is why we kept him together with his belongings, including money, phone, and goods,” Kuanyin Agoth, representative of gelweng, told Mayardit FM.
Five days later, they released the trader. Koor’s release process was facilitated by the government of Warrap state, in collaboration with the Twic and Gogrial west county commissioners.
Commenting on the matter, Koor Mayen, who Koor denied any involvement in the Twic-Ngok conflict, appreciated the armed youth for keeping him alive.
“The items that were taken from me during the arrest have been returned. I did not pay them to release me, and they did not harm me. I have been eating with them,” he explained.
“The bad part of my confinement was to die together with my mother who was traumatized by my detention.”
Victor Wek Koor, the county commissioner of Gogrial West, condemned the decision and urged the youth to refrain from such an act.
“As government, we want to keep peace and among ourselves and with the people of Abyei because we remain one people,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the commissioner of Twic county, Simon Aguek Chan, expressed his commitment to working towards restoration of peaceful coexistence between Twic and Abyei people.
He added: “We must live in peace with our neighbors because it is so beneficial to everyone to live in peace. Let’s cultivate the heart of hope for peace to work towards sustainable development.”