Twenty MPs representing Northern Bahr El Ghazal signed a letter to the National Assembly asking the House to freeze the implementation of the Mile 14 demilitarization clause in the cooperation agreement between South Sudan and Sudan.
The legislators say “the issue has negatively affected the essence of the agreement and raises the chronic low level strained relations of the concerned tribes which were annually being managed by local authorities into a potential bitter conflict.”The signatories note that there is no reciprocal demilitarization of areas being claimed by South Sudan under the control of Sudan.
The MPs claim that the demilitarization of Mile 14 does not serve the interests of the Dinka Malual and the Rizeigat Arabs that are enjoying relative peace.
They asked the House not to enforce the demilitarization clause to keep the unity of the nation.
The Northern Bahr El Ghazal MPs termed the agreement a stab on the back because it was signed without consulting the local communities.