14 Apr 06 – The majority of Ethiopian troops reported late on 11 April to have entered the Pochalla region of South Sudan are now said to have withdrawn to Pinyudo, on the Ethiopian side of the border. The situation is now said to be relatively calm although tensions remain between the Anuak and the Merle following the Ethiopian operations to disarm the Anuak.
According to reports received by the Aegis Trust late on 11 April, the Ethiopian Army entered Southern Sudan in cooperation with the SPLA as part of operations to disarm members of the Anuak ethnic minority. The roads to Pochalla, with a population of over 17,000 Anuak refugees, and nearby Otalo with around 10,000 Anuak refugees, were reported to be blocked on the east by Ethiopian forces and on the west by the SPLA. On the morning of 12 April, troops were said to be half an hour’s walk from Pochalla.
Large numbers of Anuak fled Gambella, following a massacre in Gambella town in December 2003, and the refugees in Pochalla and Otalo feared the prospect of violence from the Ethiopian troops.
Members of the Anuak community state that disarmament operations commenced on 4 April and claim that they have been accompanied by violence against civilians, including a number of killings, rapes, the looting of property and the burning of houses.
The operations follow an attack on highlanders reported in Dimma, Gambella, and a reported request by the Ethiopian authorities for the SPLA to hand over 18 leading Anuak living in Pochalla, some of Sudanese nationality, accused of supporting Anuak rebels against the Ethiopians in Gambella.
Since 9 April, members of the Merle ethnic minority are reported to have taken advantage of the disarmament of Anuak by attacking members of the community near Pochalla and also at Ajwara, wounding two people and stealing cattle. Further trouble between the Merle and the Anuak was reported in the Pochalla area this morning.
In 2003, oil giant Petronas obtained a concession from the Ethiopian Government to conduct exploration activity in the Gambella basin. Anuak activists claim that the start of their recent troubles is linked to the discovery of Gambella’s natural wealth.
