United Nations Warns of War Between Sudan and South Sudan

Silva Kir, the leader of south Sudan and President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan. The President said he would recognize the south if it voted for separation from the central government. Factional fighting in the south may jeopardize their independence., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

UN warns of war between Sudan and South Sudan

December 8, 2011 (WASHINGTON) – A senior United Nations official today warned that Sudan and South Sudan could go to war over the disputes related to the secession of the south and military conflicts on the border region.

“The situation in Sudan and South Sudan is at a difficult juncture, with a very low trust between the countries, heightened rhetoric, and mutual accusations,” said United Nations Peacekeeping chief Hervé Ladsous at a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) briefing.

“In this environment, neither country is making sufficient progress toward building a strong, mutually beneficial relationship” Ladsous added.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan officially last July but a number of contentious post-secession issues have yet to be agreed on particularly Abyei, border demarcation, oil and splitting national debt.

"A return to the negotiating table is absolutely essential to prevent a further descent of the two new countries into violence, which would inevitably have an impact on the whole region," Ladsous said.

Khartoum accuses Juba of supporting rebels fighting its forces in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states. More recently South Sudan claimed that a northern military plane bombed a refugee camp inside its borders and that Sudan Armed Forces troops occupied the town of Jau.

South Sudan claims Jau is part of its Unity state, while Sudan puts the region in its South Kordofan state.

"We are very concerned by the recent escalation of tensions at the border, and in particular the recent attack by the Sudan Armed Forces on Jau in Unity State. We underline that Jau is a part of South Sudan," South Sudan’s UN envoy David Buom Choat told the UNSC.

Choat said that Jau hosts the HQ of Southern army’s 9th Division and that this was recognized in accords with Khartoum.

But Sudan’s UN envoy, Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman dismissed Choat’s assertions saying Jau lies in South Kordofan inside the country’s borders.

"The presence of the 9th Division in Jau was illegitimate and was for the occupation of these lands. The land itself is northern territory, 100 percent northern" Osman said.

“Jau is an inseparable part of the territorial integrity of Sudan" he added. (ST)


Sudan's new government sworn in

Asmaa Husseini from Juba
Sunday 11 Dec 2011

Sudan's minister of information says the country's new government needs time to accomplish its goals

Members of Sudan’s new government took an oath before President Omar Al-Bashir on Saturday, amidst criticisms by opposition groups regarding the government’s inaction and lack of change in many of the ruling National Congress Party’s (NCP) old leaders.

Criticisms have also been made regarding the symbolic presence of opposition figures in parliament, amid a series of crises in the country. These crises include growing political and economic fractures and the continuation of armed conflicts across the country.

Sudanese Minister of Information Abdallah Masar defended the current makeup of the government — the first since South Sudan’s secession— which has been four months in the making and brings together 60 ministers. He stated that it is a broad-based government that upholds political partnership and unity.

Masar, a member of the National Umma Party (NUP) that is in alliance with the ruling NCP, stated that “The priorities of the new government will aim to ensure that peace and security are guaranteed in the country.” He referred to the conflict taking place in South Kordofan and the Blue Nile state, in addition to, the growing economic crisis.

“Peace has to be consolidated in Darfur,” he explained, while also promising to ensure greater regional cooperation with Sudan’s neighbouring nations.

Masar also called for the need to not place hasty judgements on the new government for the time being, but rather allow ministers to fully take up their posts.

Eleven NCP ministers have retained their positions in the ministries of defense, interior, foreign affairs, petroleum, justice, finance, higher education, science and technology, minerals, electricity and dams, agriculture and labour.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has taken on three portfolios: the ministry of commerce, the council ofministers, and the ministry of youth and sports.

Breakaway factions of the DUP and the NUP were given six portfolios. Four members are also members of the breakaway faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N).

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/29038.aspx


Underdeveloped east Sudan "volcano to erupt"-report

Sun, Dec 11 2011

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's impoverished east is "a volcano waiting to erupt" because anger is rising over a lack of economic development and an abundance of arms, a U.N. agency quoted an official as saying in a report.

Sudan's government is fighting armed insurgents in the Western region of Darfur and two southern border states which all complain of economic and political marginalisation in the African country.

The east is crucial to Sudan's oil-driven economy as it contains the only commercial port and miles of pipline. The Eastern Front, an east Sudanese movement, signed a peace deal with Khartoum in 2006 ending a lingering insurgency, but complaints of neglect continue. Small anti-government protest have erupted in the city of Kassala near the Eritrean border in the past few months.

The east is "a volcano waiting to erupt," an official working with the U.N. Development Programme in Kassala said, according to a report by the Integrated Regional Information Networks published on its website.

IRIN is a media agency affiliated with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs though their reports do not necessarily reflect official U.N. policy.

The report quoted the UNDP official as saying Beja tribal fighters were gathering in Hamid Mountains on the Eritrean side of the border to east Sudan.

"Unofficial sources have already reported that they organised attacks in Sudanese territory three months ago," said the UNDP source, according to the report.

IRIN quoted Beja community leader Mohamed Ali Adam as saying many in his community "think that the situation hasn't improved for them even five years after the war. They have still no access to facilities such as schools as promised by the government."

Information Ministry official Rabie Abdelati dismissed the report as inaccurate, saying a large development programme was underway in the east.

"There is a development programme ongoing in the east, much financial aid. Leaders from the east are part of the new government," he said.

Events in east Sudan are hard to verify because journalists and diplomats need travel permits to go there.

Sudan has been struggling with a severe economic crisis since South Sudan took away much of the country's oil production when it became independent in July. Oil is the lifeline of both economies.

(Reporting by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Matthew Jones)