North threatens to withhold recognition of South Sudan over border issues

Sudan's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) considerably upped the tension in the country on Thursday, 26th May, when it announced that it would not recognise the independence of South Sudan in July unless the new state's borders were demarcated.

The head of the NCP's political mobilisation bureau Al-Haj Magid Siwar said “How can we approve and recognise a state separate from us that we don't know where their borders begin or end?”

There are currently six problematic border points, as well the border region of Abyei, which is claimed by both sides. Both sides blame the other for delays in demarcation efforts.

South Sudan voted overwhelmingly to split from the north in a January independence referendum, which was part of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which ended the decades-long civil war.

Abyei was due to have its own referendum in January to decide whether to join the north or the south, but the vote was postponed indefinitely due to disagreements over voter eligibility.

Tensions have been high in Abyei since and clashes between the Juba-supported Dinka Ngok, permanent residents of the region, and the Arab, nomadic Misseriya tribes, supported by Khartoum, have resulted in dozens of deaths.

On 22nd May, northern Sudanese forces took over Abyei in retaliation for attacks on their troops in the area by troops from the southern Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA).

Speaking on Tuesday 24th May, Sudan's President Omar Al-Bashir said he would not withdraw his troops from the region and stressed that Abyei belongs to the north.

"Abyei is Sudanese land, Northern land [and] we will not withdraw from it,” he was quoted in the Sudan Tribune as saying.

Al-Bashir also announced that he had given northern troops the 'green light' to attack southern forces if provoked.

Despite this, South Sudan's President Salva Kiir said the south remained committed to the CPA.

“South Sudan will not go back to war. It will never happen under my leadership,” he said at a press conference in Juba on Thursday, 26th May.

“The Government of South Sudan remains committed to peace. But let some people not interpret this as acts of cowardice,” he said.

“We are not new to this kind of provocation from the NCP. Their invasion of Abyei should not be viewed as an isolated incident, but part of their plan to cause havoc in the region ahead of independence,” he argued.

Experts fear the continued dispute over Abyei could return the country to civil war.

Sources: AP, BBC News, Sudan Tribune, Sudan Vision

For more information, please see the Menas Borders website, here.

SPLM rejects NCP victory in key border state

The Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement (SPLM) has officially rejected the election victory of north Sudan's ruling National Congress Party's (NCP) candidate, Ahmad Haroun.

Haroun was declared the winner of the governorship poll in the oil-rich South Kordofan state, defeating his closest opponent and SPLM's candidate Abdul Aziz Al-Hilu by some 6,500 votes. SPLM said the vote was rigged.

 

South Kordofan borders South Sudan as well as the disputed Abyei region. The state is due to hold 'popular consultations' in 2011 which will determine whether it remains in Sudan or joins South Sudan, but the process has not been clearly defined.

Haroun is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for allegedly mobilising Arab militias to commit genocide against Africans in Darfur, during his time as a minister in the region in 2003-4. He has contested the allegations.

Speaking on behalf of the SPLM on 15th May, spokeman Yasir Arman said, “We will not accept these results because the vote was rigged.”

Experts fear that this latest incident might provoke violence in the region where more than 1.5 million people have died during the decades of conflict.

Many believe that the ongoing tensions between the North and the South - quelled by a 2005 peace deal which paved the way for the South's independence, which will occur this summer - will flare-up again if various frustrated groups and individuals take up-arms once more.

Speaking to the BBC, an official from the Justice Africa think-tank, Hafiz Mohamed, said: "These people were fighting for 20 years and their aspirations are not fulfilled...The way things are going, it's leading to a deadlock, which will end up with people carrying arms to release their frustration…If it starts, no-one can stop it – it will affect the south, it will affect the north. With the war in Darfur, we are heading for dangerous times."

Sources: BBC News, Los Angeles Times, Sudan Tribute, Sudan Vision

For more information, please see the Menas Borders website, here.

South Sudan pulls out of talks with North

Thabo Mbeki with South Sudan President Salva Kiir (R)

South Sudan's governing Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) announced on Saturday 12th March that it was suspending all talks with the north's National Congress Party (NCP). Pagan Amum, secretary general of the SPLM made the announcement at a press conference, and accused the north of working to destabilise the emerging independent state of South Sudan.

"The SPLM has decided to suspend the dialogue with the NCP because of its policies and its support of the armed militia in south Sudan," Amum said.

Amum said his government had detailed information of a plan by the NCP to topple to the South Sudan government before it declares independence on 9th July, 2011. He also said there was evidence that the NCP has been supporting various militia groups in the south with the intention of carrying out a genocide in the region.

He added that the NCP was trying to push the Arab Misseriya tribes into confrontation with the South Sudan government and to cripple the Abyei protocol.

Dozens of people have been killed in recent clashes between the SPLA and a rebel militia in South Sudan's Upper Nile State and between the SPLA and the Misseriya in the Abyei area.

The SPLM released confidential documents detailing the NCP's alleged plot to overthrow the southern government by supporting, arming, training and financing militias opposed to the South.

The documents, dating from 2008-2010, include information involving the northern military high command, the army's logistical deparment and intelligence units, as well as the defence ministry, according to the Sudan Tribune.

The NCP has denied the SPLM's accusations, and in a statement issued on Monday 14th March, NCP political secretary Ibrahim Gandoor said that the SPLM was seeking a scapegoat for its problems now that it was being confronted by a large armed opposition.

The NCP issued a further statement on Tuesday 15th Mach denouncing what it called 'fabricated documents' aimed at igniting hatred between the two sides and provoking a return to war.

The international community has responded quickly, appealing to the leaders of South Sudan to resume negotiations on post-referendum arrangements. Thabo Mbeki, the former South African president and chairman of the African Union (AU) High-Level Panel on Sudan told reporters at a press conference in Juba, South Sudan's capital, that he remains optimistic that the two parties will get back to the negotiating table.

Mbeki met with South Sudan's Vice President Riek Machar on Tuesday in Juba to stress the importance of resuming negotiations to prevent any deterioration of the situation.

The Sudan Troika – the US, UK and Norway – issued a joint statemnet on Tuesday, expressing 'serious concern' over the south's decision to freeze talks with the north. The Troika, which played a major role in establishing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, which brought the civil war to an end, said it was 'critical' that talks resumed.

The Troika's statement, posted on the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website, said “we urge President Bashir and President Kiir to take steps against alleged actions that destabilize each other's governments and territories, and to lay the ground for mutual cooperation with the goal of the creation of two viable states in July.”

The statement also reminded both parties of their obligation to permit the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) full access to the Abyei area. The UN Secretary-General's office released a statement on Monday complaining that the mission had been refused access to areas of conflict in Abyei and restricted in its movement.

South Sudan voted in a January referendum to seceded from the North and form a new country. A number of issues remain unresolved between the two countries, including oil revenues, border demarcation and the ownership of the border-straddling Abyei region.

Violence has plagued the border region and the south since the referendum. Renegade Southern army general Gorge Athor's forces attacked Malakal town in the Upper Nile State on Saturday, the latest in a series of bloody clashes. The SPLM accuses the north of funding Athor's militia.

Sources: Sudan Tribune, FCO, Eastday

For more information on Sudan, see the Menas Borders website, here.

South Sudan decides on its name

South Sudan has been chosen as the name of what will be the world's newest country when it comes into existence on 9th July, ending months of speculation.

Other suggested names had included Nile Republic and Cush, a reference to a Biblical-era kingdom in the area.

Some 99 per cent of southern Sudanese voted for independence from the north of Sudan in a referendum held in January.

The name decision was announced after a meeting of the top committee of the south's ruling SPLM party.

The SPLM's Secretary General Pagan Amum said the decision, made by the party's politburo, will require approval by parliament.

But that is a formality as the SPLM holds the vast majority of seats in the assembly.

Mr Amum said negotiations were under way with the north about how to go forward with the partition and he warned of the challenges ahead.

"We are a baby nation that has just been born - and like a human baby, we are fragile but have the potential to become great," AFP news agency quotes him as saying.

He said the current pound currency would be replaced by a new currency, also to be called the pound.

The referendum on independence for the oil-rich south was part of a deal to end decades of north-south conflict.

The week-long vote itself passed off peacefully, but tension remains high in parts of the oil-rich area which straddles the north and south.

Many issues remain to be resolved before the new country is formed, including how to deal with oil revenue. The south of Sudan contains most of the oil fields, but they have to be transported through the north.

Under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which brought the civil war to an end in 2005, the two sides split oil revenues evenly, but Amum announced on Tuesday 15th February that would not be the case any longer.

"The notion of sharing wealth will not be there. There is no continuation, whether 50 percent or anything," Amum said according to Reuters.

He said they will only pay a fee for using the pipelines that transport the oil to Port Sudan.

The fate of the oil-rich Abyei region is yet to be determined, although Amum said the SPLM will hold talks with the north's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) on Friday 18th February to discuss the region.

The Abyei region was supposed to have its own referendum on which State to join in January, but it was postponed when the two sides could not agree on voter eligibility.

Last week, some 200 people were killed in south Sudan's Jonglei state in fighting involving those loyal to rebel leader George Athor. Most of those killed were civilians. The SPLM has accused the north of backing Athor, while Athor blames the clashes on the southern army.

Sources: BBC News, Sudan Tribune

For more information on Sudan, see the Menas Borders website, here.

Sudan round up: UN confirms SAF attack, SSRC in hot water, and Sudanese migrants returned home

A UN investigation confirmed on Monday 13th December, Southern Sudanese claims that warplanes from the northern-controlled Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) had carried out attacks in locations in Southern Sudan near the joint border this month.

The Southern Sudanese government has complained repeatedly in recent months about bombings taking place. The most recent occurred in Timsaha in Western Bahr al-Ghazal province on 8th December, and while noone was killed, the Southern Sudan government has called for a UN commission of inquiry.

A spokesperson for the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), Kouider Zerrouk confirmed the attack: "After verification, it was established by the CJMC members that air attack took place in the vicinity of Timsaha in Western Bahr al-Ghazal and no casualties have been reported."

Southern Sudan said last month that SAF representatives in the ceasefire monitoring body, the Ceasefire Joint Military Committee, which is chaired by the UN, admitted a previous bombing in the area on 14th November. SAF representatives allegedly said that the attack was part of the hunt for Darfur rebels.

Khartoum frequently accuses Southern Sudan publically of supporting and sheltering insurgents from Western Sudan, including Darfur, which borders Western Bahr al-Ghazal. Southern Sudanese officials deny the accusations and say the bombing is meant to increase tension in the north-south Sudan border area in the run up to the January independence referendum.

On 7th December, Southern Sudan minister of information Barnaba Marial Benjamin Bil accused the SAF of working to undermine the referendum by carrying out air attacks in Southern Sudan.

Legal challenge to SSRCOn 8th December, Menas Borders reported that a group of lawyers, backed by the northern ruling party, the National Congress Party (NCP) was seeking to file a lawsuit against the South Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC), arguing that the commission had violated the interim constitution and the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in conducting voter registration.

The lawyers filed their case on Sunday 12th December, and on 14th December, the Sudan Constitutional Court accepted the motion 'in form and content' according to one of the lawyers involved.

Ismail Hassan Haj-Hamad, head of the legal team that filed the challenge said that the next step would be for the court to consider their requests and would order the SSRC to file a response, before issuing a final ruling.

Haj-Hamad was quoted on the Sudanese Media Center (SMC) website saying that they had asked the court to annul all procedures arising out of the voter registration and to immediately halt the work of the SSRC. He said they are requesting the commission to be dissolved and for a new one to be established in line with the Referendum Act of 2009.

The court is expected to rule within three days.

Israel returns Sudanese migrants

In other Sudan related news, Israel confirmed, on Monday 13th December, that it was deporting 150 Sudanese migrants that had entered the country illegally. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has also confirmed that the migrants were being flown back to Sudan, via a third country, and that no coercion was involved.

Israeli officials said over 200 Sudanese had been flown out of the country in recent months after agreeing to return home, but that the operation on Monday was the largest yet.

The Israeli government estimates that over 30,000 Africans have entered the country illegally through its southern border in the last five years. Israel is taking an increasingly tough line with migrants; it is building a barrier along its border with Egypt to try to stop people from crossing illegally and has approved plans to set up a special facility to house those who are detained.

Israel says the migrants, most of whom come from the Horn of Africa, come in search of work, and are threatening local jobs.

Sources: BBC News, Sudan Tribune
For more information on the Sudan, please see menas borders

South Sudan referendum preparation progressing, but Abyei talks break down

A southern Sudanese man living in Darfur registers to vote

The hopes of independence for the southern Sudanese got one step closer on Wednesday 8th December as voter registration closed, signalling the end of one of the biggest obstacles to the referendum taking place early next year.

More than three million southerners have signed up for the 9th January, 2011 poll, which is likely to split Africa's largest country in two, and create the continent's first new country since 1993.

Disputes and delays in registering voters had led many to suggest the vote would have to be postponed, an outcome that would likely please northern leader Omar al-Bashir, but threaten to return the country to violence.

There has been renewed international engagement in recent months, however, and the registration process proceeded smoothly in the semi-autonomous southern region. Despite the registration period, which was meant to end on 1st December, being extended for a week, it looks likely the vote will go ahead on time.

The independence referendum is the outcome of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended a 20 year civil war between the largely Arab north and largely non-Arab south, which claimed more than two million lives.

Though the peace has held since 2005, there is great mistrust between the northern National Congress Party (NCP), headed by President al-Bashir and the southern Sudan's People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). The SPLM have accused the NCP of trying to derail the referendum, and many southerners living outside the south chose not to register for the referendum, fearing that Khartoum would tamper with their votes.

A central issue is revenues from oil, as most of the country's hydrocarbon resources are located in the south. Currently the revenue from Sudan's 500,000 daily barrels of oil is shared between the north and the south, but the north stands to lose up to 75 per cent of its petrodollar income if the south separates.

Many southerners believe that al-Bashir will try to postpone the referendum to maintain its income. The UN and the international community, especially the US, have played a hands-on role in recent months, trying to induce al-Bashir to accept the results of the referendum, through offers of the easing of sanctions and debt relief. The International Crisis Group (ICG) thinktank has said in a recent report that al-Bashir's government was stalling to extract as many concessions from the south and the international community as possible.

Even if the vote does go ahead on schedule, key parts of the CPA, including demarcation of the north-south border and how oil will be managed, has not been decided. The oil issue is particularly tricky because the pipelines from the southern oilfields run through the north.

A number of southern figures backed by the NCP have recently announced that the vote is in violation of the interim constitution and the CPA, and are in the process of finalising a lawsuit against the South Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC). The group has said they will ask for an injunction to prevent the SSRC from proceeding with its preparations for the referendum. If granted, it means that the exercise will have to be delayed until the court rules on the challenge. The lawsuit could be filed as early as Wednesday 8th December, according to the Sudan Tribune.

The NCP has in recent weeks accused the SSRC head Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil of turning a blind eye to 'blatant' violations committed by the SPLM in the registration process. They allege that the SPLM has intimidated potential voters not to register in order to make it likely that the referendum will result in a vote for succession.

Despite these issues, and the very tight deadline, it seems likely that the southern Sudanese will vote on 9th January, 2011. The same cannot be said of the Abyei region, which was due to vote to join either the north or the south on the same day. North-south talks on Abyei broke down in Ethiopia last month, and northern officials have said it would be impossible to hold on the vote on time.

US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley admitted as much on 7th December, when he said "I think we have a recognition that that referendum will not go forward on January 9th, but we continue to encourage the parties to work on a solution to Abyei."

The Abyei referendum commission has yet to be appointed and the parties remain divided on voter eligibility. There is some speculation that the vote will not take place at all in oil-rich Abyei. Rather, there may be a negotiated settlement, for example Abyei going to the south in exchange for something the north wants, according to Zach Vertin of the ICG.

Sources: the Guardian, Sudan Tribune