May 7, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan's presidential assistant and National Congress Party (NCP) deputy-chairman for the party's affairs, Nafie Ali Nafie, has threatened to mount a decisive battle against rebel groups which have stepped up their military activities in recent months.

Soldiers wave to government supporters during a rally in support of Sudan's armed forces in Khartoum on 28 December 2011 (Reuters)

The Sudanese official, who was addressing the opening session of the NCP's Shura council in Sudan's northern town of Atbara, said that the Sudan Revolutionary Front's (SRF) “barbaric” attacks in North and South Kordofan states was not a coincidence but part of widespread, carefully planned offensive.

In a rare attack last month, SRF rebels swept through the city of Um Rawaba in North Kordofan, before withdrawing later in the day.

Fighting between the rebels and the Sudanese army (SAF) has previously been mainly limited to Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states bordering South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan in 2011.

North Kordofan, the region that includes Um Rawaba and forms part of Sudan's commercial heartland, is a hub for the country's agriculture, livestock and gum Arabic industries.

Diplomats and analysts speaking to Reuters said the raid on North Kordofan's second largest city appeared to be a bid to stretch Sudan's army across an ever-changing line of battle in Sudan's savannahs and scrublands, rather than an attempted land grab.

The Sudanese army now has it eyes on reclaiming Abu-Kershola district in South Kordofan which was overran by rebels during last month's assault.

Officials in Khartoum say that they have completely surrounded the area and pledged not to stop until they recapture Kauda which is the stronghold of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in South Kordofan.

Nafie declared that the government has enough information on rebel groups active in the volatile region, including their objectives and military entry points in Kordofan and Darfur.

The Sudanese official said that signs of rebel defeat have begun to show in North Kordofan, predicting that this would continue in South Kordofan until Sudan was cleansed of “traitors”.

He went on to say that thousands of “Mujahideen” (holy fighters) are on the move to rebel-held areas, accusing the SRF of targeting people from certain ethnicities in Abu Kershola district in order to instigate strife.

The presidential assistant urged residents not to fall into the rebels' trap of ethnicity and tribalism.

Nafie said that the West's animosity towards the Sudanese government is a strategic ploy, aimed at toppling the regime which he claims is leading an Islamic awakening.

He emphasised that the West would not reconcile with Sudan unless it is forced to “out of desperation”.

However, Nafie also pointed out that the stance of Western nations towards Sudan has begun to change, claiming that the United States has lost faith in its “agents” in the country, especially after the signing of cooperation agreements with South Sudan.

In a clear reference to an invitation extended to him by Washington which drew strong rebuke from rights groups, Nafie went on to say that the US is now opening its doors for dialogue with the Sudanese government

Last month, the US Chargé d'affaires, Joseph D. Stafford, said that Washington is committed to continuing dialogue with the Sudanese government in spite of the challenges facing the countries bilateral relationship.

There have been conflicting reports on Nafie's upcoming visit, with local media suggesting it has been delayed.

Sudan has been on the US blacklist of states sponsoring terrorism since 1993 over allegations of harbouring Islamist militants despite credible reports of Sudan being a cooperative intelligence partner of Washington in the so called “war on terror”.

Sudan has also been subject to comprehensive economic sanctions since 1997 over terrorism charges, as well as human right abuses. Further sanctions, particularly on weapons, have been imposed since the 2003 outbreak of violence in the western Darfur region.

(ST)

May 7, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government has responded cautiously to a report carried by state media on Monday which claimed Uganda had banned anti-Khartoum rebels from meeting on its territory again.

Youssef al-Koda, head of the Al-Wasat Islamic party, sits next to the chairman of the Sudan People Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), Malik Agar, at the signing ceremony in Kampala, Uganda on 31 January 2013

Sudan's official news agency SUNA quoted an informed source at the Ugandan external security apparatus as saying that rebel leaders were notified of the decision during a secret meeting.

Minni Minnawi and Abdel-Wahid Mohamed Nur, the leaders of two separate factions of the Sudan Liberation Movement – the SLM-MM and SLM-AW respectively, as well as Ayoub Mohamed of Darfur People's Unity Movement were reportedly present at the meeting.

Sudanese foreign ministry spokesperson Abu-Bakr al-Sideeg Mohammed Al-Amin, expressed hope that the report is true, adding that Kampala has an obligation to refrain from backing rebel movements.

Al-Amin said that Uganda's current chairmanship of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and its membership in the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC), as well as other international blocs, requires not only the banning of rebel groups from holding meetings but also denying them existence within Ugandan territory.

In 2011, the ICGR designated the Darfur rebel groups Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) as negative forces that should be combated.

The Sudanese diplomat stressed that rebel meetings are held only to plan and prepare for acts of sabotage, aggression and targeting of civilians, noting the recent attacks by the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) on areas in North and South Kordofan states.

“There is no objection on our part to establishing good and normal relations with Uganda. We have the desire and the will to do so and the Ugandan move [to ban rebel groups] serves in the same direction”, he said.

Khartoum and Kampala have a long history of troubled relations over alleged support to rebel groups on both sides of their borders.

Kampala says that Khartoum continues to provide support and refuge to notorious Ugandan rebels the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) even after South Sudan's secession in July 2011 created a buffer zone between Sudan and Uganda.

Khartoum on the other hand says that Kampala has become a safe harbour for Sudanese rebel leaders.

Last January, Sudanese opposition parties and rebel groups signed a charter in Kampala known as the “New Dawn”, which aimed to topple the Khartoum regime via different political and military means.

This has prompted Khartoum to lodge several complaints with the African Union (AU) and other regional blocs against Kampala, saying the latter is supporting regime change in Sudan.

Last March, the speaker of the Sudan's national assembly, Ahmed Ibrahim al-Tahir, said that the Sudanese government is working with forces in Uganda that are opposed to president Yoweri Museveni to bring about “positive political influence”.

In response to the remarks, Uganda's foreign affairs minister, Sam Kutesa, warned that if Sudan continues supporting forces opposed to the Uganda government, they will be defeated.

“Sudan has always supported LRA leader Joseph Kony, if they want to continue they will meet the same end of defeat. Uganda is not going to promote any groups against the government of Sudan”, Kutesa told New Vision newspaper in Kampala at the time.

He went on to say that the two countries have a bilateral mechanism of resolving problems between the two countries.

Uganda's top diplomat also warned that if Sudan were to expel any staff from Uganda's embassy in Sudan, as it has threatened, Kampala would reciprocate.

(ST)

May 7, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir expressed hope that his country would one day re-unite with the South given the things they have in common.

Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir pictured in Khartoum after returning from China, 1 July 2011 (Reuters)

At a meeting with a delegation from the Supreme Council of South Sudan Muslims, Bashir emphasised that the neighbouring countries share a common destiny, culture and conscience.

The Sudanese president said that at the minimum he projects some form of confederation between the two countries, even if complete unity does not materialise.

He said that Sudan is seeking to re-establish cohesion between the two countries and will contribute to the development of South Sudan and will support education there for both Muslims and non-Muslims.

Bashir pointed out that the recently signed cooperation agreements between Khartoum and Juba will contribute significantly to the continued communication between the Sudans for the benefit of their peoples.

He stressed that the interaction and common interests between the citizens of the two countries did not stop even after separation, adding that the delegation's visit will be the beginning of real cooperation between the two sides.

Both nations agreed in March to resume cross-border oil flows and defuse tensions that have plagued them since South Sudan's independence in July 2011, following an agreement which ended decades of civil war.

However, the two countries have been unable to decide on the ownership of Abyei, which is inhabited by the Dinka tribe aligned with South Sudan and the Misseriya, an Arab tribe with close links to Sudan.

Nonetheless their relations have dramatically improved and last month Bashir paid his first visit to Juba since the country's official partition.

(ST)

By Bonifacio Taban Kuich

May 7, 2013 (BENTIU) – A policeman was injured and over 400 cattle sized when armed youth stormed Unity state's Mayiandit County on Monday, an official said.

A man attempts to decorate a cow for dowry in Leer County June 15, 2011 (ST)

The incident, according to the county Commissioner, involved an estimated 200 armed youth suspected to be from neighbouring Warrap state.

“The raiders were armed and had to fight a combined force of the SPLA [South Sudan army] and the area Police. Unfortunately, one policemen was killed while trying to recover the stolen cattle,” said Gideon Gatpan Thoar.

He described the fighting between the raiders and the security forces as “the heaviest fighting” the area has ever witnessed over the years.

Thoar, however, stressed that talks were ongoing with his counterparts in Warrap state to ensure the stolen animals are recovered and handed back to their rightful owners.

The incident comes hardly a month after the United Nations Mission in the country (UNMISS) hosted lawmakers from Warrap, Unity and Lake States, to devise mechanisms that will halt the practice of cattle raids.

Top of the conference agenda, officials told Sudan Tribune, was the call for these lawmakers to actively engage youth in dialogues, sports activities and other social practices. Last month, Mayiandit County officials organised a football tournament for its youth to interact with their Lake State counterparts.

Critics, however, say the traditional practices of cattle raids continues in a “vicious cycle” despite various interventions by state authorities and their development partners.

“It is very important to maintain transparency and reality communication, since 25th [April], we had a breakdown in communication and we [have] not yet got a feed back. Am urging the officials from the area to immediate find out where these cows hideout to be return to their rightful owners,” the Commissioner said

A month ago, raiders from Payinjiar County in Lakes state reportedly abducted eight women from Unity state, only to release them a week after interrogation.

South Sudan, after its long decade civil war, is still trying to grapple with how to disarm its heavily armed civilian population, seen as a setback in efforts to maintain stability.

(ST)

May 8, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's ruling National Congress Party ‘NCP) approved on Tuesday a proposition aiming to amend its statute and to extend the term of the leader from four to five years.

NCP secretary of women's affairs Samia Ahmed Mohamed told reporters in Khartoum that the proposal will be submitted to the Shura Council, the only organ entitled to amend the statute of the party.

Such amendment means the extension of Bashir's leadership of the party for an additional year.

Initially the ruling party had to elect a new leader next year before the presidential election scheduled for May 2015.

But Bashir, 68 year old, announced that March he intends to step down in 2015, after rumours about his health following surgery operations on his vocal cords in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Samia stressed that the extension will be implemented with an immediate effect.

She however denied that this step would be an attempt to allow President Omer Al-Bashir to run for another mandate.

Last March Bashir who ruled the country for 23 years said "Sudanese people are looking for fresh blood and a new impetus".

The party seems divided and some factions loudly demand since last year to reform the party and reunite the Islamists factions including the popular Congress Party of Hassan Al-Turabi.

Also, the security services in November 2012 arrested some radical islamist military accused of organizing a coup d'état against the regime.

(ST)

May 8, 2013 (ADDIS ABABA) – Norway's special envoy to Sudan, Endre Stiansen, has held talks with Ethiopia's foreign affairs minister, Tedros Adhanom, on a visit to the capital Addis Ababa on Tuesday.

According to the ministry of foreign affairs, the two sides discussed issues of common concern, as well as regional matters, including the current situation in Sudan and South Sudan.

During the discussions, Adhanom noted the encouraging progress made between Sudan and South Sudan in addressing their outstanding issues peacefully, adding that he appreciated their determination to resolve remaining issues.

He underscored a need for the international community to extend concerted support and continued encouragement to both Sudans to peacefully resolve their differences and ensure the two neighbours do not return to war again.

“Looking at the bigger picture of progress is important in that the region cannot afford to slip back into a state of conflict”, the Ethiopian minister said.

During discussions, the special envoy also commended the significant role Ethiopia had played in brokering deals on post-split disputes between the two countries.

Stiansen particularly hailed Ethiopia's role in the signing of cooperation agreements between the two Sudans on a number of key issues, including demilitarisation of the border zone and resumption of oil exports.

The special envoy condemned Saturday's attack on a UN convoy by members of the nomadic Arab Misseriya tribe which led to the deaths of two Ethiopian peacekeepers and a Dinka Ngok tribal chief in the disputed Abyei region, extending his condolences to the country and the families of the victims.

The Ethiopian government and the international community have called for both countries to exercise restraint, amid fears the incident could reignite conflict in the flashpoint border zone, claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan.

After gaining its independence in July 2011, South Sudan took with it the bulk of Sudanese oil resources, heightening tensions between the two East African nations.

Last April, disputes over oil and hostilities along their shared borders escalated, bringing both countries to the brink of war.

(ST)

May 8, 2013 (JUBA) – A number of key Africans presidents have condemned the killing of Ngok Dinka chief Kuol Deng Kuol in the contested border region of Abyei, warning that the incident poses a grave threat to stability and peace between the countries.

President of Uganda Yoweri K Museveni in 2005 (AP Photo/Martin Cleaver)

South African president Jacob Zuma made the comments in a strongly-worded statement read on South Sudan Television (SSTV) on Wednesday, while Ugandan president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni described the killing as an “act of terrorism”.

In a statement seen by Sudan Tribune, Museveni called on the international community to provide support to the United Nations peacekeeping forces in Abyei in conducting a proper investigation to ensure those responsible for the attack are held accountable.

The Ugandan president, a close ally of South Sudan, also warned that the incident posed a significant threat to regional stability and peaceful coexistence between the two countries, particularly for communities in border areas.

The Ngok Dinka paramount chief was killed on Saturday on his way back to Abyei town after a UN convoy he was travelling in was attacked by armed members of the nomadic Arab Misseriya tribe following a visit to an area further north.

He was part of a joint government delegation from Juba and Khartoum that were visiting the region for a consultative meeting on how the two sides could accelerate discussions to form a temporary administration in the area. Two Ethiopian peacekeepers were also killed during the incident.

His death is viewed in the South as a Khartoum-backed assassination and has generated widespread public anger, with many senior officials calling for immediate military action.

Zuma acknowledged that the incident has threatened to further destabilise Abyei, as well as the progress recently achieved by Sudan and South Sudan in addressing their common security and socio-economic concerns.

“I wish to extend our deepest condolences to the Ngok Dinka community and the government of Ethiopia, the home country of the UN peacekeepers killed in the incident, as well as to the families of those killed and injured,” Zuma said in the statement.

He also urged the leadership of the two countries to ensure that those responsible for the attack are brought to justice.

“I also call on the leadership of Sudan and South Sudan to exercise restraint and to ensure that the current situation does not spiral out of control”, he added.

Zuma further urged the parties to the conflict in the region to work with the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee (AJOC) to conduct a transparent and effective investigation into the incident.

He has also urged the two countries to unconditionally facilitate the movement of UN personnel seeking access to Abyei either for immediate assessment, or to conduct and respond to the daily needs of humanitarian-related activities in the region.

Zuma reiterated both Sudan and South Sudan's commitment to all agreements signed and the determination to implement them in an effort to normalise and enhance bilateral relations, which he said would likely assist both sides in establishing temporary arrangements for the Abyei administration.

The governments of Norway, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia and the UK have also issued statements condemning the attack through their representatives in Juba.

(ST)

May 8, 2013 (JUBA) - The newly-appointed paramount chief of the nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms of the disputed region of Abyei vowed on Wednesday that he will follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, the late Kuol Deng Kuol.

New leader of Dinka Ngok tribe, Kuol Deng Kuol (L) shakes hands with the Misserya Al-Amer Mokhtar Papo after signing a peace agreement in the town of Kadugli north of Abeyi on January 13, 2011. (photo Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty)

The former chief died on Saturday when a convoy he was travelling in with the United Nations Interim Force for Abyei (UNISFA) was ambushed by armed members of the nomadic Arab Misseriya tribe on as they returned to Abyei town after a visit further north.

Kuol, who was often known as Kuol Adol, was part of a joint delegation from Juba and Khartoum that visited the area to hold talks on how the two sides could move forward with consultations to end the deadlock on the formation of a temporary administration in the strife-torn border zone.

The delegation held talks in Abyei town from the 3-4 May, before travelling north to Kej for similar talks and to familiarise themselves with the activities of oil companies operating there.

Speaking for the first time since being announced as Kuol's replacement at a family gathering in Abyei on Wednesday, chief Bulabek Deng Kuol, a medical practitioner, called for unity, saying he would work towards accomplishing what his predecessor had planned.

“I have informally held meetings with the family members, community leaders, chiefs and elderly. In these meetings I have received assurance of support and readiness to work together which I think is very important and it is the only right way we can honour the success of our late paramount chief”, Bulabek told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday.

“We need to remain united and show that we can over[come] any challenge, including this tragic incident. As to how I am going to work with the people, I have assured that them I will follow [in the] footsteps of Kuol Adol. He was not working alone”, he added.

STANDING TOGETHER

Bulabek was among several South Sudanese government officials attending Kuol's burial service on Monday, led by the secretary-general of the governing Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), Pagan Amum.

Speakers from the delegation assured members of the Ngok Dinka community of the government's commitment to “stand together with them”, explaining that the loss of their chief was not only a loss to the community, but also a great loss to the entire nation.

“I would like to advise you that, [we] stand as one person with the new chief, South Sudan's deputy defence minister, Majak D'Agoot, told mourners at the burial.

D'Agoot likened Kuol's death to an incident in his home state of Jonglei in 1967, in which 27 paramount chiefs were shot dead.

“Twenty-seven chiefs were shot and slaughtered in Jonglei State in 1967 by the government in Khartoum because they were considered rebels. Remember Ngok people have [the] strength and courage of support. The South Sudan government delegation was sent on behalf of the president, Salva Kiir, [as] a commitment to stand with the people of Abyei in the desired struggle”, he told mourners.

He also reiterated the South Sudanese government's commitment to achieving the successful conduct of a planned referendum in October to decide the fate of Abyei, which is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan.

A referendum initially scheduled for January 2011 never took place due to ongoing disagreements between Khartoum and Juba over who was eligible to participate.

In a bid to end the stalemate last year, the African Union (AU) backed a proposal allowing only those residing permanently in the area to vote in the plebiscite.

The decision effectively excludes members of the Misseriya nomads, who enter the area at different times of the year to graze their cattle, from participating in the vote.

The Southern-aligned Dinka Ngok tribe comprise the majority of permanent residents and are expected to vote in favour of joining with South Sudan.

Sudan has rejected the plan, but mediators stress the exclusion of the Misseriya nomads is in line with a decision by the Hague-based arbitration court, which defined the territory of the nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms in July 2009.

(ST)

May 8, 2012 (BOR) - Hundreds of rouge South Sudan army (SPLA) soldiers, most of them deserters from Jonglei's Pibor County on Wednesday staged a roadblock on the outskirts of the state capital, demanding pay.

SPLA soldiers prepare to leave Bor for Pibor County, September 25, 2012 (ST)

The soldiers, who declined to return to the rebel-held territory, created the blockade on the road between Bor and Juba, the South Sudan capital.

Vehicles were not able to pass from Juba to Bor or vice versa. Civilians, who tried to use the road by foot or in vehicles on Wednesday, told Sudan Tribune that they had been beaten and assaulted by some of the soldiers.

More than 20 vehicles, carrying passengers and goods from Juba are reported to be waiting at Malualagobaar, 4kms away from Malualchat, where the soldiers are camped outside Bor.

The soldiers complain that they have not been paid for three months or received adequate food provisions since March, causing them to leave their areas of deployment in Pibor without permission at the end of April.

Sudan Tribune was unable to reach Philip Aguer, the military's spokesman on Wednesday.

However, he recently said that soldiers who disobeyed their orders and left Pibor would be relieved of their duties.

(ST)

May 8, 2013 (JUBA) – South Sudan's president, Salva Kiir Mayardit, has dismissed his legal aide over speculated disagreements as the office tries to handle a number of legal challenges and fix its administration which trying to recover from a corruption scandal.

South Sudan president Salva Kiir (Reuters)

Kiir issued the presidential decree on Tuesday dismissing Ajonge Perpetuar, a first class judge and deputy head of the legal drafting team in his office.

Perpetuar was serving as a first class judge in the judiciary organ before she was reappointed and transferred to the president's office to assist him on legal matters and had been serving the office for the last few years.

The president also dismissed her from her original job as first class judge in the judiciary, stripping her of the two posts.

The decree, like Kiir's many other presidential decrees, did not explain the reason behind the sudden dismissal of one of the most experienced legal professionals in the country.

An official in the president's office however told the Sudan Tribune that the dismissal could have come as a result of disagreements over how to handle the case of the president's senior office administrators accused of corruption.

Three officials, who include Kiir's chief administrator and his executive director were suspended and are being investigated after hundreds of thousands of cash in US dollars and South Sudanese pounds disappeared from president's office.

The official, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, further said that those dismissed and the presidential advisor for legal affairs, Telar Ring Deng, have had disagreements in the office over how to handle some of the legal issues, including the transfer of responsibility to the new acting office administrators.

It has also been speculated that the two legal aides have been at odds with each other over interpretations of certain legal actions taken by the president, including the drafting and selection of his presidential decrees and orders.

Kiir last week, while opening the parliamentary session after recess, warned that he would dismiss government official who would continue to criticise South Sudan's system of government.

The president recently dismissed the deputy minister of foreign affairs, Professor Elias Nyamlell Wako, for reported remarks in a meeting, saying that the government was corrupt from top to bottom.

“We are in a situation of uncertainty in the office,” the official said, referring to the developments in the highest office of the land.

(ST)

May 8, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's National Assembly has decided to suspend its sessions next week in order to enable lawmakers to head to their constituencies and lead a mobilization campaign in support of Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in its ongoing battle with rebel groups which have stepped up their military activities in recent months.

Sudanese Parliament speaker Ahmed Ibrahim al-Tahir (ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP/Getty Images)

The national assembly speaker, Ahmed Ibrahim al-Tahir directed MPs to go to their states and meet with the local governments in order to mobilize youth to support SAF.

"We want people to defend themselves and offer self-sacrifice” al-Tahir said.

He further asked MPs to implore upon their communities to increase humanitarian aid to those affected by the military conflict to eradicate the need for foreign aid.

"We want people to increase aid to displaced people; we are able to extend a helping hand to those affected" the speaker said.

In a rare attack last month, Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) rebels swept through the city of Um Rawaba in North Kordofan, before withdrawing later in the day.

Fighting between the rebels and SAF has previously been mainly limited to Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states bordering South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan in 2011.

North Kordofan, the region that includes Um Rawaba and forms part of Sudan's commercial heartland, is a hub for the country's agriculture, livestock and gum Arabic industries.

Diplomats and analysts speaking to Reuters said the raid on North Kordofan's second largest city appeared to be a bid to stretch Sudan's army across an ever-changing line of battle in Sudan's savannahs and scrublands, rather than an attempted land grab.

On Tuesday, Sudan's presidential assistant and National Congress Party (NCP) deputy-chairman for the party's affairs, Nafie Ali Nafie, threatened to mount a decisive battle against the rebels whom he described as traitors.

SAF now has it eyes on reclaiming Abu-Kershola district in South Kordofan which was overran by rebels during last month's assault.

Officials in Khartoum say that they have completely surrounded the area and pledged not to stop until they recapture Kauda which is the stronghold of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in South Kordofan.

SPEAKER BASHES REPORTERS

In a separate issue, reporters covering the parliament rejected accusations from al-Tahir that they are not seeking truth but serving personal agenda through attacking the legislative body and MPs.

On Wednesday,the speaker mocked reporters and described them as “junior reporters”, urging them to commit themselves to high moral and ethical standards.

The parliamentary reporters association, for its part, is planning to submit a memorandum to the speaker protesting the manner in which he addressed them.

The speaker, who was reportedly infuriated by an article criticizing the work of the parliament and MPs published in a daily newspaper, said that the national assembly would monitor press for the purpose of correcting its course.

(ST)

May 8, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese side of the Joint Political and Security Committee (JPSC) between Khartoum and Juba, headed by Sudan's defense minister, Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein has extended invitation to his southern counterpart to attend the first meeting of the committee which will tackle the issue of rebel groups in the two countries.

The pro-government Sudanese Media Center (SMC) quoted an informed source as saying that South Sudan's intelligence director has agreed to attend the meeting scheduled to be held next Monday in Khartoum, adding that it will discuss issues and concerns of the two countries regarding rebel groups.

Last March, Sudan and South Sudan agreed to form a joint committee mandated with addressing concerns and complaints which may constitute a violation to the MOU on Non-Aggression and Cooperation of 14th February 2012, as well as the Mutual Cooperation Agreement of 27th September 2012.

The first meeting of the JPSC comes at a time when South Sudan lodged a strongly worded complaint to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) over the killing of Abyei tribal leader Kuol Deng Kuol.

"We hold the government of Sudan responsible because those who killed the chief are under the control of the government of Sudan. They are no stranger to Sudan”, South Sudan's minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, Nhial Deng Nhial said Tuesday.

Sudan constantly accuses South Sudan of supporting rebels fighting in two states that border South Sudan. Juba denies supporting the rebels, known as Sudan People Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N), and in turn accuses Khartoum of backing insurgents on its territory.

But last month Sudan army cleared Juba from involvement in attack staged by rebels in North Kordofan which took the South Sudanese government and observers by surprise.

(ST)

May 9, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese president Omer Al Bashir discussed on Wednesday the security situation with the governor of East Darfur Abdel Hamid Musa Kasha for the first time since his appointment last April.

Governor of East Darfur Abdel Hamid Musa Kasha (SUNA)

The newly established state of East Darfur was the scene of fierce fighting between rebel groups and government forces. On 17 April; the army retook Muhajeria and Labado from a faction of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement led by Minni Minnawi.

The official SUNA said Al Bashir reaffirmed his support to the institutions of the new state with all the necessary means in order to enable it to fully assume its duties.

Speaking to the press following the meeting; Kasha said they discussed the security situation and added that Bashir pledged to provide East Darfur state with the needed financial support.

He further said that the president suggested some ideas and measures to be implemented in East Darfur to enhance the security situation there, and demanded the state government to build local infrastructures and to achieve tribal reconciliations.

Kasha had initially declined, in January 2012, the position of East Darfur governor arguing that the national government would not give him the means to construct ministries and public establishments

Established on 10 January 2012 in line with the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), the East Darfur state is the homeland of Rizaigat tribal groups who clashed with Beni Hussein last March.

(ST)

May 8, 2013 (JUBA) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit has sent a delegation to Nairobi to meet and hold preliminary discussions with rebel leaders who accepted his amnesty in April and laid down their weapons.

The government delegation led by Telar Riing Deng, presidential adviser on legal and constitutional affairs is in the Kenyan capital to meet a rebel delegation reportedly led by Bapiny Monytuil Wicjang, Tut Keaw and several others who responded to the amnesty.

A well placed source at the presidency told Sudan Tribune that President Kiir has accepted the integration of the ex-rebel fighters into South Sudan's army - the SPLA - but says that this can only happen after they are moved to location to be decided by the defence ministry.

President Kiir, the source said, had also agreed to provide a financial package to facilitate the rebel soldier's rehabilitation and reintegration into society. However, Kiir is undecided over whether he will give any of the rebel leaders government positions, said the source.

The official who requested anonymity told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday that the rebels leaders expected to meet Kiir's presidential adviser in Nairobi does not include Upper Nile state rebel leader John Uliny, who is sometimes referred to as Johnson.

“We do not have information of the presence of Johnson Uliny with the group expected to meet our delegation. The information we have now indicates that he is still in Khartoum. We do not know what he is up to until this moment. The security information we have gathered shows that he is still deciding whether to respond or change his mind. But I think it is better he accepts because I do not think whether the president will again issue another amnesty in the near future”, said the official.

Meanwhile, Gordon Buay, who identifies himself as the rebel's spokesperson said the peace talks between his group and the government team will start on Thursday.

"The peace talks between our group and the government team will take place tomorrow on Thursday. The government team arrived last Saturday in Nairobi and it is headed by Telar Ring Den, Adviser on Legal Affairs", Buay told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday from Nairobi, Kenya.

The rebel official said the talks between the two sides will focus on; power-sharing arrangements; integration of rebel forces into the SPLA, police, prisons and disarmament demobilisation and rehabilitation of soldiers; promotion of national reconciliation and a campaign against tribalism; and what to be done to persuade Jonglei-based rebel leader David Yauyau to join the peace process and end his insurgency in and around Pibor county.

“After the talks are concluded, both teams will sign [a] NAIROBI AGREEMENT and shall proceed to Juba to celebrate the conclusion of the agreement. Upon arrival, the two teams will meet President Kiir, Minister of Defense and the Chief-of-General-staff of the SPLA army”, Buay explained in a statement.

South Sudan regularly accuses Sudan, which it separated from almost two years ago of backing rebel groups in its territory. This is denied by Khartoum, which itself accuses Juba of backing a coalition of rebel groups north of the border.

A group of over 2,000 South Sudanese rebels who had been active in Unity state crossed back into South Sudan from Sudan at the end of April declaring that they are committed to peace talks with the government in Juba without any preconditions or demands.

The group known as the South Sudan Liberation Army's (SSLA) have been visited by in Mayom county by a delegation of advisers to President Kiir and officers from the national army - the Sudan People Liberation Army (SPLA).

Kiir renewed his offer of an amnesty to South Sudan's rebel groups on April 25, which was publicly accepted by the SSLA the following day.

(ST)

• ST - Khartoum & Juba to hold meeting over rebel groups
• ST - South Sudan rebellions

Satellite Sentinel Project

Broken Agreement: Violations in the Demilitarized Border Zone by Sudan and South Sudan

May 7, 2013

The Satellite Sentinel Project, or SSP, has secured unique independent evidence of the failure of Sudan and South Sudan to meet obligations to withdraw their troops in two potential hot spots along their shared border: Heglig, also known as Panthou,and Kiir Adem. DigitalGlobe satellite imagery confirms that as of April 14, 2013, both countries' armed forces were maintaining defensive installations within the agreed-upon demilitarized buffer zone along their shared border. To date, neither the joint border-verification mechanism established by both countries, nor the U.N. peacekeeping mission tasked with monitoring the demilitarized buffer zone has detected these violations. Although Sudan and South Sudan have taken some steps toward implementing the demilitarized buffer zone, by maintaining these installations, they have failed to fully comply with their obligations under agreements that they have signed.

Download the full report below:

Broken Agreement - Violations in the Demilitarized Border Zone by Sudan and South Sudan

By Steve Paterno

May 9, 2013 - It is a common phenomenon in South Sudan that those who are disgruntled with the government in one way or another tend to find refuge in form of rebellion. The aim for such rebellion is often to usurp power and blackmail the government in order to gain concession and obtain higher position within the same government. In other words, the aim of these rebels is to cause destruction so as to be recognized and then be rewarded with positions that they could not have otherwise get under normal circumstant, where competence is put into test. Since South Sudan obtained its autonomy, several of those militancy sprung up under sponsorship of Khartoum government, South Sudan major foe. Even though South Sudan government manages to neutralize key elements among some of these treasonous individuals and bringing some back into the fold, the cycle of rebellion in South Sudanese seems to be an endless affair.

The most current active group of militias is the one led by an obscure former theology student David Yau Yau. David Yau Yau gained notoriety after 2010 general elections. After failing a bid to win a political post, he declared rebellion. Ever since, Yau Yau has been causing havoc in and around Pibor areas. Although Yau Yau for a moment was able to negotiate with the government, earning himself handsomely a rank of a major general in SPLA. He ewas only to rebel once again after a brief spell as a professional high ranking military officer.

Of recent, Yau Yau seems to be gaining an upper hand against the SPLA, even more so than ever before. Just as the SPLA announced military offensive to rid him once and for all, he proves otherwise. He has been conducting successful ambushes against the SPLA, at times inflicting heavy casualties and damages. He expanded his sphere of operation, overrunning strategic wildlife reserve town of Boma. With momentum of victory on his side, now he is threatening to further spread in Eastern Equatoria town of Kapeota, yet another strategic location, linking Kenya and South Sudan. In a public statement, the SPLA spokesperson Philip Aguer reluctantly acknowledges that Yau Yau forces occupy almost 90 percent of Pibor county. Yau Yau forces are operating in a chaotic state, awash with weapons and characterized by a long history of ethnic conflicts, where the government is incapable of exerting authority or exercise control. The statement in the media by governor Koul Manyang Juuk seems to confirm that Jonglei state or South Sudan for that matter is indeed has no authority over its citizens or territory. For example, there are reports of widespread mistreatment of civilians in Bor town by soldiers believed to have either deserted from a frontline or defeated by Yau Yau, but yet (the battle hardened and once known for his disciplinary demeanour as a commander), governor Kuol Manyang Juuk has no answers as to why this is the case.

The reports of desertion among SPLA soldiers from the frontline, fighting Yau Yau is just one of the many worries that plug South South military and hamper the efforts to provide security for country. SPLA which is in dire need of transformation into professionalism is yet being staffed by non other than ragtag former militia outfits such as those of Yau Yau and the likes. In the process, this erodes moral and institute lack of discipline.

Up to now SPLA receives the largest junk of the country's budget; 40 percent of the overall budget. However, in a country infamous for corruption, the top military brass are among those officials mostly accused and cited for corrupt activities. There are reports of soldiers not receiving their salaries for months on end. Food provision is lacking, leading some soldiers to resort on looting. Overall logistic is a nightmare. The situation is worsen with the instituted austerity measures.

Even though the threats of Yau Yau rebellion is limited in scope, its effects cannot simply be ignored. This will require the SPLA to institute discipline, exercise judicious management and introduce proper operational doctrines. It will also require a political will from leadership to create conducive atmosphere that is accommodative and discourages rebellion. Otherwise, South Sudan will discern into much more chaos. South Sudan should not be allowed as a fiefdom of warlords.

Steve Paterno is the author of The Rev. Fr. Saturnino Lohure, A Romain Catholic Priest Turned Rebel. He can be reached at stevepaterno@yahoo.com

By Eric Reeves,

May 9, 2013 - The recent (May 4, 2013) deaths of two UN peacekeepers in Abyei have a chilling familiarity, though to this point there has been no firm establishment of responsibility. Familiar also are the formulaic declarations of outrage coming from various quarters when UN peacekeepers are killed in greater Sudan. There are three large peacekeeping missions there—operating at tremendous expense, and limiting peacekeeping capacity throughout the world. Two of these peacekeeping missions have experienced serious losses because of actions on the part of the Khartoum regime's Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and its militia and paramilitary proxies, typically armed and directed by the SAF and the security apparatus in Khartoum, especially Military intelligence (MI).

The SAF has not been especially discreet in making its contempt for UN peacekeepers known. On August 2, 2011 SAF officers, with brutal callousness, denied medical evacuation to three mortally wounded Ethiopian peacekeepers in Abyei (see below). And in Darfur the threats against the UN/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) have been constant and extremely serious. Reuters reports, for example, on one such instance from January 2011:

"UNAMID spokesman Kemal Saiki confirmed the bombing was by 'the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) air force.' Later on Wednesday [January 26, 2011], a group of 200 Sudanese government soldiers in 40 vehicles arrived at UNAMID's camp in the nearby settlement of Shangil Tobay [North Darfur], UNAMID said. '(The soldiers) surrounded the team site's exit as well as the adjacent makeshift camp, where thousands of civilians recently displaced by the December 2010 clashes have settled,' read the statement. The Sudanese army detained four displaced people at the camp, said UNAMID. 'The SAF commander at the scene … then threatened to burn down the makeshift camp and UNAMID team site, if the peacekeepers continued to interfere.'" (Reuters [Khartoum], January 27, 2011)

By "interference," of course, Khartoum and its SAF meant UNAMID's fulfilling the mandate of its mission, authorized by UN Security Council Resolution 1769 (July 2007).

What we know

The present account offers a brief history of those incidents in which Khartoum's responsibility for the killing of UN peacekeepers has been well established.

[ The three UN peacekeeping missions in greater Sudan are:

• UNAMID (UN/African Union Mission in Darfur), established in July 2007 by Security Council Resolution 1769; it was formed initially from its virtually impotent predecessor force, the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS);

• UNMISS (the UN Mission in South Sudan), successor to the woefully infective UNMIS (UN Mission in Sudan); UNMISS was authorized in July 2011 by UN Security Council Resolution 1996;

• UNISFA (the UN Interim Security Force in Abyei), deployed to Abyei following military seizure of the regime by Khartoum in May 2011; it comprises an Ethiopian armed brigade, and was authorized in June 2011 by UN Security Council Res. 1990 ]

• Deaths of UNISFA peacekeepers May 4, 2013—Abyei:

The details of the recent killing of two Ethiopian peacekeepers in Abyei, along with Paramount Chief of the Dinka Ngok, Kuol Deng Kuol, are not fully clear (an Appendix provides relevant excerpts from newswire reports and other accounts). But the details as rendered by various parties strongly suggest that some leaders of the Arab Misseriya militia forces, likely at Khartoum's suggestion or encouragement, deliberately provoked an armed confrontation that resulted in the killings. Certainly the killing of Paramount Chief Kuol creates an immediate political crisis in South Sudan and has the effect of making immensely more difficult any peaceful resolution of the ongoing Abyei crisis. This has been Khartoum's goal since the Abyei self-determination was aborted—a decision announced by senior presidential advisor Nafie Ali Nafie, now headed to the U.S. (see http://www.sudanreeves.org/?p=3904).

Khartoum seized Abyei militarily in May 2011; this followed the regime's conspicuous and well-documented military build-up in the areas abutting Abyei—as well as inside the region—over the preceding months. Although UNISFA deployed subsequently—an Ethiopian armed brigade—it has been unable to secure the region sufficiently for the indigenous Dinka Ngok to return. Virtually the entire population—some 110,000 civilians—had fled to various locations in South Sudan following Khartoum's May 2011 military seizure. That military action created a de facto annexation of Abyei, and Khartoum has regularly declared that "Abyei has always been part of the north," thus defying the terms of the Abyei Protocol of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (2005). Moreover, the June 2011 UN/AU-brokered agreement between Juba and Khartoum on an interim administration of Abyei has provided yet another example of contemptuous reneging by the National Islamic Front/National Congress Party (NIF/NCP) regime.

The military seizure of Abyei was accomplished using both regular SAF forces and Misseriya militia allies. The latter remain and serve as a highly threatening military presence, deterring the vast majority of Dinka Ngok from returning, certainly to areas north of Abyei town (which is in the south of Abyei and very close to the Warrap state in South Sudan). The Misseriya have been heavily armed and some of its political leaders have been seduced by Khartoum's propaganda or money—or both. What is clear is that some Misseriya leaders do not want a resolution of the Abyei crisis on the terms formally proposed by African Union diplomats, terms fully endorsed by the African Union Peace and Security Council. There could be no more effective way of short-circuiting further negotiations than killing Kuol Deng Kuol.

Beyond the death of a good man critical to any settlement of the Abyei crisis, there have been many recent instances of killings, village burnings, and lootings in Abyei. In responding to the death of Kuol Deng Kuol, Foreign Affairs minister Nhial Deng declared:

"'The killing of [the] chief was not just an incident. It was preceded by reports of regular killings in the area. The list of those who have been killed has been filed and the United Nations has the details and we believe the killing of the chief will not be taken lightly nor [do] we expect the international community to consider [Kuol's death] a normal thing or usual business … We hold the government of Sudan responsible because those who killed the chief are under the control of the government of Sudan. They are no stranger to Sudan,' he added."

The weakness of the UN in responding to such incidents, implicating the Khartoum regime, has for many years been contemptible. Despite the strong words from Nhial Deng, little is likely to change—and when it suits its purposes, the Khartoum regime will again kill or allow for the deaths of UN peacekeepers.

• Refusal to allow the medevac of critically wounded UNISFA peacekeepers, August 2, 2011—Abyei:

An incident of August 2, 2011 is revealing of Khartoum's contempt for the lives of UN peacekeepers. On that date the SAF refused to allow for the urgent medical evacuation (medevac) of three mortally wounded UNISFA peacekeepers in Abyei (their vehicle had run over a mine). Despite repeated attempts to secure permission from the SAF in Kadugli (South Kordofan) for helicopter evacuation, the UN was rebuffed on each occasion until it had become too late. One of the mortally wounded soldiers would have likely survived if he had reached Kadugli in timely fashion. Alain Le Roy, then head of UN peacekeeping, declared bluntly that, "We didn't get the clearance for the Medevac helicopter to take off immediately. They [Khartoum's SAF] prevented us to take off by threatening to shoot at the helicopter."

"They [Khartoum's SAF] prevented us to take off by threatening to shoot at the helicopter." This extraordinary refusal should have been the occasion for consequential outrage; it was not, even as there could hardly be a more revealing moment in the recent history of peacekeeping in greater Sudan.

• Attack on heavily armed UNAMID convoy, October 17, 2012—traveling to Hashaba, North Darfur (scene of major atrocity crimes involving SAF and militia forces):

The village of Hashaba North and its environs (approximately 55 kilometers northeast of Kutum in North Darfur) was attacked from September 26 through October 2, 2012 by what were repeatedly described—by eyewitnesses—as Arab militia forces and SAF aerial military assets. Very high civilian casualties figures were soon reported by Radio Dabanga ("between 250 and 300 people," October 4, 2012), along with repeated descriptions of the attackers on the ground as belonging to "pro-government militias." Many thousands of civilians were newly displaced at the time, and total displacement in North Darfur alone since August is now well over 100,000 civilians.

Even more disturbing and significant, however, was a subsequent attack on the follow-up investigation, an unusually robust UNAMID investigative patrol comprising 16 vehicles in all. On October 17, 2012 a very heavily armed militia group—which had carefully anticipated the route of the UNAMID convoy traveling to North Hashaba from Kutum—fired from high ground down upon the vulnerable UNAMID forces. UNAMID returned fire, but faced very intimidating weaponry and was at an overwhelming tactical disadvantage; with the killing of one UNAMID soldier and the wounding of three others (one critically), the force retreated back to Kutum. The South African soldier killed was the 43rd to die in UNAMID.

The character of the weapons used in the attack on UNAMID forces was reported in revealing and unusually detailed fashion (Agence France-Presse [Khartoum], October 22, 2012):

"'[The attackers] used arsenals of high-calibre weapons that were never used before,' UNAMID spokeswoman Aicha Elbasri said in a written reply to AFP questions. 'This includes mortars, medium machine-guns, rocket-propelled grenades, AK-47 rifles, and anti-tank guns.'"

Edmond Mulet, deputy head of UN peacekeeping operations, later declared in an October 24 briefing of the UN Security Council that the attacking force used "heavy machine guns," a fearsomely destructive weapon when fired with the advantage of significantly higher ground position.

This was no ordinary militia assault: it was immediately clear that the UNAMID convoy was attacked, on the basis of advance intelligence, in order to prevent the investigation of atrocity crimes reported from Hashaba. Indeed, although the UN merely hinted at this reality, I am aware of no analyst not connected with the UN or UNAMID who has disputed this conclusion or offered a plausible alternative explanation. UNAMID declared that it would proceed with a subsequent mission to investigate the crimes at Hashaba; in the event, however, this did not occur within a reasonable time-frame. As on countless previous occasions, after Khartoum's proxies finish sanitizing the site there was little left in the way of evidence from the attacks of late September/early October.

Further, this attack on the UN must be seen in light of the regime's repeated, utterly false claims about human security in Darfur, viz. that there is no major fighting in Darfur and that civilians are secure and able to return safely to their homes and lands. In the words of Deputy Governor of North Darfur, al-Fateh Abdel Aziz Abdel Nabi, uttered on the day the UNAMID force was attacked:

"'[T]here is very good improvement in the security situation' compared with its peak in 2004, he said, with incidents limited to Kutum and Mellit. ‘And they are isolated and they are under control.'" (Agence France-Presse [el-Fasher], October 17, 2012)

We may reasonably infer that the assault on UN Security Council-authorized peacekeepers was designed in part to ensure that this perverse narrative was preserved as much as possible, at least with respect to civilian massacres and other atrocity crimes.

Indeed, the evidence was so clear in this attack on civilians in Hashaba, and in the subsequent assault on UNAMID, that only one issue remains undetermined: what was the nature of command responsibility for the specific atrocities in Hashaba on this particular occasion? How far up the Military Intelligence (MI) chain-of-command did foreknowledge of the attack on Hashaba go? (MI long ago took the lead in organizing "security" for Darfur.) This has not been determined and is highly unlikely to be. But the more important question is how far up the MI chain-of-command did foreknowledge of the assault on UN peacekeepers go? Again, we can't be sure, but given evidence of growing powers for the military and security elements within the NIF/NCP regime, it is highly unlikely that such an action would have been undertaken without at least tacit prior approval from someone senior in the Army or Military Intelligence/Khartoum.

The alternative is to believe that a field officer for MI with foreknowledge of the attack felt it to be insufficiently important to report back to Khartoum. For certainly some MI officers in North Darfur were involved in or at least knew of the attack, especially given the nature of the weaponry. Again, a UNAMID spokesperson has spoken of "arsenals of high-calibre weapons that were never used before," and deputy head of UN peacekeeping operations Edmond Mulet reported specifically on the attackers use of "heavy machine guns." This kind of weaponry simply could not have gone unnoticed, and yet the UN is characteristically diffident in drawing the most obvious of conclusions.

Further, Radio Dabanga reported in late September that the governor of North Darfur had been warned of the impending militia attack on Hashaba by a local official from the town itself, Abdella Rifa:

"Rifa blamed the Janjaweed militias for carrying out the 'barbaric attack' [on Hashaba] and held the government responsible for the incidents. [ ] Rifa said that the leader of the Janjaweed militia that carried out the attack is called Al-Nur. He also said that the group moved to attack from their base in Damrat Al-Quba. According to Rifa, they knew beforehand that the militia was going to attack and they informed the authorities including the governor of the state, Mohammed Osman Kibir, 'but they did nothing.'" (Radio Dabanga, September 28, 2012)

[ For a highly detailed account of the locations and purposes of bases such as that at Damrat al-Quba, see Sudan Tribune (October 1, 2012): "Darfur war crimes, changes in demographic composition, and ethnic displacement," by Hamid Eltgani Ali of the American University in Cairo.]

In short, the UN—by refusing to do more than plead with Khartoum to investigate crimes committed by the regime's own proxies forces—remains complicit in an appalling silence despite clear evidence that Khartoum is responsible for a brutal attack on a major UN peacekeeping convoy.

• Attack on UNAMID, October 2, 2012—near el-Geneina, West Darfur:

On October 2, 2012, four UNAMID soldiers were killed and eight injured in West Darfur, approximately a mile from their main base in (regime-controlled) el-Geneina, capital of West Darfur—and very close to a Khartoum-allied militia checkpoint. Although the evidence is only circumstantial, it points clearly to SAF or allied militia forces.

Reuters reported (October 2, 2012) a UNAMID statement that the force "came under fire from all sides"; it is unlikely that a rebel force could have deployed in this way so close to el-Geneina and a Khartoum-allied militia checkpoint.

Subsequently we heard from the UN:

"In a statement to the press, Council President Gert Rosenthal of Guatemala said the Council members called on the Sudanese Government to swiftly investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice."

And from the U.S. State Department:

"The State Department said on Thursday [October 4] it was 'appalled' by an attack that killed four Nigerian peacekeepers and wounded eight others earlier this week in Sudan's western Darfur region. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the United States condemns the ambush on UNAMID personnel that occurred on October 2, and called for an investigation into the attack and for those responsible for the violence to be held accountable."

The European Union completed the familiar refrain with its own entirely predictable statement (October 4, 2012):

“[EU High Representative Catherine Ashton] deplores the attack on UNAMID peacekeepers that left four Nigerian peacekeepers dead and eight others injured in an ambush in El Geneina, West Darfur. She strongly condemns the attack and calls on the Government of Sudan to work closely with UNAMID to bring the perpetrators to justice."

Almost as if to emphasize the impotence of this condemnation and demand, Ashton also spoke vaguely about "reports of a violent incident in Hashaba," the very "incident" that would lead to a UNAMID investigating force, and the brutal assault upon that force by Khartoum-allied (and likely -armed) militia forces:

"The High Representative is also deeply alarmed at reports of a violent incident in Hashaba in North Darfur, which appears to have cost the lives of large numbers of civilians, including through aerial bombardment. She calls for UNAMID to be allowed immediate access to the area and urges all Parties to end the cycle of violence in Darfur and to pursue a comprehensive and inclusive peace settlement."

Only diplomats are trained to such euphemistic usage: "incident" for "large-scale atrocity crimes," the reality that was already clear by the date Ashton spoke (see, for example, http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/more-2000-people-fled-hashaba-attacks and Radio Dabanga, September 28, 2012). And the effect of these unctuous condemnations and "demands" for accountability? Agence France-Presse reported (October 22, 2012) comments by various officials on investigations of previous attacks on UNAMID:

"The dead South African is the 43rd peacekeeper from UNAMID to be killed in hostile action, but UN sources have said they were unaware of anybody previously being brought to justice for the attacks."

• Attack on UNAMID, January 7, 2008—near Tine, West Darfur/North Darfur border, across the border from eastern Chad:

At approximately 10pm on January 7, 2008 Khartoum's regular Sudan Armed Forces attacked, deliberately and with premeditation, a UNAMID convoy. The convoy, comprising more than 20 cargo trucks and armored personnel carriers (APCs), came under heavy, sustained fire near Tine, just inside North Darfur near the border with West Darfur and eastern Chad. One truck was destroyed, an APC was damaged, and a driver was critically wounded with numerous bullet wounds. The SAF assault on the convoy lasted 10-12 minutes, during which time UNAMID military personnel did not return fire. The motive for the attack, certainly ordered by senior SAF military commanders, was to inhibit the movement of UNAMID ground and air forces during night hours. In other words, the attack was meant to serve warning that UNAMID would be restricted in the same ways that the impotent African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) was restricted from the time of its initial deployment in 2004.

Evidence that the SAF attack was deliberate and premeditated was overwhelming, a conclusion shared by the head of UN peacekeeping, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, and many others within the UN, and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in particular. In his January 9, 2008 briefing of the UN Security Council, Guéhenno offered a number of compelling details, details amplified in confidential interviews conducted with UN officials by this writer. The most basic facts of the attack and its circumstances made unambiguously clear that Khartoum lied at every step of the way in its account of events, including initially denying that its forces were in any way involved in the attack on the UNAMID convoy:

[1] The transport trucks and APCs were painted in UN white, with clear UN markings on the vehicles. Even at night it is impossible to mistake UN white for the camouflage green used by rebels, who do not travel with either the configuration or the makeup of the UNAMID convoy. Rebel groups typically move using 4×4 Landcruisers and pick-up trucks, and at high speed. The UNAMID convoy, with heavy transport vehicles and APCs, was moving very slowly to allow the APCs to pick their way in the dark. There was simply no ambiguity as to the identity of the convoy vehicles.

[2] Critically, UNAMID had carefully notified all relevant SAF commanders, including the general at the base near Tine where the attack occurred (the convoy was on its way from Umm Baru to Tine). Redundant notification of the SAF by the UN was designed to forestall precisely any misunderstanding about the nature, location, and timing of this convoy mission, one of UNAMID's very first.

[3] The convoy did not return fire during the entire 10-12 minute assault by SAF forces, an extraordinary and quite revealing act of restraint given the length of time the firing continued. Moreover, the commanding SAF officer who accepted responsibility for the attack (responsibility initially denied by senior officials in Khartoum and the regime's ambassador to the UN) had the rank of general: in other words, he was no junior or inexperienced officer, and would not have ordered the attack on his own authority—nor would he have countenanced such an attack by young or frightened officers. Senior SAF military officials ordered the attack, even if the specifics of duration and degree of firepower were left discretionary (both automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades were used).

In the absence of a seized cable or other intercepted communication, there could of course have been no definitive proof that Khartoum ordered what had all the hallmarks of a deliberate and premeditated attack. But the likelihood that this was an independent military action, given the political and diplomatic stakes, is vanishingly small. This was certainly the conclusion of Jean-Marie Guéhenno and other informed officials at the UN in New York. UN career officers understood full well that Khartoum had engaged in a relentless war of obstruction in opposing effective deployment of UNAMID, and equally well understood that this convoy attack was part of the regime's larger campaign.

Khartoum's goals in ordering the attack can be readily discerned by noting issues that at the time remained outstanding in the deployment of UNAMID:

[1] The regime refused to grant night flight rights to UNAMID except for medevac purposes. But as UN and African Union peacekeeping officials continually emphasized, the mandate to protect civilians and humanitarians did not and could not be allowed to end at sunset. Khartoum was able to impose curfews, flight restrictions, onerous aircraft re-certification requirements, and a host of other crippling measures on AMIS. These extended to the brazen commandeering of AMIS aviation fuel supplies for use by Khartoum's helicopter gunships in attacks on civilians. The attack on the convoy near Tine was a way of signaling that UNAMID would face the clear prospect of attack, harassment, and obstruction if it persisted in traveling at night.

[2] The regime had refused at the time to grant landing rights to heavy transport aircraft, the sort that can move large quantities of logistical supplies, as well as heavy vehicles. Initially Khartoum insisted that the runways at el-Fasher and Nyala—the two key destinations—could not handle such heavy aircraft. This was patently false. Subsequently the regime insisted that aircraft could not land at night because of a lack of lights—an easily remedied engineering problem.

[3] Khartoum also refused to allow for the deployment of helicopters—or the construction of critically necessary maintenance hangars—until UNAMID completed an upgrading of the runways at el-Fasher and Nyala. Although there were no helicopters to deploy, and none in prospect—a disgraceful betrayal of Darfur by militarily capable UN member states—there was no way that they would be allowed to deploy under the circumstances that obtained at the time. Of the importance of helicopters in Darfur, particularly in the face of attacks by combatants, Undersecretary Guéhenno declared at the time in his Security Council briefing:

"'If we had had helicopters capable of flying at night and quickly reinforcing a convoy under attack, of course we would have been in a position to deter, probably the attack [near Tine] would never have occurred,' Guéhenno said." (Agence France-Presse [UN/New York], January 9, 2008)

[4] Most generally, Khartoum at the time had still refused to enter into a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the UN and African Union. This was the agreement designed to govern the mutual understanding between Khartoum and the UN/African Union about the mandate, actions, and prerogatives of UNAMID. (The SOFA was not signed until February 2008—over half a year after UNAMID received UN Security Council authorization.) Well-placed UN officials indicated at the time that the issues holding up conclusion of a SOFA were various and continually changing: Khartoum would relent in one area, only to raise a new issue in another area. There was a continuous and debilitating changing of the terms of negotiations; the continual switching, shuffling, and disingenuousness on the part of the regime was clearly designed to forestall completion of the SOFA for as long as possible.

As a result, issues such as night flights, night movement of resources and personnel, land rights for bases (an acute problem in West Darfur), adequate access at Port Sudan—all remained unresolved at the time UNAMID officially took up its mandate (January 1, 2008). Khartoum also demanded that it be notified of all UNAMID movements and actions beforehand, and that UNAMID accept Khartoum's right to suspend all communications within UNAMID while the regime is conducting military operations. These conditions were completely unacceptable to the UN. The overall effect was to create a crisis outlined in the direst possible terms by then-Under-secretary Guéhenno:

"The top United Nations peacekeeping official today [January 9, 2008] warned the Security Council that the new, critically under-manned and under-equipped mission in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region faced 'probably the greatest risk' to a UN operation in more than a decade. [ ] 'Today we have the convergence of three factors which put UNAMID at great risk, probably the greatest risk since the 1990s,' he said after briefing the Council, citing the ongoing war in Darfur, the lack of a clear signal from the parties that they want a robust mission, and the mission's own 'tragic' lack of essential resources. Under-manned UN missions in the 1990s were unable to prevent the Rwandan genocide of 1994 and the massacre of Bosnian Moslems in Srebrenica in 1995." [ ]

"'Five months after the adoption of Resolution 1769 (setting up UNAMID), we do not yet have guarantee or agreements from the Government [of Sudan] on the basic technical issues,' [Guéhenno said]. 'And finally, the mission itself will not have the personnel or assets in place to implement its mandate for many months even in the best case scenario,' he added, noting that no offers for essential transportation and aviation assets had been made, including 24 helicopters."

"'When you combine those factors you see that you have the possibility of failure unless the political situation is rectified, unless the war situation is ended and a strategic choice is made by all the parties that it is not by military action that peace will be brought to Darfur but by negotiation, and unless there is a decisive reinforcement of the mission,' he told journalists after the Council session." (UN News Center [UN/New York], January 9, 2008)

It is difficult to imagine a fuller or clearer indication of Khartoum's attitude toward the deploying peacekeepers of UNAMID—or the fatal nature of the weaknesses of characterizing the mission—than by examining the history of the attack on Tine.

• Janjaweed attack on UNAMID, July 8, 2008—Umm Hakibah, North Darfur:

On July 8, 2008, at approximately 2:45pm local time, heavily armed Janjaweed militia attacked a UNAMID joint police and military patrol in an area approximately 100 kilometers southeast of el-Fasher, near the village of Umm Hakibah (North Darfur). In a firefight that lasted approximately three hours, seven UNAMID troops and police were killed and twenty-two were injured, seven of these critically. Ten vehicles were destroyed or taken during the attack. Although there was initial uncertainty about the identity of the attacking force, this uncertainty was quickly eliminated in the course of an urgent investigation. In addition to various published reports, UN Undersecretary for Peacekeeping Guéhenno again offered a compelling July 11, 2008 briefing to the Security Council (in closed session), making a number of telling observations that point unambiguously to Janjaweed forces as those responsible:

[1] Guéhenno told the Security Council that the attack on UN-authorized peacekeepers "took place in an area under Sudanese government control and that some of the assailants were dressed in clothing similar to Sudanese army uniforms. He also said the ambush was 'pre-meditated and well-organized' and was intended to inflict casualties rather than to steal equipment or vehicles" (Voice of America [UN/New York], July 11, 2008). The peacekeepers attacked reported seeing approximately 200 fighters, many on horses—a signature feature of the Janjaweed.

[2] Agence France-Presse reports: "Guéhenno was quoted as saying that the ambush was designed 'to inflict casualties' and was carried out with 'equipment usually not used by (rebel) militias'" (UN/New York, July 11, 2008). Separately and confidentially, a UN official went further in confirming to this writer that some of the arms used, including large-caliber recoilless rifles, have never been seen in the arsenals of the rebel groups. This official said that Guéhenno, who is retiring, had rarely been so explicit in assigning responsibility for attacks in Darfur.

[3] Agence France-Presse reported from Khartoum on the views of UN and African Union officials on the ground in Darfur: "Officials in the African Union and UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur, known as UNAMID, said on Wednesday [July 9, 2008] that suspected Janjaweed militia, who have fought [together] with the state [i.e., Government of Sudan], were behind the attack that killed seven peacekeepers" (July 10, 2008).

[4] The motive for the attack was not been established, but an assessment of who benefitted from an attack of this scale and intensity could leave no doubt as to responsibility. The rebels knew full well that such an attack would make insecurity in Darfur all the greater; and UNAMID—predictably—pulled back significantly from patrolling and investigating operations. Some deployments of additional forces were put on hold because of the attack (Australia, for example, announced at the time that it was suspending deployment of nine much-needed military specialists).

• Darfur rebel attack on UNAMID, September 2007—Haskanita, North Darfur

Some have made facile comparison of the July and January 2008 Khartoum-directed attacks on UNAMID to the attack in September 2007 on the African Union mission base in Haskanita (the mission was then known as the African Union Mission in Sudan, or AMIS). The motive for the earlier rebel attack appeared at the time to be the taking of weapons and supplies from an AU force that had long been perceived by the rebels as siding with Khartoum, particularly in excluding from ceasefire meetings the rebels groups not party to the ill-conceived Abuja peace agreement (May 2006). Indeed, in the case of Haskanita the attacking rebels—not one of the major factions, but probably an ad hoc collaboration of breakaway elements—may have mistakenly believed that the AU post was passing on bombing coordinates for rebel positions to Khartoum's regular military forces.

But however irresponsible the rebels have been—and they have a fearsome list of offenses and abuses to answer for—all the larger factions urgently wanted a larger UN security presence, to protect both civilians and humanitarians. Rebel leader Abdel Wahid el-Nur, who had an enormous following in the camps for displaced persons, made such a security presence his condition for participating in any renewed peace talks. The Sudan Liberation Movement/Unity—with forces closest to the location attacked—was also the most responsible of the rebel factions, and certainly realized that the attack was a disaster for the people of Darfur. For the rebels knew full well that it would make insecurity in the region all the greater.

The killing will continue

Altogether approximately 50 United Nations peacekeepers have been killed in greater Sudan over the past five years, and a great many more seriously wounded. This is in large measure because of international refusal to support the missions, especially UNAMID, with sufficient transport aircraft, adequate surveillance and communications capacity, and—most significantly—pressure on Khartoum to allow unfettered access and freedom of movement to UNAMID forces—guaranteed by the February 2008 Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).

Given the lack of consequences for its murderous ways with UN peacekeepers, Khartoum's regular and militia forces will almost certainly kill more peacekeepers. Most—as long been the case—will occur in circumstances that do not permit full determination responsibility without much greater investigative determination. Yet we have seen enough incidents in which responsibility is fully established to make reasonable inferences about a number of the cases in which UNAMID has offered—at least publicly—only a confession of ignorance about the perpetrators of these war crimes.

Calls for "accountability" coming from the U.S., the EU, the AU, and the UN have proved continually worthless—indeed, they are worse than worthless: for every time that the men of National Islamic Front/National Congress Party regime hear such "demands," they look back on the long history of previous "demands" that they have ignored…and simply smile complacently.

APPENDIX: Reports on the killing of UN peacekeepers and Paramount Chief of the Dinka Ngok in Abyei on May 4, 2013:

The event—details report from Agence France-Presse:

"The United Nations said the 'attack by a Misseriya assailant on a UNISFA convoy' also seriously wounded two of its peacekeepers." [One of the two wounded soldiers later died from his wounds—ER]

"Despite negotiations, 'a clash happened when a UNISFA soldier shot one of the Misseriya who was readying his weapon,' said the Misseriya chief who asked to remain anonymous. During the resulting clash, the Dinka leader's car was hit by an explosion and he and his driver were killed.'"…

"Negotiations continued 'for a long time' until a Misseriya youth, shouting and armed with a weapon, climbed onto the roof of [the Paramount Chief's] car, the resident said, declining to be named." (Agence France-Presse [Khartoum], May 5, 2013)

Given the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) in place for UNISFA, there should have been no negotiation over the passage of either a UNISFA convoy or an important political interlocutor in the Abyei crisis. That "negotiations" were prolonged is highly suspicious. And that the car carrying Kuol Deng Kuol was hit by an explosion suggests it had been particularly targeted by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG).

On the timing of the killings:

On May 4, 2013 Sudan Tribune reported the UN decision allowing…

"UN personnel to access the contested oil-producing region of Abyei, using any travel means available. Nhial Deng Nhial, the country's Foreign Affairs minister, said the move was in line with last year's Status of Force Agreement (SOFA), signed by both Sudan and South Sudan, allowing UN to access Abyei without placing conditions. UN personnel, as part of the SOFA, are allowed to travel to the disputed region, either for immediate assessment, or to conduct and respond to daily needs of the humanitarian related activities in the region. But the world body insists it has often been difficult for its personnel to obtain visa approval, mainly from the Sudanese Foreign Affairs ministry, despite the agreement, which the two countries signed."

This was the same day that UNISFA peacekeepers were killed.

The killings also occurred the same day as a meeting held between members of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee (AJOC), a development that some Misseriya leaders have been encouraged by Khartoum to see as threatening.

Evidence of responsibility:

Reuters reports (Khartoum, May 5, 2013):

"Kuwal Deng Mayok [Kuol Deng Kuol], the top Dinka leader in Abyei, was killed by members of the Misseriya, another Dinka leader told Reuters, asking not to be named. 'The Misseriya targeted him after he had held a meeting in Abyei town with Misseriya leaders,' he said. 'The Misseriya opened fire on his convoy and killed him and another person.'" [Reuters is extremely unlikely to use a witness they have not vetted—ER) "A Misseriya official, Saddiq Babu Nimr, confirmed the death of Mayok but blamed it on a shooting incident with Ethiopian UN peacekeepers, which administer Abyei."

That the attack occurred after Kuol held a lengthy meeting with Misseriya leaders in Abyei town strongly suggests that forces within the Misseriya opposed to such meetings ensured that they would not occur again. This comports fully with Khartoum's determination to keep the Abyei crisis festering, a means of distracting or commandeering international diplomatic attention. Diplomacy—whether involving the AU (Thabo Mbeki in particular), the UN, or Western actors—has been singularly ineffective in resolving the Abyei crisis (see http://www.sudanreeves.org/?p=2312). This is in large part a legacy of the terrible decision by the Obama administration in fall 2010 to pressure Juba to make further "compromises" on Abyei—beyond those already reflected in the Abyei Protocol of the CPA (2005) and the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague (July 2009).

Sudan Tribune (May 7, 2013) reports on the reaction of the Government of South Sudan:

"'The killing of [the] chief was not just an incident. It was preceded by reports of regular killings in the area. The list of those who have been killed has been filed and the United Nations has the details and we believe the killing of the chief will not be taken lightly nor [do] we expect the international community to consider [Kuol's death] a normal thing or usual business ... We hold the government of Sudan responsible because those who killed the chief are under the control of the government of Sudan. They are no stranger to Sudan,' he added."

And just what will the UN do with these "details"? The most cynical skepticism is fully warranted.

Motives for the killings:

Kon Manyieth, a former head of physical infrastructure in the Abyei Area Administration, described a meeting with Government of South Sudan cabinet member Deng Alor Kuol:

"'Our meeting with cabinet affairs minister Deng Alor Kuol was fruitful. We briefed him about general situation of the area, particularly about the massive settlement plan of members of the Misseriya who are getting direct support from the government of Sudan to the area. The other matter and the main reason of the visit is the continued killing and raiding of cattle and burning of villages in the area by the government of Sudan backed militia group,' Kon told journalists Thursday [May 2, 2013]." (Sudan Tribune, May 3, 2013)

The timing of this dispatch is well worth noting, with its report of a "massive settlement plan of members of the Misseriya who are getting direct support from the government of Sudan to the area. The other matter and the main reason of the visit is the continued killing and raiding of cattle and burning of villages in the area by the government of Sudan backed militia group…."

May 3: the day before Kuol Deng Kuol Deng was killed following negotiations over precisely such attacks, inter alia.

In scrambling for Misseriya political support, in sustaining controversy over the fate of Abyei and uncertainty concerning the delineation and demarcation of the North/South border, Khartoum is more than willing to let the Misseriya militias have their way, not only in Abyei but elsewhere. For the border regions are rich in arable land and pasturage, and this—not oil—is what matters most to the vast majority of people who live there.

Consequences:

Sudan Tribune reports (May 7, 2013):

"South Sudan on Monday lodged a strongly worded complaint to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) over the killing of Abyei tribal leader Kuol Deng Kuol, warning that until the perpetuators are identified and brought to justice, it is no longer 'business as usual.' South Sudan's minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, Nhial Deng Nhial, said his country takes the death of the paramount chief of the Dinka Ngok 'more seriously' and will not tolerate the case being taken lightly by the international community. 'We have started with clear procedures, legal steps. We have now officially filed and deposited our complaint about this brutal act which violates not only the international law but also humanitarian law. Chief Kuol Deng Kuol was not in combat; he was not carrying a gun, not in possession of any weapon. He was purely [an] unarmed civilian killed in the hands of the United Nations. His security and safety was in the hands of the United Nations,' Nhial said, while addressing thousands of mourners who turned out for Kuol's burial on Monday in Abyei town."

All this Khartoum well knew.

Eric Reeves is a professor of English Language and Literature at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, US. He has spent the past thirteen years working full-time as a Sudan researcher and analyst.

By Beny Gideon Mabor

“I don't know what's right and wrong anymore”, he said, tears streaming down his cheeks. “On the one hand, I am warned that you are the tool of oppression against our people, an enemy of the Christians and an agent of the evil. On the other hand, when I am with you, I see a kind and compassionate person whom I cannot believe could be evil man I am warned about. Oh! Uncle Ali, what shall I do? Whom shall I believe?” Cry of the Owl. Francis Mading Deng p.131

May 9, 2013 - I struggled within myself for ages over Abyei contestable identity between the Republic of South Sudan and the Sudan. Historically, I made remarkable recollections and decided to break the silence. It was not a pleasing night on date 5 April 2013 when I wake up at 2:15 am midnight and start to think about endless issue of Abyei. I concluded that Abyei saga exactly fall within the context of the above mentioned quote between Elias Bol Malek, a southerner and captain Ali of northern Sudanese nationality.

Certainly, I must tell you this is current situation of Abyei. The questions then follows: What shall we do now with this conflicting identity of Abyei between South Sudan and Sudan since our political leadership of the two countries fails to reach amicable solution over Abyei? Whom shall we believe as true owners of Abyei in this scenario? What is the fate of innocent lives lost every year in Abyei as a result of boarder conflicts and politically motivated contract killings? The list of questions goes on, but no proper answers ever met them. God knows!

In fact, where is Abyei Area and what is the bond of contention so far? Although the geographical area of Abyei is clearly known to be a territory within the Republic of South Sudan, yet the international community was allowed to fork in their nose and confused the true identity of Abyei which they do not know. The political leadership of the two countries also followed the suit and complicated the matter by describing Abyei in many controversial identities. Some self claimed analysts describe Abyei as Kashmir of Sudan and South Sudan which is not true. This gave Arabs Misseriya and the Khartoum based administration some sense of ownership. However, the issue of Abyei has been wrangling on since 1965 when hostilities first broke out between the Dinka Ngok and Missiriya with massacre of 72 Dinka Ngok in the Misseriya town of Babanusa. The Ngok Dinka then decided to join the Anyanya revolutionary movement to liberate themselves from such brutal killings when the war intensified in the South, against monolithic Arabs in the Sudan including Messiriya.

Unfortunately, during the Addis Ababa peace agreement in 1972, the position of Abyei was disputed, with the Southern rebels asserting that Abyei was part of the South, while the government in Khartoum claimed it to be part of the north just like similar game during CPA 2005 negotiations between SPLM and NCP-led government which is not implemented to date.

The Addis Ababa peace agreement provided self-determination referendum under Article 3 (iii) of the Agreement for the Dinka Ngok to choose whether to remain in the north or to join the south. In the civil service jobs, most intellectuals of Dinka Ngok of Abyei decided to work with the then regional government of Higher Executive Council as a signal of their full attachment to Southern region and to ensure the implementation of Article 3 (iii) of the peace agreement. The same thing is happening today with Dinka Ngok who are occupying key constitutional and civil service jobs in South Sudan at all levels of government in an attempt to alert Khartoum that South Sudan is their ancestral land. But the question is whether all Dinka Ngok are united under common intention as part of South Sudan or does exist different voices who supported being part of Sudan.

Plainly speaking, research show that the Dinka Ngok positions over the status of Abyei ever since remain divided. The Dinka Ngok currently residing in Sudan and even some on the ground in Abyei are seen supporting being part of Sudan. A clear example is an unfortunate killing of Paramount Chief Kuol Deng Kuol popularly known as Kuol Adol dated 4 May, 2013 at around 6:00 PM by Messiriya armed groups. The circumstances surrounding his assassination surely left us speechless whether it is calculated by fifth columnist or not. How can the Misseriya armed groups know the presence of Chief Kuol Adol in the UNISFA vehicles if there is no indoor act of Judas Iscariot, perhaps the contrary shall only be proved by thorough investigation if it is done well.

In a continuation for system attack on community leaders in Abyei, it was awful evening on 17 September, 1970, when a similar attack happened. Paramount Chief Moyak Deng, two of his brothers and three uncles were shot dead by a military squad led personally by the then commanding officer 1st Lt. Mohmed El Basha according to a report published by Abyei Information Centre. In other words, the killing of Chief Kuol Adol is a systematic extermination of key leaders in Abyei to spoil the agenda.

May their Soul rest in peace!

Again at second crucial point in history, the SPLM and NCP-led government voluntarily fails to reach an agreement on Abyei during CPA negotiations in 2005. The Abyei conflict was handled in a historical repetition just like in 1972 when the self-determination referendum was agreed and dishonored by Khartoum government at broad day light. At the weakest point in our history liberations struggle, the parties allowed the Abyei Protocol to be drafted by foreign nationals which was wholly adopted in the negotiation as the basis for the resolution of Abyei conflict presented by the US Special Envoy to Sudan Senator John Danforth on the 19th March, 2004.

With these principles of Agreement on Abyei, Senator Danforth wrongly defines Abyei as a bridge between the north and the south, linking the people of Sudan under Article 1.1.1 of the Abyei Protocol. How can it be a bridge when the land falls deeply within the Republic of South Sudan? Worst enough; it is crystal clear now that with the presence and intervention of international community as a follow up mechanism of the self-determination referendum for the Dinka Ngok, the situation deteriorates. Finally, it is evident that foreign solution will never solve Abyei issue anymore and the government and people of South Sudan must think otherwise.

In conclusion, I am call upon the government of South Sudan and that of Sudan to expedite the process of implementation of Abyei referendum as scheduled by AU High level implementation panel if it may hold water. Second, let the Dinka Ngok community and intellectuals all over the world come back to Abyei Area for community meeting in order to come out with clear agenda on the status of Abyei conflict. This is when the Government and people of South Sudan will support Ngok Dinka after they are united for purpose. Do not allow Dr. Francis Mading said his different version of the resolution of Abyei conflcit in New York, while some claimed elderly Dinka Ngok members in Sudan have another version as well as Dinka Ngok elites in the SPLM-led government in Juba have different version on Abyei conflict resolution. We will never reach an intended destination. Indeed, Abyei problem needs Abyei solution and not foreign attempts under stalemate.

Last but not least, the failure of the government and people of South Sudan without retaining full control of Abyei Area as constitutional obligation will be a litmus test for territorial integrity of South Sudan. Such terrorist related act of extermination of community leaders and groundless claimed by Sudan over Abyei Area are sign of temptation on South Sudan muscle of territorial defense. Otherwise let us stand behind President Salva Kiir, that he will not leave and inch of the Abyei are to Sudan.

Beny Gideon Mabor is an independent commentator on governance and human rights. The author is currently in Nairobi, Kenya and can be reached at benygmabor@gmail.com

May 9 2013 (BOR) - At least seven people were reported dead and 15 others injured following two consecutive inter-clan clashes in Waat and Walgak in Jonglei state's Akobo county on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The commissioner of Akobo county, Koung Rambeng, described it as long term conflict, tracing it roots back to the killing of a Luo Nuer chief in 2008. Reprisal attacks between the communities killed 19 people on each side following the chief's death and have continued on and off since then.

According to the commissioner, the fighting started on Tuesday in Walgak when youth gathered in Walgak town, forcing South Sudan's army - the SPLA to intervene.

He said the same happened in Waat the next day; "people gathered in Waat, and you know people with the story of conflict, they started again and the SPLA intervened".

"The SPLA intervened and separated the two and we are now working to see how we can bring in the chiefs", he said.

"The situation is calm now, we have deployed the SPLA around Walgak and Waat just to deter any mobilization again and we have arrested some people who are believed to have triggered the fighting , and we are moving, trying to bring the communities together to initiate immediate dialogue and I am in touch with the leadership in Bor to see how they can bring in the MPs of the areas to see how the communities can negotiate on settling this dispute", he said over the phone on Thursday.

International health group, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which operates a hospital in Lankien released a statement saying that at least two people had died and 11 others injured in the fighting.

MSF further said that some of the wounded had to be moved to another MSF facility in Nasir, Upper Nile State, as Lankien hospital does not have the surgical facilities to treat the injured.

“Two of the patients died from internal bleeding related to wounds to their abdomens. One of the dead included a 14 year old adolescent boy. The other two patients were stabilised with wounds to their upper leg and knee, respectively, and were evacuated on Wednesday to MSF's hospital in Nasir,” said the statement.

Four more cases were submitted to MSF's hospital in Lankien on Wednesday after the fighting in Waat.

A further five injured people were brought to the hospital by pickup truck, including two women from Waat. MSF said that all patients had been stabilised, with some being prepared to be move to Nasir in order to receive surgery on Thursday.

“The hospital is prepared to receive more wounded as needed. An MSF team is preparing to visit the area to assess any additional needs,” the statement concluded.

(ST)

May 9, 2013 (JUBA) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Thursday openly accused the government of neigbouring Sudan of killing the paramount chief of the disputed border region of Abyei, Kuol Deng Kuol.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Kuol, the chief of the nine Dinka Ngok chiefdoms, was travelling in a United Nations convoy that had visited an area in the north of the contested oil-producing territory on 5 May when armed members of the Misseriya tribe - the Arab nomads who also lay claim to the area - attacked the convoy.

Two Ethiopian peacekeepers, deployed as part of the UN Interim Force for Abyei (UNISFA), was also killed in the attack, which South Sudan has referred to the world body's Security Council.

A visibly emotional Kiir, said that he will hold his Sudanese counterpart, President Omer Al-Bashir, responsible for Kuol's death if he fails to arrest and try the attackers in an independent competent court of law.

"It is the government of Sudan which killed the chief. It is not the Misseriya we know - the ones that move with their cattle south of Abyei every year looking for water and pasture lands", Kiir said.

“I hold the government of Sudan, especially president Bashir himself responsible if he fails to produce criminals and ensure that they are tried by the independent and competent court of law" he added.

The President asked why the Misseriya would choose to attack the chief now when they had ample opportunity in the past.

"Chief Kuol has been in the area all this time and the Misseriya did not kill him. Why killed him this time if it is indeed the Misseriya?”, Kiir asked the thousands of mourners who had gathered at the residence of South Sudan's Inspector General of Police, Pieng Deng Kuol, to pay their final respects to the late chief.

An Abyei referendum initially scheduled for January 2011 was due to decide the fate of the area but disagreements between the ruling parties of Sudan and South Sudan over who was eligible to participate has led to a stalemate.

The African Union tried to break the deadlock last year, proposing that the plebiscite go ahead in October 2013, but only for those permanently residing in the area - effectively excluding the Misseriya nomads, leaving the Southern-aligned Dinka Ngok free to vote in favour of joining South Sudan.

Khartoum has rejected the plan, but AU mediators stress the exclusion of the Misseriya nomads is consistent with the decision of the International Court of Arbitration in July 2009, which defined Abyei's territory as the nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms.

President Kiir said the murder of the Abyei chief was a clear ploy to prevent the Dinka Ngok voting for the area to be moved back into what is now the independent Republic of South Sudan.

“I know this is a clear political scheme to sabotage the conduct of referendum because you are now left with only five months go into the referendum. And they know that you will vote to decide where you want to go which they are afraid because they know very well you have already indicated determination to return south where the area was transferred”, Kiir explained.

The president, however, called for calm amongst Abyei's youth. He warned against those calling for any retaliation as it would hamper the government's long term goal of having Abyei officially transferred into South Sudan.

“Our strategic objective is [the] referendum. This is what we want to hold in the area in a peaceful atmosphere so that the people could go and vote”, he said.

Several speakers, including vice president Riek Machar unequivocally condemned the killing of Kuol - often referred to as Kuol Adol - who served in the post for over two years.

Bulabek Deng Kuol, who has been appointed as Kuol's successor, has vowed to work towards accomplishing the right of self-determination for the Dinka Ngok of Abyei.

(ST)

• ST - Killing of Abyei's Dinka Ngok chief, Kuol Deng Kuol - 5 May 2013

• ST - Abyei's new paramount chief vows to follow in “footsteps” of late Kuol
• ST - South Sudan lodges complaint against Khartoum at UNSC over killing of Abyei chief
• ST - Ethiopia deplores slaying of UN peacekeeper, tribal leader