Southern officials urge government to assist people in Upper Nile

KHARTOUM, April 19, 2004 (Sudan Tribune) — Shilluk delegation headed by Mr Mungo Ajak, the state minister in the Ministry of Transportation has urged during a meeting with the second vice president Moses Machar, the government to provide enough support to the affected areas in Upper Nile.

Moses Machar on his part praised the efforts exerted for realizing stability in the region and promised to provide full support.

The delegation enlightened the vice-president with the clashes that have occurred recently in the region of Fashoda, seat of the Shilluk Kingdom, in Upper Nile State, southern Sudan.

Vice-President Moses Machar has asserted the keenness of the government to protect the citizens and their safety in all parts of Sudan.

In a press statement released yesterday, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Dr. Mukesh Kapila, said more than 50,000 people have been internally displaced since early last month in the Shilluk kingdom area.

In a statement issued today the IGAD Verification Monitoring Team put the number of displaced civilians at 70,000.

The violence, which erupted last month, pits militia loyal to rebel leader Lam Akol, an ally of the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), against pro-Khartoum fighters.

The IGAD team, which overflew the Upper Nile area, “saw entire villages destroyed and deserted, large areas of scorched ground, groups of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) sheltering and a destroyed aid compound.”

The statement from the monitoring team indicated that Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha, who is leading a government delegation to peace talks in Kenya with John Garang’s SPLA, had on April 4 ordered government troops to withdraw from the Shilluk Kingdom, another name for the Upper Nile.