Sudan wants ceasefire for allowing aid into war zones
March 22, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti has revealed that his country wants a ceasefire as a prerequisite to allowing aid into the war-battered state of South Kordofan.
The meeting, SUNA said, discussed an initiative proposed by the UN, African Union (AU) and the Arab League (AL) to allow delivery of aid in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
The two states on the borders with neighbouring South Sudan are the scene of a conflict between government forces and rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLMN). The conflict, which erupted last year, has displaced more than 417,000 people, according to UN figures.
Sudan is yet to give its blessings to the tripartite initiative unlike the rebels which announced they had agreed to it. The Sudanese government said it has reservations on some parts and referred the proposal to a technical committee to study it and produce a report on it.
The committee’s report, according to a statement made on Tuesday by Sudan’s Minister of Social Welfare Amira Al-Fadil, will determine the government’s final response.
SUNA reported that the meeting between Menkerios and Karti had addressed Khartoum’s reservations over the initiative.
According to SUNA, the UN envoy said he “understands” Sudan’s reservations. He was keen, however, to reassure the Sudanese minister that the humanitarian situation would not be exploited to exert pressure on the government.
Menkerios was quoted as saying that the initiative is motivated by desire to provide aid to all areas whether controlled by the government or the rebels. He added that efforts were being divided between finding a compromise that would take Khartoum’s reservations under consideration and seeking an end to hostilities on the ground.
For his part, Karti emphasised the importance of ceasing hostilities and military operations so the humanitarian situation would be less risky.
Sudan’s top diplomat went on to tell Menkerios that the government was still studying its options vis-à-vis the reservations over the tripartite initiative. He promised that Khartoum would soon declare its final position.
Sudan initially rejected demands for allowing international aid groups into South Kordofan and Blue Nile but this position appears to have petered out.
The rebels called during a meeting held in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa earlier this month with international envoys, including Menkerios and US Special Envoy to Sudan Princeton Lyman, for delivering aid into the two states with or without Khartoum’s consent.
SPLMN secretary-general, Yasir Arman, later said that his group is ready “for a humanitarian secession [cessation] of hostilities whenever the modalities of delivering humanitarian assistance require it.”
(ST)