Sudan SPLM denies contract with US firm to reshape SPLA

Aug 13, 2006 (JUBA) — The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement has denied that it would reshape its army (SPLA) into a professional army, with the help of a US firm, an official said.

SPLA soldiers look at a copy of the comprehensive peace agreement, before their meeting in Rumbek, on Sunday, January 23, 2005.

The SPLM said it was the United Nations which proposed a plan to modernize the Joint Force constituted from the Sudanese armed forces and the SPLA, adding that the SAF rejected the proposed plan.

According to Reuters, the U.S. private security firm and defence contractor DynCorp International Inc. will begin next year to reshape thousands of former southern Sudanese guerrilla fighters into a professional army.

“The military training could start anywhere from early next year and it will be ongoing for the next several years,” DynCorp vice president for international business development, Al Rigney, told Reuters in an interview on Saturday.

Senior SPLA official Major General Bior Ajang told the Khartoum based Alsahafa that the UN proposed a plan to modernize the Joint Force which will constitute the core of the national army if the South opts for unity with the northern Sudan.

He further added that the refusal of the Sudanese army for this plan prevented its implementation.

General Ajang confirmed reports that SPLA is considering laying off a number of its old soldiers as part of its restructuring programme.

He also indicated that the SPLA is reshaping its structures into a modern force under control of southern Sudan government but without any foreign aid.

According to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed between the Sudanese government and the SPLM during the interim period there would be two armies, the north’s Sudanese Armed Forces and the south’s SPLA.

(ST)