Watchdog says concerned by Sudanese army role in Malakal fighting

December 1, 2006 — The Sudan Human Rights Organization Cairo Office is gravely concerned for the fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in support of the SSDF militia, and the SPLA at Malakal, the capital city of the Upper Nile State in South Sudan, which ensued in heavy casualties on November 30, 2006.

As repeatedly cautioned by Sudanese civil society groups and political parties, the loose hold of the State on government-supported militias in the South and Darfur will continue to ravage the peace agreements of both regions, as well as the most recently signed peace agreement in East Sudan.

– SHRO-Cairo condemns in the strongest terms possible the fighting of all armed groups in the city of Malakal that caused heavy casualties, including the loss of lives and property of many innocent citizens.

– The Sudan Human Rights Organization condemns, in particular, the irresponsible policies and practices of the Government of Sudan that continue to destroy the CPA, including offensive announcements by top state managers and overt militia support, as occurred in the Malakal events; besides unrestricted military actions resulting in heavy casualties and other gross human rights violations.

– The Organization calls on the transitional parliaments in Khartoum and South Sudan to set-up a joint, high level, judicially independent, fact-finding national committee, instead of executives’ low-profile classified committees, to determine the legal liabilities of each army/political group in the Malakal fighting; prosecute all wrong-doers, indiscriminately; and compensate the civilian victims, in accordance with both statutory and customary laws

SHRO-Cairo recalls the Organization’s report (Sudanese Human Rights’ Quarterly: Issue 22, September 2006) on the post-Naivasha relations of the two peace parties, the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and Army.

The report alarmed, the ongoing relations of the ruling parties would most likely culminate in renewed fighting and increased hostilities unless a real political process, involving all non-governmental parties and civil society groups, would take place in full collaboration with the United Nations (whose forces played an appreciative role to curb the fighting in Malakal, most recently) to help resolve the escalated crises of the whole country.

– Practical measures should include the immediate convening of All-Sudanese constitutional conference, as well as compliance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions on Darfur.
The Organization emphasized that, in the light of the exclusionary structure, procedure, and implementation of the CPA, which had effectively isolated large sections of the People of Sudan from essential participation in the peace process, unresolved disputes would continue unabated in the relations of the two main partners.

The July 2006 report revealed that the peace partners have been accusing one another of the recurring failures of the CPA bilateral implementation. The issues in dispute included the designated commissions by agreement, Abyei borders, withdrawal of the government army beyond the Independence border of January 1956, the volume and revenue of oil production, and the democratic transition, which had been extremely sluggish.

In the reported period, the Quarterly documented that the South experienced acts of violence leading to the killing and injuries of many citizens: “March 15th, two armed persons attacked the UNHRC in Yay, killing a local guard and injuring another, in addition to two employees of the UN office. April 1st, a southerner-armed group assaulted the Islamic Call Org. in Bantiuo of the Unity State. Northerner citizens were attacked in the market, of whom a citizen was murdered and 5 others injured. The same transgressing group injured another citizen in attack on the rest house of the Elber International Org.

May 2nd, fighting erupted between SPLA and “the White Army,” an armed group in the Lou area, southeast the Jongli State, as a consequence of an SPLA attempt to disarm the White Army group. July 11th and the two subsequent days, 4 soldiers and 7 civilians were killed in fighting between the Armed Forces and members of the SPLA. A dispute between two soldiers of the armies in question motivated the SAF soldier to shoot the SPLA soldiers. The number of victims increased to 28 deaths, including 17 civilians …

July 26th, Jan Pronk, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, reported that the oil companies in South Sudan possessed special militias that controlled the oil production fields. These militias obstructed the returnee refugees from relocation to their own homes in the oil production areas …

July 29th, an SPLM official accused the government of arming militias in the South. The SPLM Secretary General Pagan Amum said that the Armed Forces continued to provide arms and support to the militias in the South in gross violation to the CPA. By the end of July, an SPLA armed group attacked with granites and guns the home of Riyak Gay Kok, adviser of the president deputy speaker of the National Council for Southern Affairs, in al-Rank town of the Upper Nile State. The assault, which was later, ended by both the Armed Forces and the SPLA, led to the injury of the adviser’s driver.”

– The Organization advices the Government of Sudan and the Government of South Sudan to expand the national participation of Sudanese political parties and civil society groups in the CPA implementation with a view to strengthen the political process of peace, instead of incarcerating the whole process within the military powers and authoritative security arrangements, despite unresolved political disputes and escalated fighting.