SPLA denies dragging feet on troop redeployment

July 25, 2007 (JUBA) — The governor of Blue Nile State has refuted claims by the Sudan Armed Forces that many SPLA [Sudan People’s Liberation Army] troops remain in Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan states.

Malik Agar Ayar, Blue Nile Governor and SPLM Northern Sector deputy secretary-general, told journalists in Khartoum that most SPLA troops in Blue Nile and southern Kordofan were redeployed out of those states before 9 July. He added that the only forces remaining in the two states are part of the Joint Integrated Units, or JIU’s.

“The re-deployment of SPLA troops has exceeded eighty per cent.” Agar said

Mr Agar said the redeployment of troops was done according to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

However, the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) say that the SPLA has not completed its withdrawal from Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan.

The UN’s Miraya Radio quotes the UN force commander, Lieutenant General Jasbir Lidder, as saying on Monday that the SPLA has started withdrawing its forces from the two regions, but some troops are still there.

General Lidder said that a UN monitoring team is in those regions to verify the current situation on the ground.

Sudan Armed Forces spokesperson Muhammad Al-Aghbash stressed that the SAF will not redeploy its 3,600 troops from oil rich areas in Upper Nile state until the SPLA does the same.

In a meeting of Ceasefire Joint Military Committee (CJMC) held on Tuesday July 17 in Juba, the Sudanese army and the SPLA traded accusations over the redeployment of troops from the Upper Nile, the areas that produce Sudan’s vital 500,000 barrels per day of crude oil.

The two parties agreed to submit the divergence to the Ceasefire Political Commission (CPC).

(Sudan Radio Service)