Sudan north and south armies finalize deal on troops redeployment

December 6, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) agreed to finalize the redeployment of troops by the end of this year.

In a meeting held in the Ugandan capital last Monday 3 December, the Ceasefire Joint Military Committee (CJMC) adopted a resolution on SAF and SPLA redeployment from Southern Sudan, Blue Nile, and Southern Kordofan by 9 January 2008.

The meeting approved a three-stage redeployment plan with the following targets: 33.3% redeployment by 15 December 2007, 66.6% redeployment by 31 December 2007, and 100% redeployment by 9 January 2007, the UNMIS disclosed today.

The redeployment of troops to 1956 border is one of the key provisions of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Last October the SPLM suspended its participation in the national unity government to protest against the delay of implementation in this issue besides, the border demarcation and the row over Abyei Protocol.

The CJMC meeting was chaired by UNMIS Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Jasbir Singh Lidder. In addition to the SAF and SPLA representatives, as well as the JIU commanders, the meeting was attended by observers from Belgium, China, France, Russia, and the United States. The Ugandan State Minister for Foreign Affairs attended the opening of the CJMC meeting.

The Chairman of the CJMC, UNMIS Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Jasbir Singh Lidder, said that the meeting was held in a very positive atmosphere and described its outcome as “successful” and “a decisive step” in ensuring implementation of the security arrangements.

In a meeting held on 1 November, the Ceasefire Political Commission (CPC), the two sides agreed to demilitarize the oilfields in southern Sudan. According to the CPA military arrangement, the oilfields in southern Sudan will be patrolled by joint units after the SAF and SPLA withdraw their forces from there.

The CJMC further agreed that the Joint Defense Board (JDB) needs to establish a plan of the JIUs’ deployment to be concurrently implemented with the SAF and SPLA redeployment percentages approved by the CJMC.

The newly appointed UN special envoy to Sudan, Ashraf Qazi, told a ministerial meeting on the CPA implementation Wednesday in Addis Ababa attended by the US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice that SAF has redeployed almost 80% of its forces to the North.

He further said that the SPLA redeployment from the North was linked in the CPA to the full deployment of the Joint Integrated Units (JIUs) committing SPLM to redeploy within six months after the establishment of the JIUs, Qazi said, adding that the SPLM has redeployed about 8% of its forces and redeployed its forces last year from Eastern Sudan as required in the CPA.

He further informed the meeting that 80.4% of the forces earmarked for the JIUs have been mobilized. However, their training and deployment remain well behind schedule, SRSG Qazi said, adding that units in their present capacity cannot be defined as integrated, and are, at best, co-located.

According to UNMIS mandate, the mission has to play a leading role in the training of the JIUs. Two meetings of Defense Attachés of SAF, SPLA officials and members states were convened by UNMIS forces Commander in this respect. It was decided to create a JIU support cell with members from the international community, JIU Headquarters and UNMIS.

With regard to the military situation in Abyei, the UN special envoy to Sudan underscored that the UNMIS monitoring in the disputed region faced some difficulties. However, he indicated that following the CPC meetings, the Area Joint Monitoring Committee in Abyei has now agreed to lift restrictions on movement of UNMIS North and South of Abyei.

The following are the decisions endorsed by the CJMC in implementation of the CPC resolutions:

– Resolution 1 on concurrent SAF and SPLA redeployment from Southern Sudan, Blue Nile, and Southern Kordofan by 9 January 2008: the CJMC approved a three-stage redeployment plan with the following targets: 33.3% redeployment by 15 December 2007, 66.6% redeployment by 31 December 2007, and 100% redeployment by 9 January 2007. The Concerned Sector Area Joint Military Committees (AJMCs) will convert these percentages into redeployment targets according to available data, evolve plans for the redeployment to support the given timelines, and report progress to the CJMC.

– Resolution 2 on deployment of JIUs by 9 January 2008: the CJMC agreed that the Joint Defense Board (JDB) needs to establish a plan of the JIUs’ deployment to be concurrently implemented with the SAF and SPLA redeployment percentages approved by the CJMC. The CJMC also agreed that the JDB needs to coordinate with SAF Headquarters the handing and taking over of the oil installations, in accordance with SAF redeployment dates. The CJMC requested its Chairman to write the DDB on these issues.

– Resolutions 3 and 4 on present border line: The resolutions request the two parties to adhere to the present border line and not to proceed to any unilateral movements into disputed areas and towards the present border line. During the Kampala meeting of the CJMC, the SAF and the SPLA committed to abide by these resolutions in letter and spirit. The CJMC decided to request the CPC to amend the term “1/1/56 Line” to “Present Border Line” as agreed in the 14th CPC meeting.

– Resolution 5 on demilitarization of the oil installations by 9 January 2007: The CJMC decided that once the JIUs are deployed for the security of oil installations, no other forces should be located in the proximity and vicinity of these installations. The demilitarization parameters need to be decided by the JIU Commanders, based on ground and security considerations, and formalized by the JDB. Thereafter, necessary details need to be provided to the CJMC for monitoring and verification.

– Resolution 6 on Debab and Abu Matarik forces by 15 December: The CJMC decided that AJMC in Sector VI (Abyei) will receive from the SPLA plans on concentration and redeployment plans to be completed by the defined date. The AJMC will monitor the concentration and redeployment to south of the present border by pro-active deployment of Joint Monitoring Teams. Movement restrictions in all Sector VI are lifted until the redeployment of Debab and Abu Matrik forces is complete.

– Resolution 9 on formalization of the discharge of voluntary demobilized SAF soldiers: The SAF is requested to finalize the process of final payments to the demobilized soldiers and provide necessary details, including on nominal rolls and modalities of payment, to the respective AJMCs. Upon receipt of this information, AJMCs in Sectors I, II, and III (Juba, Wau, and Malakal) will verify payment modalities and discharge details of the remaining unverified voluntary demobilized SAF soldiers, if any, in their respective sectors. The Southern Sudan DDR Commission will be informed on the status of the demobilized soldiers, once their discharge formalities are accepted and approved by the CJMC.

– Resolution 10 on redeployment of SAF to Malwal/Rumaker: the CJMC directed the Sector II AJMC (Wau) to facilitate the redeployment of the SAF platoon to Malwal/Rumaker as a matter of priority. The CJMC instructed the AJMCs in Sectors II and III (Wau and Malakal) to re-verify the initial data provided by the SAF, to confirm the troops’ parent formations and locations, and to report back to the CJMC.

The next regular meeting of the CJMC will be held in Juba on 17 December.

(ST)