South Sudan maintains demand for U.N. buffer zone

November 16, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – The government of the semi autonomous regional government of south Sudan has repeated its demands that additional United Nations forces be deployed at buffer zones either side of the north-south border.

Barnaba Marial Benjamin, minister of information and broadcasting service in the government of south Sudan, in an interview with Sudan Tribune, from the regional capital of Juba on Tuesday, said an earlier request made by his government remains one of the best choices to avoid provocation at the border resulting in war.

“The request made by our president of the government of south Sudan, General Salva Kiir Mayardit, when members of the security council visited Juba early October, to deploy more troops at the buffer zone remains one of our choices,” said minister Marial.

“We are asking deployment of more external forces especially UN troops at buffer zones because these are the areas which have already raised concerns,” he said.

Minister Marial who doubles up as official spokesman of the regional government said areas of priority included Abyei, Heglig, Renk and north western part of Upper Nile state.

“We are seeking deployment of additional UN troops to Abyei, Renk, Heglig and western part of Upper Nile state. We also need them at the borderlines in western and northern Bahr el Ghazal states,” said Marial.

The senior official of the regional government said they will continue to push for deployment of additional forces even though the request has been rejected by their partner.

“We will continue to dialogue for deployment of additional forces at the buffer zones with our partners. They need to accept it because this is good for peace and stability in Sudan unless they have intention to return the country back to war,” said Marial.

The minister’s statement coincided with a statement from the United Nations’ Secretary-General Expression on Tuesday, UN that United Nations hopes to increase the number of peacekeepers in south Sudan and border areas as the referendum approaches.

Voter registration for referendum on self determination for people of south Sudan commenced on Monday and will continue until 1st December, 2010.

The plebiscite is the culmination of a 2005 peace deal that ended a two decades of civil war between the north and south, which claimed 2 million lives and displaced more than 4 million.

As part of the deal between, former rebel group, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party, 10,000 UN troops are in the country to monitor implementation of the peace deal and protect civilians.

Addressing a special UN Security Council debate on Sudan, chaired British foreign Secretary William Hague, the UN’s told diplomat Ban Ki-moon said they are working with the SPLM and NCP to see whether additional troops can be sent ahead of the southern referendum.

UN officials told Reuters that additional troop numbers would be in the hundreds. The UN chief said that no increase in U.N. troops could stop a new civil war in the event of renewed bloodshed on a massive scale.

“It will not be enough to prevent the return to war should widespread hostilities erupt,” he said.

Preparations for the southern vote, as well as a separate plebiscite on whether the oil-rich Abyei region should remain under Khartoum or join the south, are behind schedule.

(ST)