UNAMID chief said to visit south Sudan over Darfur rebels as Khartoum warns of delay to expel them
January 10, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The special representative of the UN-AU Hybrid Peacekeeping Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), Ibrahim Gambari, has announced he will soon visit the semi-autonomous region of south Sudan to hold talks with its leader Salva Kiir Mayradit on how to expel Darfur rebel groups from the region, according to Sudan’s official news agency SUNA.
Tension between north and south Sudan over Juba’s alleged support of Darfur rebel groups has recently subsided after South Sudan leader Kiir declared that he would expel rebel groups in the region.
“No opposition in the north shall take Juba as a base,” Kiir was quoted as saying last week.
South Sudan is currently housing Minni Arcua Minnawi, who is the only Darfur rebel leader to sign a peace accord with the Sudanese government in Abuja in 2006. But Minnawi later effectively defected from the government and accused Khartoum of stalling the peace agreement.
North Sudan officials have consistently issued stern warnings to the south over harboring Darfur rebels. At one point, North Sudan foreign minister Alir Karti threatened Juba with war over this issue.
“If the South Sudan government wants to start its new era with a war that will be the case if it harbors Darfur movements”, said Karti in a press conference in Khartoum on 28 December.
South Sudan is widely expected to become a fully independent state as a result of an ongoing referendum vote due to end on January 15.
Meanwhile, a member of the northern government’s delegation to Darfur peace talks has urged Juba to execute its promise to expel Darfur rebels, warning that failure to do so will send negative signals and encourage other rebels groups to ramp up their armed activities against the government.
Omar Adam Rahmah, a member of the government’s negotiation delegation to Darfur peace talks in the Qatari capital of Doha, told the pro-government website Sudan Media Center (SMC) on Monday that the continuous existence of Darfur rebels in the south despite Kiir’s decision to expel them would reflect negatively on the headways made in the peace talks.
Rahmah urged the Government of Southern Sudan to translate its promise into action and order Darfur groups out, saying that the south’s security will not be achieved through Darfur rebels and that the south needs north Sudan in terms of security and shared interests.
Sudan is currently engaged in peace talks with one Darfur rebel group in Doha, but the talks have so far failed to yield an agreement. The talks are boycotted by the two major rebel groups, the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Movement of Abdul Wahid Moahmed Nur.
The conflict in Sudan’s western region of Darfur broke out in 2003 when rebels belonging mostly to African ethnic groups took up arms against Khartoum, accusing it of marginalizing the region in terms of development and wealth sharing.
In response, the government launched an abusive counterinsurgency campaign that resulted in the death of 300,000 people and displacement of more than 2 million, according to UN figures.
(ST)
okucu pa lotinokwan
UNAMID chief said to visit south Sudan over Darfur rebels as Khartoum warns of delay to expel them
NCP always full of creating thing for their benefit,since south sudan is becoming a new nation,if really Darfur rebel groups are in Juba let them go to a different place,we south sudanese we are very tie of the war since 1955,we are born during the time of war and we grew in the time of war,it is time for any southerners to breath peace now.
OKUCU PA LOTINOKWAN
Facts Check
UNAMID chief said to visit south Sudan over Darfur rebels as Khartoum warns of delay to expel them
One Caution President Kiir!!!!!
Don’t expel Darfur rebel before Khartoum recognizes the results of the our separation otherwise Khartoum would have killed two birds with one stone. Once we separate we will have anyone we want in South Sudan.
Paul Ongee
UNAMID chief said to visit south Sudan over Darfur rebels as Khartoum warns of delay to expel them
Mohammed Ali,
Note that Khartoum is 100% kidding about its warning that nobody is paying attention to it. Khartoum still believes that South Sudan is his subordinate. Warning without the alleged evident is futile. South Sudan is supposed to give warning to Khartoum for its consistent military provocative attitude. Khartoum is well known for making fabrication and supplying the Southern militia groups operating in the South besides provision of logistical support to LRA and Messeriya to create insecurity in the South.
How do you describe the evidently captured Khartoum-owned helicopter with George Athor officers and logistical support on board? Why is Khartoum worried about its security situation more than any other areas in the country?
I wish Khartoum had started it Islamic mentality of war to speed up its exit from political power for ever. I am not worried at all about the useless warning because the time is coming soon that Khartoum will never ever sleep should it attempt to militarily provoke South Sudan.
Ibrahim Gambari needs to realize that Khartoum is under radar 24/7. If Gambari failed in his previous assignment because of conflict of interest, what proves that he is gonna succeed in this one? The current regime in Khartoum and Gambari will never improve any humanitarian situation in Darfur. The civil population in Darfur would continue suffering because of inaccessibility to humanitarian assistance on his watch. Khartoum attacks IDPs Camps at its disposal on pretext that Darfur rebels are hiding there.
Paul Ongee
Khartoum, Sudan