Khartoum plans to fight strongly food smuggling to South Sudan

April 23, 2012 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan’s First Vice President Ali Osman Taha announced on Monday his government’s plans to declare the state of emergency in the border areas with South Sudan to curb the smuggling of food into the newly independent country.

After the rebellion of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, Sudan accused Juba of supporting the rebels and decided close the border and ban the traditional border trade. However, smugglers have continued to trade across the border, since South Sudan’s independence in July last year.

Sudan, since the occupation of Heglig on 10 April, announced a nationwide mobilisation and military recruitment campaign. Khartoum also stopped the African Union-brokered process to settle the post-independence issues. After the entry of his troops to the oil-producing area on 20 April, Bashir ruled out any return to the talks and pledged to topple Juba government.

Taha on Monday briefed the Sudanese parliament on the latest developments in Heglig where the Sudanese president Omer al-Bashir made an unannounced visit to inspect the damaged oil installations.

The First Vice-President further told the lawmakers that his government plans to strengthen its anti-smuggling policy and implement new measures. He further urged them to amend the emergency law in order to allow the authorities to kill anyone who tries to smuggle food to South Sudan.

Food prices have increased dramatically in South Sudan due to tribal fighting, below-average 2011 harvests and banned trade with Sudan. Last March the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in South Sudan warned that more than half of South Sudan’s ten states will suffer severe food shortages this year.

Khartoum calculates that the prohibition of trade with South Sudan will help their efforts to pressure Juba to stop its support to the rebel groups.

Taha swore three times not to step back from war with South Sudan until the recovery of every inch of the Sudanese occupied territory “I swear, swear, swear for the martyrs, no matter how high (international) pressure and internal conspiracies, it will not intimidate us and we will go forward,” he stressed.

The Sudanese government has been struggling with financial difficulties since the independence of South Sudan due to the loss of 75% of its oil-production. Khartoum is also seeking to convince traditional political forces to back a new Islamic constitutional project and to consolidate the internal front as rebel groups vowed to topple the regime.

However, the war against Juba over Heglig and the declaration of South Sudanese president Salva Kiir that the main oil producing area belongs to the South has allowed the regime to mobilise the street and recruit volunteers to fight the “enemies and traitors”.

Taha told the legislators, that the Sudanese leadership is studying the sudden support of the Sudanese street and the spontaneous expression of joy after the announcement of the liberation of Heglig adding it was “a rare condition” not ever seen in the Sudanese history.

Addressing his speech to the opposition forces, Taha called on “those who kept silent too long and were whispering here and there” to uphold the national spirit, and to support more vigorously his government.

The Sudanese opposition forces including the National Umma Party of Sadiq al-Mahdi, Popular Congress Party of Hassan Turabi and the Sudanese Communist Party as well as smaller political forces condemned the occupation of Heglig and urged Juba to pull its troops from the area. They also called for a national dialogue conference to settle the conflicts of South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur.

(ST)