W. Bahr el Ghazal accuses Sudan of attempting to “derail” peace talks

June 6, 2012 (JUBA) – The Governor of South Sudan Western Bahr El Ghazal on Wednesday accused government of neigbouring Sudan of carrying out both “air and ground attacks” in against his state in an attempt to “derail international efforts” to find peaceful settlement to differences between the two countries over number of unresolved post-partition issues.

Brigadier General, Rizik Hassan Zachariah, said that the Sudanese army was attacking South Sudan even while the two sides are negotiating in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

A border conflict in April was a severe set back to relations and delayed to resumption of talks on oil, borders, disputed areas, citizenship, security and other issues, which began again last week.

Hervé Ladsous the head of the UN department of peacekeeping operations and Haile Menkarios UN special envoy to Sudan and South Sudan told the Security Council in a recent briefing they were unable to confirm allegations of fresh aerial raids by Sudanese warplanes.

The governor condemned the international community for criticisation South Sudan’s response to aggression from Sudan but not Khartoum.

South Sudan says it occupied the oil-producing Heglig region in April as the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) had been launching attacks from the area. Khartoum denies this and the young nation was roundly criticised, most notably by the Secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, who said Juba’s 10-day occupation as “illegal”.

Zachariah told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday, that the silence of the international community in regard to Khartoum’s actions, particularly by the Security Council of the United Nations, was “violation of the international law”.

The governor accused the Sudan Armed Forces has continuing to illegally occupy Kaffia Kinji, Balbala and other areas Western Bahr el Ghazal State, which are claimed Republic of South Sudan.

He denied presence of any elements of the rebels from Darfur, South Kordofan or Blue Nile in the area and instead accused Sudan of sponsoring Uganda’s notorious and fugitive rebel movement, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

It was Khartoum and not Juba that used proxies to fight its wars, Zachariah said. A report by the Small Arms Survey research group said earlier this year that it was likely that both sides backed rebels in the others territory.

“It is the government of Sudan which is actually hosting militia groups it uses as proxy forces to fight republic of South Sudan. It is the government of Sudan which continues to arm and provide support to all rebel groups”, he said

The South Sudanese official said the Ugandan LRA rebels continue to operate adding they get support from the government of Sudan. he also dismissed reports alleging that Darfur rebels the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) use South Sudan as a base to fight Sudanese army.

Zachariah said Khartoum had failed to back up its claims with details and urged the media to independently verify that his state did not host Sudanese rebels.

“I have asked media on several occasions to come and conduct their own verification. Some of them came and have reported about it yet Sudanese government in Khartoum continues to lie to the world what it can not substantiate. So I say again that there are no Darfur rebels here in this state”, the governor said.

Both South Sudan’s Minister of Information and Media Affairs, Barnaba Marial Benjamin and spokesman of the country’s army last week denied knowledge of the presence of any Sudanese rebels in the country.

“I do not have any idea of this information. There are no Sudanese rebels that I know in South Sudan”, Colonel Phillip Aguer, spokesman of the SPLA said.

The military officer was reacting to a question when contacted by the Sudan Tribune to comment on news reports claiming South Sudan had accepted to expel rebel groups from its territories as part of the current talks on security issues between the two nations.

Marial, also denied accusations that South Sudan hosts Sudanese rebels.

“We do not have Sudanese rebels anywhere in the territories of the republic of South Sudan to be expelled. We have said this time and again yet the government in Khartoum continues to make a cover up claim in order to divert attention from their actions.”

He accused Khartoum of supporting rebel militias acting against the South Sudanese government.

(ST)