Great Lakes to discuss Sudan’s complaint on Ugandan support to rebels
August 1, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s complaint against Uganda, over its alleged support to rebel groups, to the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) will be discussed by the regional organ in the near future, announced the foreign ministry on Thursday.
The ICGLR held an extra-ordinary meeting on 31 July of heads of state and government in the Kenyan capital on the security situation in the Great Lakes region particularly the implementation of the UN and AU Framework agreement on peace, security and cooperation for Democratic Republic of Congo and its challenges.
Following the return of the Sudanese delegation led by vice-president Al-Haj Adam Youssef on Thursday, deputy foreign minister Salah Wansi told reporters at Khartoum airport that the summit agreed to discuss Ugandan support to the rebel groups that “destabilize peace and security in Sudan”.
Wansi further described the decision as “positive step” in order to stop the Ugandan support adding that “this support has led the escalation of rebel attacks in Darfur, which caused the death of a number of Tanzanian soldiers operating within the UNAMID forces in Darfur”.
In January 2013, rebel groups and opposition parties adopted a political charter to overthrow the regime in a big hotel in the Ugandan capital Kampala.
The event pushed Khartoum to lodge a complaint to the African Union, IGAD and ICGLR. At the time, Khartoum pointed out it has no intention to file a complaint with the UN Security Council stressing on the primacy of African solutions.
In March, the ICGLR decided to include the complaint in a report about the security situation in the region. At the time Sudan saw the decision a diplomatic victory saying Uganda sought the dismissal of the complaint.
Also, in February Khartoum objected to the election of Uganda to the position of a vice-president at the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and demanded to include its accusations against Uganda in the final communiqué of the meeting.
Last week, Uganda’s Minister of State for International Affairs, Henry Okello Oryem dismissed in statement to Sudan Tribune the accusation and termed it as “the usual rubbish from Khartoum”. He also accused the Sudanese government of supporting the LRA rebels.
Wansi said the security meeting which is expected to discuss the complaint will be held at the level of defence ministers, adding the extra-ordinary summit insisted on the need to stop support to rebel groups in the region.
Recently the American Administration accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, but Kigali denied the accusations.
(ST)