Governor vows to clean up South Kordofan from rebels
November 23, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The governor of South Kordofan pledged to carry out a “comprehensive clean up campaign” against the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement North saying that the rebel group represents a threat to the safety and security of civilian.
Governor Adam Al-Faki, in a meeting with a women delegation in the state’s capital Kadugli on Saturday, reiterated that the Sudanese government would no longer tolerate those who reject peace.
He further enumerated several measures taken by the government for peace in the state like the release of people suspected of “intelligence with the enemy” and reinstatement in the civil service of those who were dismissed after the 2011 rebellion.
“However, the SPLM responded to these steps for peace by shelling Kadugli and the killing of civilians”, he said referring to a recent rocket attack on the city. He added that this move “reflects the reaction of the SPLM from the government”.
The Sudanese government officials recently renewed its calls for the SPLM-N rebels to resume talks for peace in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states on the basis of the 2005 peace agreement and a framework agreement signed in June 2011.
Also, the Sudanese army recently massed troops in the region which is now the main centre for the rebel groups of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front other than the SPLM-N.
Since the last week, the army and the rebel also clashed in different position, as the rebels conducted preventive attacks against the recent movements of the government armed forces and its allied militias.
The governor further said that the government wants to avoid the mistakes of the CPA and to achieve a strong peace agreement where all the citizens of the state are equal without any preference or privilege to any ethnic group.
Delegations from the two sides met last April in Addis Ababa but failed to agree even on the agenda of the talks. The government offers to discuss the conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile while the SPLM-N demands a comprehensive peace process.
(ST)