Khartoum calls to stop hostilities in South Sudan
May 15, 2014 (KHARTOUM/JUBA) – The Sudanese foreign ministry Thursday renewed calls on the warring parties in the neighbouring South Sudan to abide by the agreement signed on 9 Mary and to implement the cessation of hostilities agreement of 23 January.
However reports from Unity and Upper Nile states say that the warring parties continue to breach the truce, a matter that can threaten the ongoing peace process and cause a humanitarian crisis in the new country.
“Sudan again appeals to both sides of the crisis in South Sudan to confirm their commitment to the agreement of 9 May and to the cessation of hostilities agreement, to stop the fighting and open access for humanitarian assistance to people affected by the crisis,” said the statement.
“The South Sudanese crisis has significant repercussions on all the countries of the region, especially in Sudan, as peace and security in the region are integral, and no state can be stable while its neighbours suffer from infighting and insecurity,” further said the froegn ministry.
Sudan earlier this month accused Juba government of using the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in the fighting against the South Sudanese rebels in Unity state. Also A UNMISS report issued on 8 May mentioned for the first time the involvement of Sudanese rebels in the clashes.
Officials in Juba also accuse Khartoum of backing the rebel SPLM-In-Opposition saying Sudan is providing them weapons, ammunition and harbour them.
Last week, Sudanese presidential aide Ibrahim Ghandour denied that his government supports the rebels saying they believe that a stable South Sudan is better for Khartoum than a destabilised neighbour with whom they share many interests.
However, South Sudanese information minister Michael Makuei Lueth on Wednesday reiterated accusations against Khartoum saying they support Riek Machar rebels.
WASHINGTON ACCUSED OF IMPARTIALLY
The spokesperson of the South Sudanese cabinet on Wednesday went further to accuse Washington of taking the side of rebels saying the latter pledged to give oil to American investors.
In a speech delivered at Accountability Institute in Nairobi Kenya, Lueth who in the past accused UNMISS of supporting rebels said Washington is not happy with the close relations his government developed with Beijing.
He said at the independence they wanted to renegotiate all the contracts that Khartoum before had signed with the Asian investors adding that Washington advised them to not do that.
“Then with time, as South Sudan grows closer to China, then you see the Americans coming in and saying we need a caretaker government. They want people who can take instructions from them and we are saying as SPLM, our sovereignty is what we stick with,” he said.
The US administration which mobilised the international community to back the referendum on self-determination and the independence of the new nation took recently a number of sharp measures aiming to sanction officials from both sides over war crimes and atrocities committed against civilians.
Washington which seems disappointed by the continuation of the conflict despite the high level contacts with the warring parties said further sanction may intervene if the hostilities are not stopped.
(ST)