U.S. proposed to deliver drugs to civilians in rebel areas: Sudanese officials
December 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese presidential aide Thursday said the U.S. proposal that his government has accepted is about the delivery of medicines to the civilians in the rebel held areas, providing it be inspected by the competent authorities.
Sudanese humanitarian commissioner and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) dismissed statements by political figure Mubarak al-Fadil that the government had accepted the delivery of 20% of humanitarian aid to the civilians in the rebel controlled areas through Asosa in Ethiopia.
Commenting on the issue on Thursday, Presidential Assistant and head of the government negotiating delegation, Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid reiterated Khartoum’s rejection to allow delivery of one-fifth of humanitarian assistance directly to the rebel held areas in blue Nile State through Ethiopia.
The SPLM-N sticks to the direct delivery of humanitarian assistance from abroad because they want to abolish the government sovereignty over its territory, Hamid said stressing that “the government would not sign any agreement giving rebels a sovereignty over a territory ”
He further said the government sticks to the principle of prohibition of aircrafts to entering the national airspace without the knowledge of the authorities “any airplane has to follow the established regulations,” he said.
The SPLM-N on Wednesday disclosed that U.S. Special Envoy Donald Booth is seeking to facilitate a humanitarian access deal and made several proposals to the parties.
Hamid said they SPLM-N reduced its demand to transport 10% of the humanitarian aid (only drugs) from abroad directly to the rebel areas “but we told them it should be subject to the applicable state regulatory requirements and when the planes return from should also be inspected” .
He also accused the SPLM of intending to use the aid aircrafts to export the gold extracted from mines in the rebel controlled areas in the Blue Nile State, pointing they would buy weapons with its money.
After the failure of peace talks last August, the SPLM-N says they refuse to resume political talks with the Sudanese government before to strike a humanitarian deal with Khartoum. They also say the made significant concessions in the past but now they would not concede on this demand of 20% humanitarian aid.
The chief mediator Thabo Mbeki was in Khartoum last week to discuss the resumption of negotiations with the armed groups but he didn’t indicate a date for the next round of talks.
The Sudanese presidential aide said the SPLM-N is responsible for the failure of peace talks, accusing it of unwillingness to sign a negotiated settlement with the government.
“After the dialogue (conference), we do not have anything to offer to them. We will set with their hosting countries to classify them as terrorists as these countries ask us to consider their rebel groups as terrorists,” he said.
(ST)