Armed militias threaten southern Sudanese peace deal

NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 24, 2005 (PANA) — There are fears that some major militia groups which were sidelined in a post-war dialogue to reconcile armed factions in southern Sudan might resort to fresh fighting in the region.

A Sudanese man cries as he holds a SPLM flag, Wednesday, May 26, 2004 as he waits for the signing of the last three protocols between the Sudan govt and SPLM in Naivasha, Kenya (AP).

The three-day conference that was held 18-21 April in Nairobi, Kenya was boycotted by Major General Paulino Matipu and Brigadier Gabriel Tanginya, two senior officers in the Sudanese army who also control much of the oil-rich Upper Nile state in southern Sudan.

Both men, who command heavily armed militias, strongly oppose the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) which signed a peace deal with Khartoum last January.

Some critics, who say SPLM/A leader John Garang essentially acts in the interests of his Dinka people – the largest ethnic group in Sudan – warn that militia groups opposing him could move in, once Sudanese government troops withdrew from their southern positions in August.

At this week’s meeting in Nairobi, delegates recommended that the SPLM/A convene an urgent meeting with militia leaders, who often switched sides between Khartoum and the rebel cause during the 21-year separatist.

Well before the signing of last January’s peace deal, analysts warned of a possible attempt to undermine the agreement if the estimated 36 armed and political groups operating in the south were excluded from the negotiations.