Warring Parties to Discuss South Kordofan Ceasefire

28 June 2011

Khartoum — The Sudanese government and the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) in North Sudan signed a framework agreement in Addis Ababa today that sets the groundwork for political and security arrangements in the two border states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

The accord is part of an ongoing effort by the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) headed by former South African president Thabo Mbeki who is mediating between North and South Sudan ahead of the country’s official breakup on July 9th.

The people of South Sudan voted almost unanimously in favor of seceding from the North in a referendum that took place last January.

But the deadlock over a wide array of post-secession arrangements such as border demarcation, oil sharing and splitting national debt have heightened tensions between the SPLM and the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in control of the North.

To makes matters worst, Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) moved to take control of Abyei following an attack on its convoy that was escorted by United Nations peacekeepers which the north blamed on the south and which the U.N. said was likely to have been carried out by southern police or soldiers.

Furthermore, SPLA and SAF in South Kordofan have been in clashes since early June in which the Northern army resorted to its air force in a bid to quash what it described as a rebellion led by SPLM figure Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu who was the deputy governor of the border state.

This came at the heels of elections in which al-Hilu lost to governor Ahmed Haroun from the NCP who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over allegations of war crimes in the western Darfur region, which borders Southern Kordofan.

Al-Hilu accused the NCP of rigging the elections in favor of Haroun. Khartoum on the other hand said that the SPLM figure wants to install himself as governor by force.

Several human rights and church groups have accused Khartoum of waging a campaign targeting the ethnic Nuba population in Southern Kordofan who fought with the SPLA during their 1983-2005 war with Khartoum, claims the government strongly denies.

Under the agreement the NCP would recognize SPLM-North to continue “as a legal political party in Sudan”. Officials in North Sudan have said in the past they will not allow the SPLM-North to exist after July 9th calling it an extension of a foreign party.

The NCP and SPLM-North agreed to form a joint political committee to ensure that “the issue of governance in South Kordofan shall be discussed and resolved amicably … within thirty days”. The agreement also states that the two sides should begin working on a cease-fire and allow humanitarian access into Southern Kordofan.

The accord also SPLA fighters in the North “shall be integrated, over a time period and with modalities to be agreed, into the Sudan Armed Forces” and that “any disarmament shall be done in accordance with agreed-upon plans and without resorting to force.”

Last May the SAF threatened SPLA in the North that they will disarm them by force should they not voluntarily do that by June 1st.

The agreement also extends the Popular Consultation process that have yet to be completed beyond July 9th.

The protocol in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) provides for the conduct of “popular consultations” in the two states in order to assess the peace accord and subsequently redress any shortfalls in its implementation as a final settlement to the conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

Today’s agreement was signed by Sudanese presidential assistant Nafie Ali Nafie and Malik Aggar, the Blue Nile governor and a senior member of the SPLM.

The African Union Commission Chairperson Jean Ping issued a statement welcoming the agreement.

“The Chairperson congratulates the parties on their commitment to the peaceful resolution of their differences and calls upon them immediately to cease hostilities, permit humanitarian access, and allow the return of displaced persons to their homes”.

“Today’s Agreement is all the more symbolic as it comes on the eve of the 17th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU, which will convene in Malabo on 30 June and 1st July 2011 to assess, among others, the progress made in the promotion of peace and security on the continent. The Agreement will also go a long way in contributing to the creation of auspicious conditions for the forthcoming celebration of South Sudan independence on 9 July”.

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