Sudan: Peace In The South Falling Apart

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September 12, 2007: Members of the Darfur rebel group SLM/U (Sudan Liberation Movement-Unity) accused the Sudanese Air Force of bombing the town of Haskanita. The attack involved helicopter gunships as well as Antonov transports dropping bombs from a high altitude.

September 9, 2007: UN sponsored negotiations over Darfur will begin at the end of October in Libya. The new UN-African Union peacekeeping force (AU/UN Hybrid operation in Darfur) will be called UNAMID (also UNAMID-Hybrid).

September 8, 2007: Soldiers ended the siege which had held 61 south Sudan militiamen hostage. The soldiers surrounded the south Sudan fighters on September 7. The siege action took place in South Kordofan. The SPLA (Sudan Peoples Liberation Army) said they might retaliate unless the government issued an apology. The SPLA also said that UN peacekeepers helped end the siege. The army claimed that the south Sudan (SPLA) contingent had violated the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). This confrontation is one in a continuing series between the south Sudan government and the Sudanese (national) military over the implementation of the troop withdrawal requirements of the CPA. The withdrawals were supposed to occur before July 9, 2007. They have not. The old 1956 north-south Sudan border is the designated withdrawal line, but South Kordofan is part of a "transitional zone" that is subject to "integrated patrols" (ie, units with both northern and southern forces). After the siege in South Kordofan was lifted, the government claimed that the SPLA fighters were operating north of the 1956 line. The south Sudan government (which is now called a "semi-autonomous government) has asked former Kenyan president Daniel arap Moi to serve as a "special envoy" to keep the CPA peace process on track. Moi is believed to have influence with both northern and southern leaders.

 

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