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By Julius N. Uma
November 10, 2011 (JUBA) - South Sudan’s President, Salva Kiir on Thursday ruled out the possibility of a return to war with the north and urged the UN Security Council (UNSC) to intervene regarding Khartoum’s recent threats to invade the south.
- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir (R) and his South Sudan counterpart Salva Kiir hold a joint press conference in Khartoum on October 9, 2011 (Getty)
Addressing diplomats, the international community and the media in Juba, the South Sudan capital, Kiir described recent accusations by Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir, alleging that the south was supplying arms to opposition groups in Sudan as provocative.
In response, however, the Sudanese government, on Saturday, announced that it had lodged a complaint with the UNSC against its southern neighbour, based on allegations it had been supporting rebellions in Darfur, South Kordofan and Southern Blue Nile.
In 2005, north and South Sudan signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) a deal which ended more than two decades of civil war and setting a path which led to South Sudan’s independence in July 2011.
This is the second time since August that Khartoum has filed a complaint against South Sudan with the UNSC, just three months after the latter declared its independence.
“We categorically reject these claims to be utterly baseless and malicious,” said Kiir.
The president also dismissed recent claims by the northern government as “totally unfounded.” The north had said that South Sudan was hosting opposition forces that fled as a result of intense fighting in Blue Nile’s Sali area.
According to Kiir, those who fled the fighting were mainly legitimate refugees in search of safety. He appealed to the international community to provide humanitarian assistance to the estimated 1,000 civilians displaced in the border areas of Renk.
“It is surprising that Sudan as a member of the United Nations has arrogated itself to threaten the sovereignty of the Republic of South Sudan through military invasion. This is an issue of grave concern and contradicts the spirit of the CPA,” he said.
The South Sudan leader largely blamed his northern counterpart for his reluctance to have outstanding post-CPA issues resolved, citing issues like the north-south border demarcation, Abyei referendum and popular consultations in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
“It is unfortunate that even if we have agreed to demarcate the border between the two states, Khartoum remains resolutely opposed to any process that would lead to a peaceful resolution of the dispute over a number of contested border areas,” he remarked.
On the disputed oil-producing Abyei region, Kiir said its illegal occupation by northern forces-SAF and refusal to withdraw as a UNSC requirement, remains a potential threat to regional peace and security.
Kiir strongly condemned Wednesday’s incident in which northern war planes reportedly bombarded Guffa village in North Eastern Upper Nile state, killing seven people.
“We are committed to peaceful resolutions to any conflict but we will never allow our sovereignty to be violated by anybody,” he remarked.
The US embassy in South Sudan, on Wednesday, issued a strong statement condemning "in the strongest possible terms" the incident in what analysts largely view as a culmination of renewed tension between the two neighboring nations.
It also stated that, the "indiscriminate aerial bombardment of civilian targets always is unacceptable and unjustified," and expressed concern that the attacks "increase the potential of direct confrontation between Sudan and South Sudan." (ST)
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