Introduction. The Security Council. Situation in Sudan. Student Officer: Ki Hoon YOON

Transcription

1 Forum: Issue: The Security Council Situation in Sudan Student Officer: Ki Hoon YOON Position: President Introduction Republic of Sudan, for much of Sudan's history the nation has suffered from rampant ethnic strife and has been plagued by internal conflict including two civil wars and the War in Darfur. Sudan suffers from poor human rights most particularly dealing with the issues of ethnic cleansing and slavery in the nation. Furthermore, governance issues related to the marginalization of many groups from the central concentration of wealth and power in Khartoum remain at the heart of the ongoing conflicts throughout the country, including in Darfur. Along the border, violence has erupted in Abyei, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile, as the peripheries of Sudan continue to agitate for increased autonomy through the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) mandated popular consultation process. The peace process for Darfur is stagnant, and the conflicts in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states have serious implications for long-term stability. Due to lack of reliable information, the number of deaths caused by violence between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan People s Liberation Movement/Army-North (SPLMN) in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states is unknown, but aid agencies have reported targeted ethnic killings by government forces, and the fighting has created a humanitarian crisis through the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians and the destruction of livelihoods. Moreover, with South Sudan s secession, the Republic of Sudan is facing increased economic hardship due to lost oil revenues, and the Arab Spring revolts witnessed in neighboring countries have the potential to shake the current National Congress Party regime.

2 On July 9th, 2011 the Republic of South Sudan declared independence, resulting in the most significant redrawing of the map of Africa since decolonization. Sudan and South Sudan face a series of internal and external challenges to peace. Moreover, the two nations trajectories are inherently intertwined given their collective history, current political and economic situations, and mutual dependence. While South Sudan has achieved its long-awaited independence, the statebuilding and nation-building processes are just at the beginning. In addition to developing the infrastructure of the country from the ground up from roads and hospitals to a new constitution, the world s newest state faces political challenges of establishing credible institutions, supporting the massive influx of returnees, and demobilizing tens of thousands of soldiers and militia men and women. While security threats from internal and external militia persist across South Sudan, the country must begin to accommodate its ethnic and tribal diversity and work toward a more peaceful future. As South Sudan deals with challenges posed by a massive influx of returnees and the strengthening of state institutions, it must find ways to share power among and accommodate its ethnic and tribal diversity. Since South Sudan s independence, tensions between Sudan and South Sudan have come to a head. In May 2011, violence erupted in the disputed border area of Abyei, killing vast number of civilians and creating a humanitarian crisis through the displacement an estimated 100,000 people. While Juba and Khartoum agreed to temporary security arrangements for Abyei, including the withdrawal of all forces, the deployment of Ethiopian peacekeepers, and the creation of a demilitarized zone under the support of United Nations approved security force, the long-term viability of these arrangements and status of Abyei are still unclear. Since January 2012, South Sudan voluntarily shut down its oil production amid accusations that Sudan was stealing its oil. With tensions mounting, in April 2012, violence between the north and south again flared along the border, this time over the Heglig oil installation. Through considerable

3 international pressure, including resolutions by the African Union and United Nations, the international community helped to de-escalate the confrontation and compel the resumption of negotiations. On September 27, 2012, Sudan and South Sudan reached a series of agreements that will, among other things, restart oil production and establish a demilitarized zone along the shared border. However, till now, only little progress has been made on commitment. Definition of Key Terms Heglig Crisis An armed conflict between the countries of Sudan and the South Sudan in 2012 over oilrich regions between the South Sudan's Unity and Sudan's South Kordofan, South Sudan invaded and briefly occupied the small border town of Heglig before being pushed back by the Sudanese army. War in Darfur The War in Darfur is a major armed onslaught in the Darfur region of Sudan which began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups took up arms against the government of Sudan, oppressing Darfur's non-arab population. The government responded to attacks by carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Darfur's non-arabs. Marginalization The process in which individuals or entire communities of people are systematically blocked from rights, opportunities, and resources that are normally available to members of society. Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) Also known as the Naivasha Agreement, was a set of agreements culminating in January 2005 that were signed between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the Government of Sudan. Sudan Armed Forces (SAF)

4 Armed forces of the Republic of Sudan which comprises Land Forces, Navy, Air Force, and defence Force. People s Liberation Movement/Army-North (SPLMN) A banned militant organisation in the Republic of Sudan, which is currently actively primarily in the states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan, where its armed branch is engaged in an active insurgency against the government of Sudan Abyei A north-south border town currently in the Abyei Area of the South Kordofan region, in the south of Northern Sudan. The oil-producing and fertile Abyei Area, with Abyei town as its center, is a disputed territorial point of contention in the July 2011 secession of South Sudan process. Demilitarized zone (DMZ) An area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities or personnel. A DMZ often lies along an established frontier or boundary between two or more military powers or alliances. Southern Kordofan The only province of Sudan that produces oil and the state has suffered from violence by governance issues. History War in Darfur Darfur is a region in Sudan the size of France. It is home to about 6 million people from nearly 100 tribes. Some nomads. some farmers, all Muslims. In 1989, General Omar Bashir took control of Sudan by military coup, which then allowed The National Islamic Front government to inflame regional tensions. In a struggle for political control of the area, weapons poured into Darfur. Conflicts increased between African farmers and many nomadic Arab tribes.

5 In 2003, two Darfuri rebel movementsthe Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)- took up arms against the Sudanese government, complaining about the marginalization of the area and the failure to protect sedentary people from attacks by nomads. The government of Sudan responded by unleashing Arab militias known as Janjaweed, or devils on horseback. Sudanese forces and Janjaweed militia attacked hundreds of villages throughout Darfur. Over 400 villages were completely destroyed and millions of civilians were forced to flee. Fig 1. Major conflict zones in Sudan (Darfur and Abyei) Religion was not an issue, almost everyone in Darfur is Muslim. The beginning of the war is usually given as 2003, though rebel movements had been been formed before that. In April 2003, rebels struck the airport of Fasher, capital of North Darfur. The surprise raid through the desert - a tactic which became characteristic of the fighting in Darfur - was astonishingly successful. The rebels destroyed seven planes, and captured the head of the air force. The Sudanese government's response, which relied on air power and an Arab militia known as the Janjaweed, has been described by the Sudan expert Alex de Waal as "counterinsurgency on the cheap". Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit villages were bombed and burnt, civilians were killed, and women were raped. In 2008, the UN estimated that 300,000 people had died because of the war, though Khartoum disputes the figure. Sudan's President Omar al-bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Darfur. The genocide charge alleged that he had overseen an attempt to wipe out part of the Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit communities. Darfur today continues to suffer and the innumerable problems facing Sudan cannot be resolved until peace is secured in Darfur. According to UN estimates, 2.7 million Darfuris remain in internally displaced persons camps and over 4.7 million Darfuris rely on humanitarian aid.

6 Resolving the Darfur conflict is critical not just for the people of Darfur, but also for the future of Sudan and the stability of the entire region. Sudan People s Liberation Movement-North The SPLM-N was founded by the organizations of the predominately South Sudanese Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army that remained in Sudan following the South Sudanese vote for independence in Despite thecomprehensive Peace Agreement, a low-level conflict continued in Sudan. With the independence of The Republic of South Sudan, Western alleged efforts by Sudanese President Omar al-bashir to turn Sudan into an Arab Islamist state and persecution of religions and ethnic minorities, violence has resumed in non-arab areas of Sudan. Conflict with the central authorities has led al-bashir to ban the party. South Sudan is also said to support the SPLA-N, as does Sudan support anti-government groups in South Sudan. The north-south distinction and the hostility between the two regions of Sudan is grounded in religious conflict as well as a conflict between peoples of differing culture and language. The language and culture of the north are based on Arabic and the Islamic faith, whereas the south has its own diverse, mostly non-arabic languages and cultures -- with few exceptions non-muslim, and its religious character was indigenous. The origins of the civil war in the south date back to the 1950s. On August 18, 1955, the Equatoria Corps, a military unit composed of southerners, mutinied at Torit. Rather than surrender to Sudanese government authorities, many mutineers disappeared into hiding with their weapons, marking the beginning of the first war in southern Sudan. By the late 1960s, the war had resulted in the deaths of about 500,000 people. Several hundred thousand more southerners hid in the forests or escaped to refugee camps in neighboring countries. By 1969 the rebels had developed foreign contacts to obtain weapons and supplies. Israel, for example, trained Anya Nya recruits and shipped weapons via Ethiopia and Uganda to the rebels. Anya Nya also purchased arms from Congolese rebels. Government operations against the rebels declined after the 1969 coup, and ended with the Addis Ababa accords of 1972 which guaranteed autonomy for the southern region. The SPLA was formed in 1983 when Lieutenant Colonel John Garang of the SPAF was sent to quell a mutiny in Bor of 500 southern troops who were resisting orders to be rotated to the north. By 1986 the SPLA was estimated to have 12,500 adherents organized into twelve

7 battalions and equipped with small arms and a few mortars. By 1989 the SPLA's strength had reached 20,000 to 30,000; by 1991 it was estimated at 50,000 to 60,000. Since 1983, the SPLA has been divided into 3 main factions: the SPLA Torit faction led by John Garang; the SPLA Bahr-al-Ghazal faction led by Carabino Kuany Bol; and the South Sudan Independence Movement led by Rick Machar. These internal divisions have intensified fighting in the south, hampering any potential peace settlement. The SPLA remains the principal military force in the insurgency. In 1996 the US government decided to send nearly $20 million of military equipment through the 'front-line' states of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Uganda to help the Sudanese opposition overthrow the Khartoum regime. US officials denied that the military aid for the SPLA and the Sudanese Allied Forces (SAF), described as 'non-lethal' -- including radios, uniforms, boots and tents -- was targeted at Sudan. The Pentagon and CIA considered Sudan to be second only to Iran as a staging ground for international terrorism. CIA Director John Deutch made a 3-day visit to the Ethiopian capital in April 1996, where he noted that funds had been significantly increased for a more activist policy including preemptive strikes against terrorists and their sponsors. Reportedly several Operational Detachments-Alpha of the US army were operating in support of the SPLA. Sudanese Armed Forces Western military sources estimate that 40,000 regular troops from the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) are dedicated to the Darfur area, and probably the same number of Border Guard, police, security, and militia forces. Additional SAF units are based in Darfur but focused on the border between Northern and South Sudan. Capability is dependent on enabling assets, particularly air support, which vary depending on threat levels and other activities in Sudan. Control over the SAF in Darfur was centralized in Khartoum in 2009 with the abolition of the Western Military Command in al Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State. Since the beginning of the insurgency in Darfur in 2003, the commander of the 6th Infantry Division in al Fasher had had overall command responsibility for all SAF forces operating in Darfur, including the air force. With the reform, all three sectors-in North Darfur, the 16th Infantry Division in

8 Nyala in South Darfur, and the 22nd Brigade in al Geneina in West Darfur, reported to be a division in all but name-report directly to Khartoum. Subordinate brigades are located in major towns in Darfur, which in turn deploy battalions in smaller towns, and so on down to the company level. An informed source cited by the United Nations Panel of Experts on Sudan, set up to monitor a Security Council ban on arms transfers to Darfur, has put the total number of garrisons in Darfur at 263 (for a population of more than six million, of whom 2.7 million are displaced in camps). Morale among SAF soldiers in Darfur has been undermined by counterinsurgency operations-sudan s regular forces proved unable to adapt to the mobile style of warfare imposed by the insurgents-and by collaboration with the government-supported janjaweed militias, which many professional officers feel have undermined both standards and discipline within the force. Indeed, Sudanese army troops have developed a reputation for being ineffective, poorlymotivated, and politically unreliable. Speaking privately, senior government officials have told Western diplomats in Khartoum they have used paramilitary forces and militias, including the janjaweed in Darfur, because of the weakness of the regular army. After the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement in May 2006, Western military sources said the army was given one last chance, to crush the factions that had refused to sign the agreement. Large numbers of troops and amounts of ammunition were flown in to al Fasher. In the subsequent offensive against non-signatories in North Darfur, however, it suffered a series of crushing defeats. Heglig Crisis Background Two civil wars occurred before South Sudan's independence. From 1955 to 1972 and from 1983 to 2005, in which 2.5 million people were killed and more than 5 million externally displaced. Relations between the two states have been marked by conflict over the Greater Nile Oil Pipeline and the disputed region of Abyei, even though Sudan was the first state to recognise South Sudan. In January 2012, South Sudan shut down all of its oil fields in a row over the fees Sudan demanded to transit the oil. In May 2011, it was reported that Sudan had seized control of Abyei, a disputed oil-rich border region, with a force of approximately 5,000 soldiers after three days of clashes with

9 South Sudanese forces. The precipitating factor was an ambush by the South killing 22 northern soldiers. The northern advance included shelling, aerial bombardment and numerous tanks. Initial reports indicated that over 20,000 people fled. The interim South Sudanese government declared this as an "act of war," and the United Nations sent an envoy to Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, to intervene. South Sudan says it has withdrawn its forces from Abyei. A deal on militarization was reached on 20 June The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei, consisting of Ethiopian troops were deployed under a UNSC resolution from 27 June 2011.In early December 2011, Jau, a town in Unity state in South Sudan, was occupied by Sudanese forces.in early March 2012, the Sudanese Air Force bombed parts of Pariang county. Both countries accuse the other of supporting rebels on their soil as part of the ongoing internal conflict in Sudan and in South Sudan. Causes of secession The Sudan conflict stemmed from the fact that the departing colonial masters had failed to resolve outstanding political, social and cultural differences between the Moslem North and the Christian and animist South Sudan. This persisting conflictual situation between the North and the South is born of the fact that the northern Moslem political elites inherited a complicated developmental process that had begun just before and after the Second World War. The mass populist and nationalist movements which these political elites inherited could only hold the country together for a short while; after independence, these cracks became more visible. In fact, the political differences between the North and the South actually began before independence. It should be recalled that on 18 August 1955, a mutiny of southern soldiers in the Equatoria Corps broke out, 84 miles from Juba. The principal reason for the dissatisfaction with the decolonisation process was that southern politicians were completely sidelined and Moslem northerners were installing themselves, like the new colonisers, in the South. There was in fact a general understanding in the South that the decolonisation process was more a negotiated settlement between the colonisers and northern elites. The turning point of the relations between the north and the south was the introduction of Sharia law in September President Jaafer Mohammed al-numeiry announced that the penal code had been revised in order to link it organically and spiritually with Islamic law.8 According to the new penal code, theft, adultery, murder and related offences would be judged

10 according to the Koran, and alcohol and gambling were prohibited. The introduction of the new law necessitated the mobilisation of large sums of money, which many in the South saw as a waste of taxpayers money and a drain on the scarce resources of the country. The introduction of Islamic law led to widespread protests by students, industrial workers and medical doctors. By the end of 1983, the country was ungovernable, and members of the Southern Sudanese insurgents resumed their armed struggle against the central government. Lt.-Col. John Garang was sent to quell the uprising. He ended up rallying all the armed groups in the south and formed the SPLA in By 1991, these troops numbered almost 60,000 armed militia, with logistical support from the United States army. Causes of conflict In order to convey a better understanding of the cause of the conflict in Heglig, it is important to revisit the history of Heglig. The oil town of Heglig is located inside the disputed Abyei region. The region is home to the Greater Nile Oil Project, which began in 1996 and is currently run by the Greater Oil Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC) consortium. Heglig, it is argued, is still a disputed region, claimed by both the Republic of Sudan and South Sudan, partly because of the 2009 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which states that Heglig is not part of the disputed Abyei region. Abyei has been for many decades an area of great contestation between the Misseriya ethnic group and the Ngok Dinka. Though the Misseriya are nomadic Arab cattle herders, their yearly presence in Abyei with their cattle has been a constant source of discord with the Ngok Dinka, stemming from the vast destruction caused by the cattle to Ngok Dinka arable land and unmatured food crops. The Misseriya claim ownership of the Abyei region, principally because Abyei is located between the Bahr-el-Ghazl and South Kordofan provinces, which geographically, ethnically and politically are caught between North Sudan (Sudan) and South Sudan. Secondly, the Abyei region is rich in oil reserves, making it an important area of contestation between both peoples for the oil resources it possesses. The fundamental issue of identity and ownership of the Abyei region was one of the sticking points of the 2005 CPA agreement, which promised Abyei a referendum to decide whether the territory would join northern or southern Sudan, in conjunction with the recent vote on South Sudan s independence. The Abyei referendum did not, however, take place, partly because of continued attempts by the National Congress Party (NCP), which from the beginning had sought to derail the process, and had initially rejected the report by the Abyei Boundary Commission.

11 The report was accepted by the SPLM/A. One important drawback of the report was that it failed to determine the original inhabitants of Abyei and who was eligible to vote in the Abyei referendum. As a result, Abyei s boundary with the North is ill-defined, and the question of identity and belonging has equally not been resolved. Key Issues Sexual violence When the Janjaweed entered the genocide, the rape of children, even young boys, often by multiple militiamen and often throughout entire nights, began to be reported at a staggering rate. Girls as young as 6 years of age were reported victims, while mothers were assaulted in front of their children. Young women were attacked so violently that they were unable to walk following the attack. Non-Arab people, especially women, were reportedly raped by Janjaweed militiamen as a result of the Sudanese government's goal of completely eliminating the presence of black Africans and non-arabs from Darfur Sudan. The rapists targeted black Sudanese. The Washington Post Foreign Service interviewed verified victims of the rapes and recorded those Arabic terms such as "abid" and "zurga" were used, which mean slave and black. Refugees All those displaced people have to go somewhere, and so they have ended up in Chad and the Central African Republic. Chad currently has at least 500,000 Darfuri refugees. However, those border regions already had adequate populations before the genocide broke out, and local people don't want to see the refugees staying on indefinitely. They will need to be resettled somewhere, but the borderlands, like Darfur itself, have been suffering from lack of rain.

12 Violence and conflict Darfur now faces the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, with 30,000 people already killed and more than a million internally displaced. International aid agencies say that even if humanitarian relief arrives now, 350,000 people may still die. Sovereignty dispute The incursion into Heglig Sudan s most valuable oil field was a response to bombing raids committed by Khartoum on South Sudanese villages and was the largest clash since the country s separation. Goaded into conflict by Khartoum, South Sudan failed to heed the international community s warnings to refrain from open hostilities and, on 10 April The response to the attack by both nations was the suspension of negotiations, with each country s parliament calling for military mobilizations and declarations of war. Both countries are paying a high price in many ways for their own intransigence. South Sudan has defended its actions by citing the 2009 Permanent Court of Arbitration which stated the Heglig province was part of the south; a claim that is not supported by the international community or the African Union. President al-bashir s response was to take back the lands through open war; he stated that there will be no negotiations and inferred doing so would hurt national pride if Sudan did not retake Heglig by force. Ethnic tension The post-colonial governments were dominated by the Arabic-speaking elites from the central and the northern parts of the country. In addition to concentrating economic development in their home regions, these elites tried to forge a national identity based on Arabism and Islam. These policies generated a tenacious resistance by the non-arab and non- Muslim groups in the marginalized region of the South, the Nuba Mountains, and the Red Sea region. A number of regionally and ethnically-based rebel movements emerged in the 1950s and the 1960s, particularly in the South where a civil war raged for several decades. Porous borders

13 Darfur has also suffered from the instability and conflicts that have plagued its neighbors, particularly Chad and Libya. A number of Darfur ethnic groups such as the Zaghawa, Masalit, and Mahiriyya also live in Chad, which has made it easier for conflicts to spread across borders. Porous, ethnically intertwined borders affected Darfur during the Chadian civil wars of the 1980s, in which Libya became heavily involved. In addition to mounting a series of military adventures in Chad, Libya supported various Chadian factions who used Darfur as a rear base, pillaging local farmers and cattle-herders and pouring large quantities of arms into the region. Major Parties Involved and Their Views Sudan On 16 April, Sudan's parliament met and voted unanimously to declare that "South Sudan is an enemy of all Sudanese state agencies" The parliamentary speaker called for Sudan to mobilise all its resources to fight South Sudan and topple their government.rabie Abdelaty, a spokesman for the Khartoum government, ruled out peace talks with the south, saying it would hurt national pride if Sudan did not take back Heglig by force.sudan began a general mobilisation of its armed forces as South Sudanese forces penetrated as far north as 70 kilometres into Sudanese territory, according to Rahmatullah Mohamed Osman, Under Secretary for the Foreign Ministry. During Friday prayers on 13 April in Sudan, some sermons were reportedly hostile towards South Sudan, while television broadcasts included allegedly jihadi' and patriotic songs. Following South Sudan's withdrawal from Heglig, President Omar al-bashir declared that there would be no negotiations with the "poisonous insects" (i.e. the South Sudanese). Later on, Bashir argued that the South Sudanese only understand the "language of guns and ammunition." Sudan's UN ambassador, Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman, argued that Sudan had the right to act in self-defense because "We have been targeted by... the South", adding that "Let me make it clear: We will not cross the international border and attack the South... inside their territories". South Sudan

14 The President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, suggested that the Republic of Sudan was responsible for initiating the conflict, and that further clashes could lead to war: "This morning the Sudanese air force came and bombed areas in Unity state. After this intensive bombardment our forces were attacked" It is a war that has been imposed on us again, but it is the Sudanese who are looking for it." The spokesman for the South Sudanese military suggested that the conflict was "the biggest confrontation since independence". Parliamentary Speaker called on people to prepare for war: "Khartoum might be meaning a real war... if you don't defend yourself, you will be finished, so you should go and mobilise the people on [the] ground to be ready" Parliament later decided to raise military spending and bolster the army by cutting salaries of all deputies by 10% for three months. Russia and China Amnesty International issued a report accusing Russia and the People's Republic of China of supplying arms, ammunition and related equipment to Sudan. This aid was transferred to Darfur for use by the government and the militias and thus violated a UN arms embargo. For several years the Sudan Air Force has used their types of attack helicopter for operations to support Janjaweed attacks. China and Russia denied they had broken UN sanctions. China has a close relationship with Sudan and increased its military co-operation with the government in early Because of Sudan's plentiful supply of oil, China considers good relations with Sudan to be a strategic necessity. China has direct commercial interests in Sudan's oil. China s state-owned company CNPC controls between 60 and 70 percent of Sudan s total oil production. Additionally, it owns the largest single share (40 percent) of Sudan s national oil company, Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company. China consistently opposed economic and non-military sanctions on Sudan. United Nations On 27 March, a spokesman for Ban Ki Moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations, called for the two countries to end the conflict and utilise to the fullest extent existing political and security mechanisms to peacefully address their differences". On 23 April 2012,

15 Ban Ki-moon condemned Sudan's bombing of border areas in South Sudan, demanding Khartoum cease all hostilities "as a matter of urgency". Arab League On 15 April 2012, the Arab Parliament called on South Sudan for restraint and to withdraw from the town of Heglig. A statement signed by Arab Parliament head Salem Degbasi said that the Arab Parliament's bureau called on South Sudan to "heed the voice of reason" and immediately pull its forces out of the areas it had occupied inside Sudanese territory, including Heglig. On 26 April, the Arab League escalated its rhetoric, condemning South Sudan's "aggression" and saying Heglig belongs to Sudan. The Arab League went further to say it supported Sudan's "right to defend itself", and condemned South Sudan's alleged support of rebels in Sudan. United States On 11 April 2012, the US State Department condemned South Sudan's seizure of Heglig and in statement said "We condemn South Sudan's military involvement in the attack on and seizure of Heglig, an act which goes beyond self-defense and has increased tensions between Sudan and South Sudan to dangerous levels." Later on, however, the US took a different tone, condemning Khartoum's bombardment of South Sudanese territory and "military incursion into South Sudan". To South Sudan, the US release recognized the "right of South Sudan to selfdefense", but urged "restraint in its reaction to Sudan s attack in Unity State". The US welcomed the South Sudanese withdrawal from Heglig and called for all South Sudanese troops to be withdrawn from areas across the 1 January 1956 border. In his message to the Sudanese and South Sudanese people, President Obama reiterated that "All those who are fighting must recognize that there is no military solution." Previous Attempts to resolve issue

16 Peace Agreement with the South A number of internal and external factors forced both the Sudanese government and the SPLA to enter into peace negotiations in Prominent among those were the inability of either party to achieve a decisive victory, the economic hardships and growing unpopularity of the Sudanese regime, a split within NIF, and the post-september 11 realities and the Bush Administration's "war on terror." The peace negotiations were held in Kenya and were sponsored by the Internal Departmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African regional organization, European countries, the UN, and the U.S. government. In 2005 the two parties singed a peace accord that came to be known as the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The CPA was hailed for ending the bloodshed and destruction that were raging in the South for several decades. However, the CPA was also criticized for its focus only on the North- South conflict and for ignoring the grievances of other marginal regions such as Darfur, the East, and other opposition groups. The failure of the Agreement to deal with all of the regional crises and tensions was one of the principal reasons behind the outbreak of the rebellion in Darfur. In 2003, two rebel movements emerged in Darfur: the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).The leader of JEM is Khalil Ibrahim, who was a former member of the Islamicist movement, which led to speculations that JEM has Islamicist leanings. The SLA, on the other hand, is considered more secular in its orientation. The manifesto of both movements called for greater autonomy for Darfur and redistribution of economic resources and political power. Darfur Peace Process After a great deal of pressure by the UN, the African Union, and the neighboring countries, the Sudanese government and the Darfur rebels agreed to hold a series of peace talks in Nigeria, which led to the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) in However, the agreement was signed by only one rebel group and was rejected by the rest who argued that the DPA was a bad deal for Darfur. The current situation in Darfur does not allow for much optimism. The peace process is frustrated by the foot-dragging of the Sudanese government, the fragmentation of the rebels, and the lack of a strong resolve by the international community. The fate of the Darfur peace process may well be determined by the outcome of the ICC decision on Bashir, the general

17 elections scheduled for 2009, and the deteriorating situation in the border region between northern and southern Sudan. In the meantime, the turmoil continues with no end in sight. Possible Solutions The voluntary withdrawal of South Sudan from Heglig should be lauded, and a more effective and constructive communications channel should be opened between the two capitals. The international community should reconsider the warrant of arrest issued for Sudan s President Bashir, on condition that he renounces supporting terrorists and terrorists activities in South Sudan and across the globe. Pressure should equally be brought to bear on Sudan to revisit the protocol relating to wealth sharing and to monitor the activities of multinational oil companies operating in the region. South Sudan should also be encouraged to renegotiate the oil transportation rights it had with the North, and should equally be willing to pay market-related prices for such transportation. The sharing of the national debt of the country prior to the January 2011 referendum should be carried out in such a way that the economy and gross domestic product (GDP) of the South can support it over time. An equitable format would disadvantage the South, as most of the debts were incurred by the North s political elites. The people of both Sudans must understand that by accident of history and geography, they are bound to live together, because over the years people from both sides of the divide have established personal relationships that have transcended racial, cultural and religious differences. Pressure should be brought to bear on both governments to implement the remaining protocols of the CPA; if there is failure to implement these, targeted sanctions should be contemplated.

18 The international community, particularly the AU and IGAD, should facilitate dialogue between the Misseriya and Ngok Dinka people in order to strengthen relationships between both ethnic groups and guarantee the grazing rights of the Misseriya in the fertile Abyei plains and surroundings. However, be taken that such rights should not infringe on the rights and privileges of the Ngok Dinka as the indigenous ethnic group of Abyei. Bibliography