Bashir says peace process has reached "crossroads"

Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir said on 29 June that the government would set up a "national peace assembly" to review the current state of the peace process in the country, Sudanese television reported. In an address to the nation marking the 12th anniversary of his seizure of power, Bashir said efforts to bring peace to Sudan were "at a crossroads", and that a Sudanese peace assembly would work to develop a peace plan "from inside the country". The assembly would also advise the government on how best to deal with the recent joint Egyptian-Libyan proposal, and the separate process sponsored by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) since 1993, he said.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian-Libyan initiative was given backing at a meeting in Cairo of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), an umbrella organisation for the southern rebels and northern opposition groups. NDA spokesman Hatim al-Sirr Ali was quoted by AFP as saying that the plan's principles had been "unanimously approved", but that some groups had called for it to be extended to cover two further issues. NDA representative Pagan Amum told AFP some delegates had insisted that the initiative be amended to include the principles of self-determination for Sudanese and the separation of state and religion. Included in the memorandum was a provision for "setting up a national transition government, with the participation of all parties", Ali was quoted as saying. The NDA also called for the unification of the Egyptian-Libyan and the IGAD initiatives.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 02-07-2001)

Shelter a priority for IDPs in Ed Daein

The need for physical shelter was on Saturday cited by a humanitarian official of the Sudanese government as "the most important thing" for over 8,000 newly displaced people in Ed Daein (Al-Duwaym), Southern Darfur, who fled Raga town in Western Bahr al-Ghazal after the capture of the towns by the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in early June. The acting head of the government's Humanitarian Affairs Commission (HAC), Bahid Jacob, also said that the reception centre at Ed Daein primary school where 8,172 internally-displaced people (IDPS) were registered did not constitute a displacement camp, and that the IDPs would have to move to another site. The location of this has not been finalised, although it is understood that the government has proposed one some 60 km from Ed Daein, while the IDPs are seeking one considerably nearer, preferring to be in an urban environment with which they are familiar.

"We're looking at the possibilities for getting another place, eight to 10 km away, [from] where people can come to town to work," said Bahid Jacob. "The host community is ready to give land, we have contacted FAO [the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation] about getting seeds, and the Islamic Cooperative Bank is ready to provide finance for them," he added. Incidents of banditry and violence as the Raga IDPs had made their way northwards numbered not more than two or three cases, according to Acting Commissioner of Ed Daein, Hasan Salih. He also dismissed reports of the arrest of a number of IDPs on their arrival in Ed Daein from Raga. "I haven't heard of any arrests, and I'm the first man who should be informed," he said. "It's just some kind of propaganda from the south," he ventured. [for more details, see separate IRIN report of 2 July entitled "SUDAN: IDPs in need of shelter as rains set in"]

(IRIN, Nairobi – 02-07-2001)

Nuer deal presented as progress towards peace

The New Sudan Council of Churches (NSCC) has brokered a peace deal among warring factions of the Nuer people in South Sudan, as part of a wider people-to-people peace process to end Africa's longest running civil war, according to the British-based NGO Tearfund. At a peace conference in Kisumu, western Kenya, part-sponsored by Tearfund, 72 Nuer leaders signed a declaration by which they called for the unity of two factions: the Sudan People's Democratic Front (SPDF) and the South Sudan Liberation Movement (SSLM), the NGO reported on Friday. The Nuer signed their Declaration of Unity to alleviate the suffering among their people "as a result of division and conflict", in order to end others' exploitation of differences among the Nuer, and to allow them play their rightful role in "the liberation struggle of the people of southern Sudan", a press release from Tearfund stated.

The Kisumu conference - which brought together more than 200 traditional leaders, elders, women, civil society representatives and politicians from southern Sudan [but, notably, not the Sudan people's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), which declined to attend] - called on the international community to respond to the humanitarian crisis in southern Sudan, the South Blue Nile and the Nubah Mountains, according to Tearfund. In addition, it appealed to oil companies to suspend production until there was a comprehensive and just peace agreement in Sudan, and for the NSCC to continue its peace-building work in the region.

The purpose of the Kisumu conference, convened from 16-22 June at the request of traditional leaders, was to work towards "unity of purpose, unity of effort and unity of ideals" among southern Sudanese, according to informed sources. That liberation was "the common and prime agenda" and self-determination the "the central objective" were among the key affirmations of the conference, they said. Unity in the face of "a common threat" and "clarification of the goal of liberation" were said to be constant themes. It was notable that the NSCC was aligning itself with the one movement, the sources added. In the past, the church grouping has been accused of being too close to the SPLM/A.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 02-07-2001)

Refugees told to move, Western Bahr-al Ghazal

Thousands of refugees who had earlier escaped fighting in Western Bahr al-Ghazal are being forced to flee once again as the Sudanese government troops attempt to recapture territory lost to the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), UNOCHA reported. Over 5,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had been sheltering in the village of Timsah, 144 km north of Raga, were instructed to "move out" after the Sudanese government declared Timsah a military area, the UNOCHA Emergency Response Team for Western Bahr al-Ghazal said in its situation report on Monday. Many left on foot, and were said to be in "poor condition", the report added.

It was not clear whether the refugees were going to be able to reach the main camp at Ed Daein (Al-Duwaym), where between 5,000 and 6,000 IDPs were being accommodated. The UN humanitarian coordinator had written to the Sudanese minister for international cooperation on 21 June, calling on the Khartoum government to provide the IDPs with relief transport and protection against banditry and armed robbery along the route, the report said.

More than 30,000 civilians fled their homes following an offensive by the SPLA in Western Bahr al-Ghazal, where the rebel group captured the towns of Raga and Daym Zubayr, UNOCHA reported on 10 June. UNOCHA said it could be at least six months before consideration could be given to the IDPs to return.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 28-06-2001)

Bomber attacks rebel-held town

Six people were killed during a Sudanese government bombing raid on the southern town of Raga, the Sudanese Catholic Information Service (SCIO) said on Tuesday. Quoting Bishop Caesar Mazzalori, SCIO said a Russian-made Antonov bomber had hovered over the town on 24 June before dropping between seven and nine bombs on a "strictly civilian section of the town". Mazzalori - bishop of the diocese of Rumbek in southern Sudan - added that a mother and baby were among the six killed.

Speaking after a visit to Raga on Tuesday, Mazzalori was quoted as saying: "This is really diabolical, considering that so far the government has continued to deny humanitarian access to Raga." He added that the 35,000 people of Raga were in dire need of medical services, food, water, and shelter.

Since its capture by the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in early June none of the major humanitarian agencies serving southern Sudan from bases in Kenya have gained clearance from the Khartoum government to go to Raga, Reuters said on Wednesday. Mazzalori appealed to NGOs to continue pressing to be allowed to provide the people of Raga with aid. "Their situation can only be saved by external intervention," he added.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 28-06-2001)

Opposition groups meet to coordinate peace proposals

Sudanese opposition leaders are meeting in Cairo in an attempt to agree on the best means of bringing peace to Sudan, news agencies reported. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), an umbrella organisation for the southern rebels and northern opposition groups, convened to discuss both an Egyptian-Libyan initiative and the recent peace efforts sponsored by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). AFP quoted NDA spokesman Hatim al-Sirr Ali as saying that, because of new developments in the civil war, the Cairo meeting was "the last chance to reach a concrete proposal for coordinating the two initiatives."

Representatives from the various NDA components attending the meeting called on Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir to prove he wants peace, Associated Press (AP) said. "We appeal [to the government] to step up efforts to end this chain of violence and achieve a just peace that would consolidate our national unity," AP quoted NDA leader Muhammad Uthman al-Mirghani as saying. Nhial Deng Nhial, representing SPLA leader John Garang, was quoted by AP as saying that Bashir was not serious about peace: "His only intention is to split the opposition movement and maintain his military power," he said.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 27-06-2001)

Kenya calls for peace committee

Kenya has officially invited the Sudanese government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) to form permanent peace negotiation committees in Nairobi, Sudanese newspaper 'Al-Ra'y al-Amm' said on Tuesday. The newspaper quoted diplomatic sources in Nairobi as saying the Kenyan authorities had started "activating channels of contact" between the warring parties.

During a peace summit in Nairobi on 2 June attended by SPLA leader John Garang and Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir, the two sides had agreed to form permanent committees to pursue dialogue, and "to redouble their efforts" to end the conflict, 'Al-Ra'y al-Amm' said. However, there had been little agreement on core issues, and an anticipated cease-fire agreement had not materialised, news agencies reported.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 27-06-2001)

"Outlaws" in Darfur face death penalty

Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir has warned that armed robbers and "outlaws" operating in the Darfur states in western Sudan face amputations and hanging if caught, the official news agency, Suna, reported on Monday. "The authorities will deal decisively with everyone who attempts to intimidate people," he was quoted as saying at a public rally in al-Fashir, the capital of Northern Darfur State. "We will apply the Islamic shari'ah on those outlaws who seek to spread anarchy and corruption," he added.

According to the human rights organisation, Amnesty International, Sudan's penal code is based on the government's interpretation of shari'ah law, and includes punitive amputations, death, and death followed by crucifixion. The normal sentence for armed robbery is cross amputation,five men from Darfur state were convicted of armed robbery and punished by cross amputation on 25 January and 27 January 2001 at Khartoum's Kober prison.

According to government figures published in April, some 300 soldiers and 1,781 civilians have been killed in northern and southern Darfur states in clashes with armed robbers. Armed robbery became common in western Sudan after the Khartoum government supplied arms to tribesmen in the early 1980s in an attempt to combat the activities of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), AP said. Although the government has confiscated some 30,000 weapons from the tribesmen, illegal arms are smuggled into the area from the neighbouring countries of Chad and the Central African Republic, and armed robbery remains commonplace, AP said.

Bashir was quoted as saying that armed robberies were hindering the delivery of badly needed food aid to the area. An estimated 30,000 people had fled fighting in neighbouring Western Bahr al-Ghazal following an offensive by the SPLA, and were seeking sanctuary in Southern Darfur State, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) said on 13 June.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 26-06-2001)

Irin-148from 19 to 25 June 2001

Ethiopia-Sudan : Sudan becomes key oil provider

The Khartoum government has agreed to provide Ethiopia with 85 percent of its oil requirements from 2002, Ethiopian Television (ETV) reported on 21 June. ETV quoted the general manager of the Ethiopian Petroleum Organisation, Sisay Gebretsadik, as saying at the signing ceremony in Khartoum that Ethiopia would save US $7 million annually by importing fuel from Sudan rather than relying on imports from outside Africa. Ethiopia currently spends US $20 million buying oil from the international market. According to the agreement, Sudan will export 120,000 mt of oil and a further 36,000 mt of kerosene to Ethiopia annually. Ethiopia would also be allowed to build a fuel depot inside Sudanese territory in order to ensure a steady supply of oil and kerosene by road, ETV said. Sudan began exporting oil in 1999, and is currently producing about 220,000 barrels daily.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 25-06-2001)

Crocker says US not ready for peace process

The man the US government had hoped would bring peace to Sudan, Chester Crocker, said on Friday the current domestic political situation in the US was hindering peace efforts in the war-torn country. In an interview with all Africa com, he was quoted as saying the situation in Washington was "not a strong basis for the conduct of a serious engagement in a peace process". Crocker had been the leading candidate to become the US government's special envoy for Sudan, but rejected an offer from President Bush, citing personal reasons.

Crocker was quoted as saying that attention from pressure groups within the US, such as the Congressional Black Caucus and conservative Christian groups, would make the work of an envoy to Sudan very difficult. It would be tough "to decide how much of what we do is basically to keep interest groups happy on a domestic political basis, and how much of what we do is based on foreign policy merits," he said.

Crocker was sceptical that current peace initiatives in Sudan would be effective: "There's been a lot of play-acting, a lot of pretence, a lot of posturing about peace," he said. He added that the peace processes currently being pursued were not genuine attempts at bringing an end to the 18-year civil war: "They are not serious, and I'm not personally persuaded that the situation is all that ripe for getting such a peace process going at the moment," Crocker added.

Speaking at a rally in the garrison town of Wau on 19 June, Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir appeared to agree with some of Crocker's sentiments: "Pressure groups in Congress are obstructing any attempt at progress in the relations between the US administration and the Sudan," he was quoted as saying by the official Sudanese news agency Suna.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 25-06-2001)

WFP highlights water scarcity

Water scarcity remained a serious problem in the Darfur and Kordofan regions, despite late efforts to rehabilitate wells and water resources, with most open, hand-dug wells having dried up, WFP reported on Friday in its weekly emergency update. On average, household members travelled eight hours a day to fetch water, and the difficulties involved in providing sufficient water for livestock had resulted in livestock owners either selling or moving their animals, it added. "There is an increasing movement of people in search of food and water, especially in Darfur and Kordofan," the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies reported last week.

Targeted WFP food distributions which started in May in Northern Darfur and Kordofan regions had had a rapid effect on the cereal market, with prices having dropped from 7,500 dinars (about US $29.3) to 6,000 dinars (about $23.4) in Darfur, the WFP report stated. The agency had succeeded in getting 90 mt of relief food into Buram (10.51N 25.09E), southern Darfur, by road, and food distributions were scheduled to resume there on Sunday, targeting 4,250 internally displaced people (IDPs) in three schools, according to officials.

There were currently 25,000 or more people displaced by fighting in the Western Bahr al-Ghazal areas of Raga and Wau heading towards Ed Daein (Al-Duwaym: 14.00N 32.19E), and another 9,000 heading Kafia Kingi and Buram, according to statistics cited in an alert from Action by Churches Together (ACT) on Friday. ACT wanted to assist the transport of the most vulnerable to safe places, as well as to help with food, according to the alert. Transportation of the displaced, shelter and food were the most urgent humanitarian needs, it said. Relief agencies needed to devote increased effort to rehabilitating water sources, restoring some measure of food self-sufficiency through seed distributions, and health interventions - especially those related to communicable and water-borne diseases - in Darfur, the Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in an operations update last week.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 25-06-2001)

Resource shortages limit food aid

Food distributions in both northern and southern sectors were significantly down on estimated requirements in May, as they had been in March and April, due to shortfalls in the food pipeline, Fridays WFP emergency report stated. In May, WFP delivered 6,795 mt of food by air and transported 5,232 mt of food aid by road, representing an increase of about approximate 48 percent on April tonnage, it said. The agency had estimated the country's food delivery requirements for May at 28,531 mt.

The humanitarian situation was now deteriorating rapidly in the drought-affected areas of central, western and southern Sudan, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies reported last week. After poor donor response to both the UN Consolidated Appeal and the Red Cross appeal, the impact of severe underfunding could now be found in rising malnutrition rates and increasing distress migration, with a resulting impact on security, notably tribal clashes and robbery, it said. "The possibility of diseases spreading from contaminated water sources is [also] increasing," it added.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 25-06-2001)

UN denies abandoning population of Wau

The UN system in Sudan on Thursday rejected accusations that, by evacuating humanitarian personnel from Wau, capital of Bahr al-Ghazal, in the face of an ongoing military offensive on the government-held town, it had failed to assist the town's war-affected population. "The decision to relocate humanitarian personnel from Wau was taken based on security considerations, following an SPLA offensive in Bahr al-Ghazal," OCHA stated in a press release. Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir was on Tuesday quoted by the official SUNA news agency as saying that "evacuation by foreign relief organisations of their employees from the town was an action intended to support the rebellion movement and its psychological war."

Most of the UN staff that left Wau did not return to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, but were sent to Ed Daein [Al-Duwaym; 14.00 N 32.19 E] to assist an estimated 30,000 displaced people arriving there, according to the OCHA statement on Thursday. The UN would make every effort to return to Wau as soon as conditions permitted, in order to continue with essential humanitarian work, it said. "While remaining highly committed to the provision of humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable population of the Sudan - guided by the fundamental humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, accountability and transparency - the UN reaffirms its fundamental responsibility for looking after the security of its staff," OCHA added.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 22-06-2001)

"Deep concern" over Bahr al-Ghazal displacement

The UN said on Thursday it was stepping up efforts to assist the thousands of civilians fleeing fighting in Western Bahr al-Ghazal after a recent offensive by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it was "deeply concerned" about massive displacement of the civilian population, and was mobilising resources to assist displaced people arriving in the South Darfur region from several directions. The UN had positioned relief supplies in Ed Daein [Al-Duwaym; 14.00 N 32.19 E], and WFP was distributing food to the affected population, OCHA reported. Humanitarian agencies were currently mobilising funds to provide transportation for thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) moving out of the war-affected regions, it said.

As the humanitarian situation continued to deteriorate, the UN was intensifying its efforts to contain the crisis and prevent loss of lives. the press release stated. An emergency response team in the capital, Khartoum, was supporting the work of the Local Relief Committee (LRC) in Ed Daein [Al-Duwaym], and a high-level delegation comprising representatives from the government and the UN had visited the area to witness and assess the response to the crisis. The government was already providing assistance mainly through food distributions and transport arrangements, OCHA stated.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 22-06-2001)

80,000 reported "at risk" in Nubah Mountains

Escalating attacks by government forces and drought-induced crop failure have put the lives of over 80,000 people in the Nubah Mountains at risk, according to a report released this week by the Nubah Relief Rehabilitation and Development Organisation (NRRDO). A minimum of 2,500 mt of food aid plus additional medical and non-food items would save the lives of over 84,500 civilians if supplied immediately, according to the organisation. Many families had no food in their stores and, as they entered the hunger gap, were finding less and less to help them, according to NRRDO's report. Acute malnutrition, especially among children, was "inevitable" in the region, it added.

According to the NRRDO, government forces attacked the main airstrip near Kauda [Kawdah; 11.06 N 30.31 E] in May, and have threatened to shoot down aircraft flying into areas controlled by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). On several occasions, it said, forces loyal to Khartoum had bombed relief planes on the ground, and it was now impossible to address even the most life-threatening needs. The delivery of humanitarian aid to SPLM/A-controlled areas in the Nuba Mountains was currently "impossible" because of increased fighting, the report said. "Flying into Nuba has become so dangerous as to become untenable," it added.

The NRRDO said that an estimated 400,000 people remaining in SPLM/A-controlled territory in the Nuba Mountains had been effectively cut off from the rest of Sudan. Over the last year, it said, Sudanese government forces had increased their military targeting of these people and abducted many, taking them to "peace camps" in government-controlled territory. Houses, farms, food stores and livestock had been "systematically destroyed", and over 50,000 people had been displaced, many for the second or third time, according to the organisation. Poor rains across the region had exacerbated the situation, and 33,000 people had been unable to harvest any crops this year, it added.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 22-06-2001)

Malnutrition rates rising in Bahr al-Ghazal

Tens of thousands of people in Bahr al-Ghazal are facing serious food shortages and rising malnutrition after heavy fighting between government and rebel forces forced them to flee their homes, according to the Famine Early Warning System (FEWS). In its June update for southern Sudan, the USAID-funded FEWS said the upsurge in fighting and insecurity in Bahr al-Ghazal were "deeply disturbing", since populations in the region were currently highly food insecure. "The insecurity will seriously undermine the populations' resilience and ability to cope during the hunger period," the report added. In Aweil and Gogrial, food insecurity had been further exacerbated by poor rains. A delay in the planting season was likely to lead to an extension of the "hunger gap" by one to two months in these areas, the report said.

According to the report, pastoralists in Kapoeta County, Eastern Equatoria, were also suffering serious food shortages. Very poor rains meant that pasture conditions had "deteriorated remarkably", and hindered attempts at recovery from three consecutive years of drought. A fourth dry year would further deplete livestock herds and give pastoralists minimal chances of recovery, leaving them "extremely vulnerable to food insecurity", the report said.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 20-06-2001)

Largest internally displaced population in the world

By the end of 2000, Sudan accounted for more of the world's refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) than any other African country, according to a new report by the US Committee for Refugees (USCR). In its 'World Refugee Survey 2001' USCR said that by the end of 2000, 460,000 Sudanese were living as refugees in neighbouring countries, with a further four million seeking sanctuary within Sudan as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) - the largest internally displaced population in the world. Sudan accounted for more than one-third of all refugees and IDPs in Africa, the report said. "Sudan stands at the heart of human misery in Africa. There is no place worse," said Jeff Dumatra, Africa policy analyst at USCR.

More than 100,000 Sudanese people were newly displaced during 2000, including 30,000 that fled to neighbouring countries. According to the report, the rise in refugee numbers was caused predominantly by conflict in five regions of the war-torn country: Bahr al-Ghazal, the Sudan-Eritrea border, Eastern Equatoria State, the Nubah Mountains, and Upper Nile State. Some of the worst deterioration in humanitarian conditions occurred near the oilfields in Upper Nile State, where an estimated 50,000 people had been displaced during the year. Worsening violence among pro-government factions and between pro-Khartoum and rebel forces had created large new population upheavals in the state, where Sudanese government restrictions were preventing regular deliveries of relief supplies, USCR said. The report added that Sudan was also hosting 385,000 refugees from neighbouring countries, including 350,000 from Eritrea.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 20-06-2001)

UN staff evacuated from garrison town

The United Nations and other aid agencies have evacuated personnel from the Sudanese government garrison town of Wau in Bahr al-Ghazal due to an expected advance on the town by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA).Spokeswoman for the World Food Programme (WFP) Brenda Barton told IRIN that, following a security assessment, 24 national and international UN staff had left the town in a two-phase evacuation process ending on 14 June. Barton added that there were still some UN staff in the town, and that the WFP office was still functioning, ensuring that feeding centres were still open. WFP had distributed food to 40,000 internally displaced people in the town during May, and would need to make another distribution in two to three weeks' time, she added.

AFP quoted armed forces spokesman General Muhammad Bashir Sulayman as saying the evacuation of international aid organisations from the town was evidence of their support for the rebel group. "This evacuation calls for reconsideration of the activities of the international organisations," he was quoted as saying. Sulayman denied claims by the SPLA that it was advancing on Wau: "[SPLA leader John] Garang's forces are far away from Wau and will never reach it," he said. During a visit to the town on Monday, Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir vowed to rid the area of the rebel SPLA. "The battle for purging Bahr al-Ghazal of the rebellion has already begun," official news agency Suna quoted him as saying.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 20-06-2001)

Talisman dismisses SPLA threats

Canadian oil company Talisman Energy said on Monday it would sell its stake in a controversial Sudanese project in order to keep its listing on the New York Stock Exchange, news agencies reported. If a bill recently passed in the US House of Representatives - the Sudan Peace Act – became law, companies operating in Sudan would be required to fully disclose the nature of their activities there before being listed on US stock markets. Talisman President Jim Buckee was quoted by the 'Calgary Post' newspaper as saying such a law would "send a big chill" throughout Wall Street and deter foreign investment in Sudan. Buckee was quoted as saying at a Canadian energy symposium in Calgary that the company would take whatever steps necessary to ensure that its ability to reach US investors was not compromised. "A company our size or similar, you need to maintain that access," he said.

Meanwhile, Talisman spokesman David Mann dismissed threats made in a Sunday paper by the leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), John Garang, against oil companies operating in the country: "If you go back four years, you'll find the identical interview," AFP quoted Mann as saying. "We're aware of these threats, but ultimately Talisman thinks oil development is a good thing for Sudan and the peace process," he added.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 19-06-2001)

Government says SPLA offensive "futile"

The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) claimed on Tuesday to have captured a government military garrison in the Nubah Mountains. SPLA spokesman Samson Kwaje said in a statement that the SPLA had, on 9 June, taken control of an army post at Kalandi in Deliny county, 106 miles from Al-Ubayyid. Kwaje claimed that SPLA forces had killed nine government soldiers and taken the garrison commander prisoner. The statement said the garrison had been a component of the government forces which had been "ravaging the Nubah Mountains since 1986".

Spokesman for the Sudanese embassy in Khartoum Muhammad Dirdiery did not deny that the garrison had been taken, but told IRIN: "Whether or not they have captured a garrison is totally meaningless." He said the continued offensive of the SPLA in the Nubah Mountains was in defiance of all international efforts to bring to peace Sudan. "It will prove to be futile," he said. Dirdery added that claims made by the SPLA on 15 June to have repulsed a major government offensive in the Nubah Mountains were"complete nonsense".

(IRIN, Nairobi – 19-06-2001)

Oil companies "legitimate targets"

The leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), John Garang, has described foreign oil companies operating in southern Sudan as "legitimate targets" in the war against the Khartoum government, news agencies report. Speaking to the Arabic newspaper 'Al-Hayat' on Sunday, Garang claimed that the oil companies drilling in the war-torn south of the country were threatening the security of the people there, and were therefore liable to attack.

Garang was quoted by the BBC as saying the companies were threatening the SPLM/A by continuing to drill for oil in the south. "We consider them mercenaries working for the Islamist regime," he said. Garang added that the SPLM/A would hold the Sudanese government responsible for the losses suffered by workers and companies operating in the oilfields. "We will pursue our resistance, and we consider them as legitimate targets," Garang told 'Al-Hayat'.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 18-06-2001)

Army says oilfields "totally secure"

The armed forces of the Khartoum government have dismissed claims by the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) that it is besieging the key garrison town of Wau. Army spokesman Muhammad Bashir Sulayman was quoted by Sudanese newspaper 'Al-Ra'y al-Amm' as saying that claims by the SPLA that it was approaching Wau were nothing more than part of a "psychological warfare game it habitually practised". Muhammad was quoted as saying that Wau was "completely safe" and that life in the town was normal. He added that the oil regions were "totally secure" and that the armed forces were "ready for any eventuality".

SPLM/A spokesman Samson Kwaje had told AFP on Friday that rebel forces hadsurrounded Wau and agreed to requests by aid workers to evacuate the town. He said that the SPLA had agreed to allow staff of the United Nations, NGOs and the International Committee of the Red Cross to pull out. "Nothing is coming in. We have closed the town," he was quoted as saying.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 18-06-2001)

Leaders decry "harmful currents" in US

Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir has said the United States is attempting to divide Sudan into two separate states through its backing of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). Sudanese newspaper 'Al Ra'y al-Amm' quoted Bashir as saying that the policy of President Bush was no different to that of the Clinton administration. "They are not different, for each of them strives to destroy Sudan. There is nothing that can make us believe that this inclination can be changed in the near future," the newspaper quoted Bashir as saying on 14 June.

On his return from Washington on Sunday, opposition leader Al-Sadiq al-Mahdi said that public opinion in the US was pressuring the Bush administration into siding with the rebels. Former Prime Minister Mahdi, who met State Department officials and US lawmakers, called for increased Sudanese and Arab efforts to "contain the harmful currents in American public opinion". Mahdi was quoted by AFP as saying there had been a "great mobilisation" of public opinion in the US against the Sudanese regime, and that this had been reflected in Congressional support for the rebels.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 18-06-2001)

SPLM/A claims double victory

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) on Friday claimed to have repelled a major government offensive in the Nubah Mountains. In a statement, the rebel movement said that on 22 May, Khartoum had sent an 8,000-strong force to attack rebel positions, and to take control of SPLA-controlled airfields there. SPLM/A spokesman Samson Kwaje was quoted by AFP as saying that the SPLA had "finally defeated this [government] force on 2 June, the day the regional Inter-Government Authority on Development (IGAD) peace summit on Sudan opened in Nairobi". Kwaje said 14 villages had been burned down and over 30,000 people displaced by government forces, AFP added. Khartoum had been "waging a scorched-earth policy in the Nuba Mountains" since 1986, it quoted Kwaje as saying.

Kwaje also claimed that a government attack on SPLA positions in Southern Blue Nile had been defeated on 28 May. "The threat did not materialise, as we completely defeated them in Southern Blue Nile," Kwaje said.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 18-06-2001)

Bahr al-Ghazal IDPs "in bad shape"

The situation affecting people displaced by intensive fighting in Western Bahr al-Ghazal was now reaching crisis levels as many of the 30,000 who had fled their homes "have been found to be in quite bad shape already, especially those who haven't made it to some of the major centres," UNOCHA reported on Thursday. David Courrie, an official of the OCHA office in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, said that rains expected any time now would render many roads impassable and complicate efforts to deliver aid.

From a forward base in Ed Daein, food, water, essential drugs and vaccines, shelter materials and other supplies were beginning to reach those affected, and temporary facilities were being put in place to care for them out of the war-affected areas, a UN press release quoted Courrie as saying. A new Emergency Response Team established to coordinate interventions to mitigate the looming humanitarian crisis in Bahral-Ghazal and Southern Darfur would meet regularly until the crisis was contained, he said. According to Courrie, the emergency team would complement local relief efforts in the area. A detailed assessment of the situation was under way, and mechanisms were being established to respond to the crisis, including addressing the special needs of children under five years and those separated from their parents, he added.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 15-06-2001)

Khartoum says SPLA threatening relief flights

Sudanese Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Sulaf al-Din Salih has said that some 15,000 people were taking refuge from continuing fighting in Western Bahr al-Ghazal, hiding in forests with small quantities of food, the official Sudanese news agency SUNA reported on Thursday. Sulaf al-Din attributed growing problems in Bahr al-Ghazal to the ongoing offensive by the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). He claimed the SPLA was threatening relief flights to Wau and Aweil, the major towns in Bahr al-Ghazal. "The rebel movement is aggravating the humanitarian disaster," SUNA quoted him as saying at a press conference on Thursday.

Sulaf al-Din said there was a growing rate of diarrhoea among the people who arrived in the Timsah area of southern Darfur, having fled fighting in and around the towns of Raga and Deim Zubeir. He appealed for action from the international community to "stop the inhuman acts being perpetrated by the rebel movement", and called on the UN "to compel the rebel movement not to obstruct humanitarian flights to Bahr al-Ghazal."

(IRIN, Nairobi – 15-06-2001)

Humanitarian crisis "nightmare" for US

Hunger and war have made Sudan one of the most immediate humanitarian challenges for the US, one of "the three nightmares" it faces, according to the US special humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, Andrew Natsios. "Many of us are horrified at the very serious humanitarian situation in Sudan, caused by both drought and war," AlertNet has quoted him as saying at a forum of voluntary agencies and relief NGOs in Washington, USA. "In spite of our [USAID] assistance and the good work of the NGOs and UN agencies working in Sudan, the situation is still grim," Natsios said, according to AlertNet, a global news service for the international disaster relief community and the public. Natsios referred to the threat of starvation, which he said was perhaps worse than during the Sahelian drought of the 1980s, sweeping northern Sudan. He said the US had pledged an extra 40,000 mt of food aid for both sides in Sudan's conflict "so we can move fairly rapidly to stop this crisis from turning into a famine."

Natsios said USAID had an important role to play in supporting US national interests, which were often described in a dark, negative way even though there was often "an overlap between humanitarian instincts and the geo-political interests of the US." Natsios said the four pillars of a restructured USAID would be: the Global Development Alliance, investing in and promoting public-private partnerships between the public sector, US companies and NGOs; economic growth and agriculture (incorporating agricultural development, environmental sustainability and the development of human capital, especially basic education for girls); global health (uniting USAID's programmes on women's reproductive health, children's health, infectious disease and nutrition, and especially HIV/AIDS); and conflict prevention and developmental relief. This latter pillar would incorporate humanitarian assistance, transition assistance, and the integration of democracy and governance, he said.

"I believe deeply in our foreign assistance mission, and I am excited to have an opportunity to make a difference for poor people around the world," AlertNet quoted Natsios as saying. Between the Sudanese conflict's religious dimensions (with the Islamist government battling predominantly Christian and animist southern forces) and the Khartoum government's alleged terrorism connection, Sudan remained a high-profile issue in the US, it added. [for more details, go to: http://www.alertnet.org/]

(IRIN, Nairobi – 15-06-2001)

Croker declines to be US political envoy

The leading candidate to become the US government's special diplomatic envoy for Sudan has refused to take the position, Associated Press (AP) reported on Friday, 15 June. Chester Croker, who headed the US State Department's Africa Bureau for eight years during the Reagan administration, was expected to be named in the post but rejected the offer to return to international diplomacy, citing personal reasons, the report stated. Croker felt that attention from pressure groups within the US, including the Congressional Black Caucus and several conservative Christian groups, would inhibit diplomacy and make the quest for peace in Sudan an especially difficult one, AP added, quoting diplomatic sources.

During a four-nation tour of Africa in April (during which he focused on the Sudanese civil war and humanitarian crisis in talks with Ugandan and Kenyan diplomats, and with humanitarian agencies), US Secretary of State Colin Powell said he wanted to "re-energise" the peace process in Sudan. The US stated then that the Bush administration's review of Sudan policy was still underway, and that Natsios' appointment to coordinate US government humanitarian response and liaison with other donors, the UN and all NGOs was neither instead of a presidential special envoy nor would he be such an envoy. "The US administration's full review of Sudan policy is still very much in progress, including consideration of the proposal for a special envoy," the US embassy in Khartoum stated in mid-May.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 15-06-2001)

US State Department opposes 'Peace Act'

The US State Department has opposed a provision in the 'Sudan Peace Act' regarding the activities of companies operating in the war-torn country, AFP reported on Thursday. The Act, passed with overwhelming support by the House of Representatives on Wednesday but awaiting presidential approval, seeks to prohibit companies from trading shares in the US unless they fully disclose the nature of their business in Sudan. US State Department Spokesman Philip Reeker said the State Department shared the concerns of the House of Representatives on the potential association of US-listed companies and oil-associated human rights abuses in Sudan, but thought the restriction on trading would interfere with the Securities and Exchange Commission which regulates US stock markets. "Some of those disclosure requirements would undermine the independence and prerogative of the Securities and Exchange Commission to determine the nature and definition of information that is material to the investors," AFP quoted Reeker as saying.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese government condemned the bill as negative and called it a "deviation" from other peace efforts made by the international community. The official Sudanese news agency, SUNA, quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying that the US legislation "contains negative signs and does not help the peaceful efforts pursued by the Sudanese government for reaching a negotiated peaceful settlement."

(IRIN, Nairobi – 15-06-2001)

Child malnutrition among nomads in Waat

The NGO World Vision has expressed alarm at the results of a nutritional survey it undertook in Waat district (7.24 N 28.58 E), southern Sudan, which found that 54 percent of two- to three-year-olds are malnourished, with a global malnutrition rate of 17 percent among children under five. The agency surveyed more than 1,000 children and their mothers or caregivers, who were returning to their villages after grazing their cattle in the 'toic' or wetlands. The survey also indicated that little more than 40 percent of the children had been vaccinated against measles and tuberculosis (TB). World Vision has admitted more than 100 children to a therapeutic feeding centre since 1 May, it added.

The nutritional survey indicated a marked improvement in the health of the children and women receiving therapeutic feeding but found the status of about 3,000 children who went to the 'toic' and had not been receiving any food supplements to be "very poor," said Molly Mwangi, World Vision's Health Coordinator in Sudan. The NGO was working hard to vaccinate the children, particularly against measles and polio, and to raise awareness about hygiene and nutrition to reduce diarrhoeal diseases because almost none of the households had toilets and water was scarce, leaving children dangerously at risk of dehydration, Mwangi added.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 15-06-2001)

Khartoum announces resumption or air strikes

On Monday, the Sudanese government announced its intention to resume air strikes in the south and the Nuba Mountains. A statement from the Sudanese foreign ministry said the government was resuming the bombings to "defend itself in the face of continued aggression" from the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). Also on Monday, Brigadier Galwak Deng, chairman of the Southern States Coordination Council (SSCC) announced on Monday that a battalion of the South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF), a pro-government militia, would to go to Western Bahr al-Ghazal to take part in the recapture of Raga and Daym Zubayr.

Muhammad Dirdiery, Sudanese embassy spokesman in Nairobi, told IRIN on Wednesday that the Sudanese government was now preparing for a full-scale offensive against the SPLA both in Western Bahr al-Ghazal and other locations. "We are going to mobilise all the forces available to us," he said.

(IRIN, Nairobi – 15-06-2001)

Government, SPLA cited in child soldiers report

There has been extensive use of child soldiers, including some as young as 10 years of age, by both government and opposition armed forces in the Sudanese civil war, which has led to the direct or indirect loss of some two million lives, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers reported on Tuesday [http://www.child-soldiers.org/]. The government had also provided military support to the Ugandan opposition Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a group notorious for its abduction, forced recruitment and brutal treatment of children, the report stated.

Within Sudan, paramilitaries and other armed groups aligned with the government had a long history of forced recruitment, including that of children under 18 years of age, the Coalition reported in its 'Global Report on Child Soldiers'. The authorities in Khartoum had also continued their policy of arming the Baqqarah murahilin militias of western Sudan, it said. These militias then carried out raids in southern Sudan, primarily against the Dinka in Bahr al-Ghazal, at the same time as they accompanied and guarded government troop trains to the southern garrison town of Wau, it added.

Armed opposition groups, including the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), were also known to have children in their ranks, according to the Coalition. The SPLA had repeatedly assured the UN that it would discontinue the use of child soldiers and, in February this year, cooperated with UNICEF and other agencies in the demobilisation of 3,200 such fighters, it said. However, the SPLA had stated that there were 7,000 more child soldiers to be demobilised, the report added. [for further details, see separate IRIN story of 14 June headlined SUDAN: Use of child soldiers "extensive"]

(IRIN, Nairobi, 14-06-2001)

US clamps down on oil companies

The United States House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill which, if given Senate and presidential approval, will require companies operating in Sudan to fully disclose their activities in that country before being listed on US stock exchanges. The proposed Sudan Peace Act stipulates that companies working in Sudan should disclose the "relationship of the commercial activity to any violations of religious freedom and other human rights". Since the bill would cover both US and foreign companies operating in Sudan, it would apply to multinational consortiums developing oilfields in the south.

Jim Buckee, president of the Canadian oil company Talisman, which has been much criticised for its involvement in production in southern Sudan, said on Wednesday that the company was in compliance with all laws in the jurisdictions in which it operated, including the US. "I believe our presence in Sudan is positive. While in Sudan, Talisman continues to be a strong advocate for human rights and [to] carry out major humanitarian programmes," he said in a press release.

The Sudan Peace Bill also proposed that the US Congress officially condemn the "aerial bombardment of civilian targets sponsored by the Government of Sudan", and urged US President George W. Bush to promptly make available US $10 million that Congress approved last year to assist the opposition coalition group, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The bill received overwhelming support in the House, and was passed with 422 votes in favour and two against, according to details on the US House of Representatives website. [for further details, go to: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:HR02052:@@@L&summ2=m&]

(IRIN, Nairobi, 14-06-2001)

People displaced by fighting flee towards Darfur

The "great majority" of those fleeing increased fighting in Western Bahr al-Ghazal are headed in two lines towards the Darfur region, and are reported to be from one tribal group, the Fertit, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. Following an offensive by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in Bahr al-Ghazal and its capture of the towns of Daym Zubayr and Raga, there had been an exodus of civilians north and north-westwards into areas still controlled by the government, the agency reported on 10 June. One group was heading directly north in the direction of Al-Duwaym, some 350 km away, and the other north-northwest towards Nyala, located about 400 km from Raga, it said. Reports indicated that over 30,000 people could be on the move, most of them on foot, it added.

Over 10,000 of the displaced had concentrated around the village of Timsahah, 144 km north of Raga, where the resident population was just a few thousand in normal times, OCHA reported. The condition of the displaced people there was deteriorating rapidly, and aid workers hoped that relief supplies would reach them within days, it said. The WFP and UNICEF were moving quickly to identify what food, water, shelter and health supplies could be provided immediately, but the imminent onset of the rainy season would cause difficulties as there was no airstrip in the region and heavy rains would make the roads impassable, the report added. An emergency response team - to include the WFP, UNICEF, local and international NGOs, and donors - had been established to coordinate interventions to mitigate the looming humanitarian crisis in Western Bahr al-Ghazal and Southern Darfur, OCHA added.

(IRIN, Nairobi, 13-06-2001)

SPLA claims capture of Boro town

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) on Tuesday reported that the SPLA had captured the town of Boro, near the border separating Darfur from the Central African Republic, thereby bringing to a close the "complete liberation" of Western Bahr al-Ghazal. The rebels' statement said its Special Commando Brigade had taken control of Boro on Saturday, 9 June.

The Sudanese embassy spokesman in Nairobi, Muhammad Dirdiery, did not deny the town had been captured. The SPLA was continuing its offensive in "an otherwise very peaceful part of Sudan," he told IRIN on Wednesday. This was further evidence that the SPLA was continuing its atrocities against the people of Western Bahr al-Ghazal, he added. Dirdiery said the offensive had displaced 40,000 people and exacerbated the already difficult humanitarian situation in the country.

(IRIN, Nairobi, 13-06-2001)

Bishop of Rumbek appeals for assistance

The Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Rumbek, Ceasar Mazzolari, on Wednesday described as "very desperate" the humanitarian situation in in Western Bahr al-Ghazal. Intense military activity had displaced what the diocese estimated was 57,000 people, who were now in desperate need of humanitarian assistance, according to the Sudan Catholic Information Office (SCIO). "My first appeal is for food to be dropped at Raga to help attract the desperate civilians now scattered in the surrounding areas to return to their homes," Mazzolari stated.

"I have seen the place and can confirm that there is so much suffering. I appeal to all people of goodwill to seize the earliest opportunity to help save as many lives as possible," Bishop Mazzolari stated. "The church has left a team of its personnel on the ground to run our very small and run-down dispensary and we appeal for assistance to help beef up our medical and relief activities." In his appeal, Mazzolari said the Catholic Church could organise temporary accommodation for any agency willing to assist the people of Raga, through Lokichoggio in northwestern Kenya, through Uganda, the Central African Republic (CAR) or Sudan's Western Equatoria province.

The Bishop of Rumbek expressed fear that many of the displaced heading north from Raga, and particularly children, could die of hunger and thirst in what was a largely desert area. The SCIO also referred to reported clashes between southerners and Arabs, both displaced from Raga, as separate groups of internally-displaced people (IDPs) moved northwards. Angered by the SPLA triumph in Raga, the government in Khartoum had bombed the town several times since it was captured, the report added.

(IRIN, Nairobi, 13-06-2001)

Khartoum preparing counter-offensive

Brigadier Galwak Deng, chairman of the Southern Sudan State Coordinating Council (SSSCC) announced on Monday, 11 June, that a battalion of the South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF), a pro-government militia, would to go to Western Bahr al-Ghazal to take part in the recapture of Raga and Deim Zubeir towns.

(IRIN, Nairobi, 13-06-2001)

Air strikes "will resume" in Southern Sudan

The Sudanese government on Monday announced its intention to resume air strikes in the south and in the Nuba Mountains. A statement from the Sudanese foreign ministry said the government was resuming bomb attacks to "defend itself in the face of continued aggression" from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). It said the rebels had last week launched an operation against regions which had been safe for many years. However, an SPLM/A spokesman told IRIN on Tuesday that there had never been a halt to the air strikes, and there had been at least 11 ariel attacks since Khartoum announced on 24 May that it was halting the attacks

[For more details see IRIN article SUDAN: Khartoum announces resumption of bombings.]

US plans to resettle more "lost boys"

The US State Department said it expected to complete by September a programme to resettle approximately 3,800 Sudanese children and young adults. The targeted refugees, now in Kakuma Refugee Camp in north-western Kenya, became known as the "lost boys" when they were separated from their parents during the civil war in 1987 and fled on foot more than 1,000 km to neighbouring Ethiopia. A State Department press release said on Monday that despite tracing efforts by humanitarian organisations, many of the children in the resettlement programme had "little hope that they will ever see their parents again". Out of some 10,000 "lost boys" who reached Kakuma in 1992, many later left the camp and were not eligible for the resettlement scheme, UNHCR spokesman Paul Stromberg told IRIN. The Kakumarefugees will be resettled in 28 states by 10 resettlement agencies working with the US government, said the press release.

[For more details see IRIN article SUDAN: American resettlement of "lost boys" continues.]

SPLM/A claims destruction of oil convoy

The SPLM/A has claimed to have ambushed a military convoy in Western Upper Nile and killed more than 200 government troops. In a statement, the SPLM/A said the convoy, attacked on the road between Wang Kai and Mayom in Unity (Wahdah) State, had been "escorting equipment for one of the several oil companies" operating in the southern.

According to the statement, fighting lasted over five hours and resulted in the "complete destruction of the convoy". Two hundred and forty-four government soldiers were killed and the remainder "scattered in bushes", it added.

The spokesman for the Sudanese embassy in Nairobi, Muhammad Dirdiery, told IRIN that the claims by the SPLM/A were "totally baseless". He said there had been a "small skirmish" in that part of the country, but that very few people had been involved. He added that the area in which the skirmish occurred was a long way from any of the oilfields in the region.

(IRIN, Nairobi, 12-06-2001)

Oshima calls on combatants to respect civilians

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Kenzo Oshima on Friday lamented the plight of thousands of internally-displaced people (IDPs) in southern Sudan, and called on the parties to the country's civil war to exert restraint over their troops to avoid endangering civilian lives. Oshima expressed his "deep concern" over the humanitarian consequences of the intensified fighting caused by a recent offensive by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in Bahr al-Ghazal state, which has resulted in the displacement of an estimated 30,000 people.

"These events are of particular concern as they not only bring about further deterioration of humanitarian conditions in the area but also threaten access and the delivery of humanitarian aid to hundreds of thousands of affected people," he added. UNOCHA has activated an emergency response team, including the WFP and UNICEF as well as NGOs, to plan and coordinate "an effective and timely response to the current crisis," Oshima said in a press statement.

(IRIN, Nairobi, 11-06-2001)

Washington decries renewed bombings

The US government on Friday expressed its concern that the Government of Sudan has recently launched a series of aerial strikes against civilian targets in the south of the country, breaking Khartoum's 25 May pledge to end the bombings of civilian targets in southern Sudan and the Nuba Mountains. State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher cited reports that government bombs had killed four Sudanese civilians on Wednesday last, 6 June, in a bombing in Bahr al-Ghazal [in Barurud, in the northwest of the state] which took place while WFP was making a food drop in the area. Two other towns in Bahr al-Ghazal, Marial Bai and Mapel, were also bombed late last week, he said. "Mapel's airport is critical to addressing the humanitarian crisis in the region because it is used as a staging area by Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS), the primary international relief mechanism," Boucher added.

Humanitarian agencies have been involved in contact with the authorities in Khartoum after the WFP scare in Barurud, and another worrying security incident in Nasir on the same day, according to informed sources. Relief personnel reportedly expressed concern that additional security concerns in an already disquieting operating environment had the potential to put the whole humanitarian operation in jeopardy. There has also been some anxiety that sustained fighting in western Bahr al-Ghazal could impinge upon badly-needed emergency food and non-food operations to mitigate the continuing effects of drought and conflict on vulnerable populations.

(IRIN, Nairobi, 11-06-2001)

Church group spells out urgent need for aid

The British-based Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) has called for the urgent delivery of additional aid to Sudan amid "clear signs of an alarming rise in the cases of child malnutrition" but also a sense that there is still time to prevent a humanitarian calamity on the scale of the 1998 famine. Assessments in Bahr al-Ghazal by the agency's partners had reported a sharp rise in the number of children arriving at feeding centres in the last month, and strong signs that food was becoming scarce in the community, said Rob Rees, CAFOD's programme officer for Sudan, in a press statement. CAFOD partners saw mothers cooking wild fruits and nuts because they did not have enough food, and eye infections and ringworm were now a common sight among children, he said. The rivers are running dry and clean water is scarce. Many of the most acute cases of hunger and malnutrition are among those people who have been forced to abandon their homes because of the ongoing civil war, according to the press statement.

"It is tragic that... the children of Sudan continue to be the innocent victims of war and drought. World leaders must show the same determination to bring peace to Sudan as they have shown in the Middle East and the Balkans," Rees added.

(IRIN, Nairobi, 07-06-2001)

Concern over Bahr al-Ghazal fighting

The outbreak of serious fighting in Bahr al-Ghazal - with a large-scale Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) offensive, its reported seizure of the strategic town of town of Raga and the consequent resumption of bombings by the government since 2 June - had given rise to serious concerns about the humanitarian situation there, UN sources told IRIN on Thursday. The government had announced on 24 May that it would cease bombing targets in southern Sudan and the Nuba Mountains the following day.

In addition to concerns about population displacement and its human consequences, and the worry that civilians might be directly affected by the fighting and/or bombings, relief workers were concerned about the issue of access to vulnerable populations in such a worrying situation, according to humanitarian sources. Drought and insecurity have driven many families from their land and prevented crop cultivation, and, overall, Bahr al-Ghazal is expected to face a food deficit of some 40 percent this year.

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) on Wednesday accused government forces of killing two civilian women in a bombing raid on the town of Baraut, Bahr el-Ghazal, AFP news agency reported. The government plane also dropped several bombs on Akol and Turaley in northern Bahr al-Ghazal, not near the front lines in Sudan's civil war, it quoted SPLM/A spokesman Samson Kwaje as saying. Kwaje said the rebels had captured the towns of Abulu and Khawr al-Gana on Wednesday, and were now only 19 km from the provincial capital Wau - a major strategic target.

In May, there were 13 reported bomb attacks by the government on civilian targets in southern Sudan, according to sources in close contact with the situation on the ground. During May, there were bomb attacks on Bahr al-Ghazal, Equatoria, Southern Blue Nile, Southern Kordofan and Upper Nile, they said. In three separate instances, bombs had been dropped near an NGO compound in Akuem and a dispensary in Tonj, and had damaged a health centre in Acumcum, all in Bahr al-Ghazal, they added. (IRIN, Nairobi, 07-06-2001)

Deteriorating situation reported in Nuba Mountains

A large government offensive in the Nubah Mountains, which started on 17 May and was ended by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) about four days ago, has raised of issues of great concern to aid agencies, humanitarian sources told IRIN on Thursday. In a statement issued on 25 May, the Sudanese armed forces claimed it had retaken nine localities in the Nubah Mountains from the SPLA, according to the official news agency SUNA. The statement said that troops had freed civilians who were being used as human shields and seized large quantities of weapons and ammunition.

There had been long-range artillery shelling for 15 consecutive days, including the shelling of airstrips used by humanitarian flights, according to sources in close contact with southern Sudan. IRIN was told of reliable reports that villages, food, schools and churches were burned, many civilians killed or kidnapped, and thousands of people displaced. The food security situation was now very bad in the Nubah Mountains and there were real fears of starvation, the sources added.

(IRIN, Nairobi, 07-06-2001)

Eritrea-Sudan : Talks on cooperation in refugee repatriation

Representatives from Kassala State in Sudan and the Gash Barka Region in Eritrea have met to decide how best to cooperate in the repatriation of Eritrean refugees from Sudan, Eritrean radio reported. At their meeting in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, on 3 June, General Mahmud Adam of Kassala, and Mustafa Nur Husayn, the administrator of Gash Barka, also discussed the possibility of allowing freedom of movement and free trade between the neighbouring regions. Further meetings are scheduled for the coming days, and it is hoped the representatives will come to a decision on the key refugee issue within that time, according to Eritrean radio, Voice of the Broad Masses.

More than two-thirds of the 174,000 Eritrean refugees still in Sudan are reported to originate from the western area of Gash Barka. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that as of May 2001, 27,000 of these displaced people were still living in camps in the Kassala and Al-Qadarif states of eastern Sudan. UNHCR said it had been assisting refugees from these camps return home in time for planting, before the onset of the rainy season.

Much of Gash Barka Region falls within the 25 km-wide Temporary Security Zone separating the Ethiopian and Eritrean forces. It was one of the country's most populous regions, and produced a high percentage of the national food output before war broke out with Ethiopia in 1998.

(IRIN, Nairobi, 05-06-2001)

SPLM/A claims "firm control" of Raga

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) on Tuesday claimed that SPLA forces under Commander Pieng Deng Kuol had established firm control of the strategic garrison town of Raga, western Bahr al-Ghazal. Most of the 800 government soldiers who had been defending the town were killed, wounded or taken as prisoners of war, SPLM/A spokesman Samson Kwaje stated in a press release in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Remnants of the army garrison had fled towards Boro on the border with Darfur, while local militia formerly backing the government had joined the SPLA in big numbers, he said. Raga was taken by the SPLA at 10.30 am on Saturday morning as President Umar Hasan al-Bashir was on his way to Nairobi for regional peace talks on Sudan, at which little was achieved, under the auspices of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Kwaje stated in his press release. The rebel movement appealed to residents of Raga to return to the town, and warned the government against escalating the war.

The reported SPLA seizure of Raga had not been independently confirmed but, if it was the case, there could be thousands of people displaced as a result of this latest fighting and what appeared to be a mounting SPLA offensive, humanitarian sources told IRIN on Tuesday.

(IRIN, Nairobi, 05-06-2001)

Peace summit scheduled for June

The Sudanese president, Umar al-Bashir, and the main rebel leader, John Garang of the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) are to attend a peace summit aimed at ending the country's 18 year civil war. The meeting, scheduled for 2 June in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi is expected to include high-level representatives from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. The meeting, organised by the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), will be the first peace summit between the Sudanese government and the SPLA since 1997. SPLA/M spokesman Samson Kwaje told IRIN that he expected IGAD as a whole would review the peace process. "We hope the meeting will push the peace process forward," he said.

During his visit to Kenya on 27 May, US Secretary of State Colin Powell was quoted as saying that the US was "going to work hard to bring a ceasefire into effect." Powell, who met Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi, current head of IGAD, said the US would appoint a special envoy to press the parties in Sudan to "re-energise" the peace process.

(IRIN, Nairobi, 01-06-2001)

US in "bold humanitarian gesture"

The World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed the United States' donation of food aid worth more than US $60 million to help in the fight against starvation in Sudan. The donation would be used to relieve the suffering of nearly three million drought- and war-affected communities throughout the country, WFP said. This followed the announcement on 27 May by US Secretary of State Colin Powell that the US was pledging 40,000 mt of food for emergency programmes in the country.

Emergency food aid was badly needed, as Sudan was entering the hunger-gap months when food needs were traditionally at their highest, said Masood Hyder, WFP country representative in Khartoum. "This gift will make the difference between life and death for tens of thousands of innocent men, women, and children," he added. "What the US has done is quite remarkable. Now they have dramatically increased their commitment in a bold humanitarian gesture," he said.

Sudan's worst drought in decades has hit hardest the regions of Darfur and Kordofan, where there have been three consecutive poor rainy seasons, bringing spiralling malnutrition rates and increased migration to the urban centres. "We've been scraping together every grain of food we could find to tide people over, but the situation had really become desperate, with no significant food shipments in sight," Masood said.

(IRIN, Nairobi, 01-06-2001)

Turabi put under house arrest

The former parliamentary Speaker and leader of the Popular National Congress (PNC) opposition party, Hasan al-Turabi, was on Tuesday moved from prison and placed under house arrest in a government "guesthouse", in Kafuri suburb, north Khartoum, Muhammad Dirdiery, spokesman of the Sudanese Embassy in Nairobi told IRIN. Turabi was moved for no other than "humanitarian reasons", he said. This was something "usually accorded to politicians in prison", and had "no political significance", he added.

Turabi had been in detention along with a number of his aides since 21 February, the day after he signed a "memorandum of understanding" with the rebel Sudanese People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A).

Samson Kwaje, spokesman for the SPLM/A in Nairobi, told IRIN that he feared for the life of Turabi. "It is dangerous for him to be moved. He was much safer with his colleagues in prison," he said. Kwaje said that these "so-called guesthouses" were "ghost houses, where political prisoners are tortured and killed". Kwaje said the international community should bring pressure to bear on the government of Sudan to give Turabi "a speedy trial in a court of law". "I am sure he will be acquitted, since he committed no crime," Kwaje told IRIN.

(IRIN, Nairobi, 01-06-2001)