South Sudan crisis adds to Khartoum's Darfur woes
KHARTOUM (AFP) — Sudan was beset by crises on two fronts Thursday after the main party in the south withdrew from government because of Khartoum's failure to share power and as hopes faded for peace in Darfur.
Former rebels from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) suspended their participation in the national government as fighting escalated in the western region of Darfur, where rebels have again taken up arms complaining of abuse and marginalisation by Khartoum.
Darfur peace talks in Libya on October 27 have been put at risk by reports that Khartoum forces and their allied militias have intensified attacks on the rebels, including the only faction to have signed a peace deal.
The Sudan Liberation Movement-Unity accused Khartoum of trying to kill its leaders after the army threatened to shoot down an African Union plane carrying the group's military leadership.
The leaders were headed to the southern capital of Juba for "routine bilateral talks with SPLM leaders," spokesman Mahjoub Hussein told AFP.
UN envoy to Darfur Jan Eliasson warned that any delay to the Libya talks would lead to more violence, as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon accused the government of slowing the deployment of a bolstered peacekeeping force.
In Khartoum, a senior SPLM official said the decision to withdraw from government was taken at a meeting in Juba presided over by party leader Salva Kiir.
"Our participation in the government is frozen until we can find a solution to our differences" with the north, he said.
But later in the day, SPLM members said they were open to talks with their northern partners, saying their decision to quit was a way to "sound the alarm" over delays in implementation of a peace deal between north and south.
"We are ready to sit with the National Congress Party to discuss the problems," Yasser Arman, joint secretary general of the SPLM told reporters, refering to President Omar al-Beshir's northern party which dominates the national government.
"We are knocking at the door of the NCP and we hope to have an answer and to work together for a real partnership," he said.
The SPLM and its armed wing signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement with Khartoum in 2005, ending 21 years of war between the Muslim north and Christian and animist south that killed at least two million people and displaced millions more.
While former southern rebel leader Salva Kiir holds the post of first vice president in the national government, further implementation of the agreement has been dogged by problems and mutual accusations of stalling.
The SPLM has 19 ministers and deputy ministers in the cabinet, as well as its own parliament sessions in Juba, the capital of the semi-autonomous south.
The SPLM official said key problems were the withdrawal of northern troops from the south, the fate of the disputed oil-rich region of Abiye and "the evolution of democracy in Sudan," adding that the group would return to government once the differences were resolved.
In Darfur, the Sudan Liberation Army faction of Minni Minawi, the only rebel group to have signed a 2006 peace deal with Khartoum, threatened to take up arms again after it said more than 50 people were killed in a government-backed attack on Muhajariya, a southern Darfur town it controls.
The following day the UN reported clashes between government troops and Minawi forces near the north Darfur town of Tawila, but the circumstances were unclear.
Eliasson, outlining efforts to broaden rebel attendance at the talks, which at least two rebel factions have said they will not attend, said any delay to negotiations "will lead to more bloodshed."
He described the situation in Darfur as "deeply alarming" and said he hoped the talks would end fighting on the ground.
UN chief Ban said in a report that Khartoum was slowing down the deployment of the 26,000-strong hybrid UN-AU force.
"The implementation timeline for UNAMID is being delayed owing to ... delays in obtaining feedback regarding the list of troop-contributing countries submitted to the government of Sudan," said the report released Thursday.
"I remain extremely concerned about the continuing violence in Darfur. The ongoing loss of life and displacement of civilians is unacceptable and is not contributing to an atmosphere conducive to peace talks" in Libya.
A UN Security Council report also accused the Sudanese government of "continued violation" of an arms embargo by sending weapons and other military equipment into Darfur.
"The government has shipped arms and equipment, including military airplanes and helicopters, by air into the airports of Darfur's three provincial capitals," the report found.
In Khartoum, Eliasson called on all parties to seize the opportunity at the Libya talks on October 27 to end the conflict which has killed 200,000 in four years.
"This is an opportunity to change the future ... The alternative to me is very scary."
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Map showing location of Sudan.
United Nations Envoy Jan Eliasson said Thursday that negotiating a ceasefire in the conflict occurring in the Darfur region of Sudan will be the main goal of the peace talks scheduled for later this month. 

"The first very concrete step ... is that we will go for and hopefully achieve a credible cessation of hostilities," Eliasson said in Khartoum.

"I find the situation on the ground ... deeply alarming. The military escalation is a great source of concern...Haven't we seen enough violence and hopelessness? Don't we see what is happening to the social fabric of Darfur ... torn apart completely -- is this what we want to perpetuate?"

Eliasson also warned that any delay in the negotiations would be detrimental in stopping the violence in the region.  Despite protests from rebel leaders, he pleaded for affiliates from all of the numerous rebel groups to attend the peace talks, currently scheduled for October 27th in Libya.  Mark Malloch Brown, Britain's Minister for Africa, said Wednesday that rebel groups who do not participate in the peace talks will not benefit from any possible ceasefire deals.  

"Anybody who wants to be a legitimate representative of the Darfuri people needs to go," Lord Malloch Brown said. 

"If they opt out, they should understand the consequences of doing that - probably their role in the peace negotiations may be finished." 

These comments came on the same day that forces believed to be from the Sudanese government and janjaweed militias attacked a fortification in Muhajiriya of the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA), the only rebel group to co-sign a 2006 peace agreement with the Sudanese government. At least 40 people were killed in the attack. 

"Until now the number of dead civilians are at least 40, with 80 missing and a large number of injured," the SLA said in a statement sent to Reuters. They believe that Sudan's army was responsible for the attack, although the government has refuted this accusation.
Map showing Darfur, and neighboring Libya.
"There has to be an international investigation immediately," said Minni Arcua Minnawi, an SLA leader who became a presidential advisor in Khartoum. Speculation is rampant about the motivations for the attack, although analysts in Nairobi claim that the rebel movement and the government were barely allies even after the signing of the peace pact.

Another crisis in the peace process occurred Thursday when the main southern political party pulled out of the government due to Khartoum's inability to share power. Former rebels from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) withdrew from the national government after the escalation of violence against rebels.

Adding even more to the uncertainty leading up to the peace talks, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a report that Khartoum was delaying the deployment of the African Union-UN hybrid peacekeeping force.

"The implementation timeline for UNAMID is being delayed owing to ... delays in obtaining feedback regarding the list of troop-contributing countries submitted to the government of Sudan," said the Secretary General's report.

"I remain extremely concerned about the continuing violence in Darfur. The ongoing loss of life and displacement of civilians is unacceptable and is not contributing to an atmosphere conducive to peace talks." 

Though these events have put the peace talks at risk, all involved know that the success of the talks is critical for the well-being of the region.  As Eliasson said, "To miss this opportunity is a tragedy -- this is the moment of truth,".