On June 7, yet another round of negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan ended. These most recent talks centered around the establishment of the Safe Demilitarized Border Zone, or SDBZ, a border security measure to which both sides consented in a June 2011 agreement on border security. While the SDBZ is agreed upon in theory, in practice, the establishment of this zone will prove tricky.
Humanitarian aid groups working in South Sudan report that, in the last three weeks, over 35,000 refugees from the Sudanese state of Blue Nile have entered transit centers and over-stretched refugee camps in Upper Nile state. This influx brings the total number of refugees in the South Sudanese state of Upper Nile to 105,000, a staggering number that exceeds the capacity of the state’s two existing refugee camps, Jammam and Doro.
As the first anniversary of the South’s independence rapidly approaches, it is becoming all too clear just how little has been accomplished on issues related to the split between Sudan and South Sudan. Moreover, the ongoing violence in South Kordofan and Blue Nile threatens to further destabilize the fragile relationship between the two countries. In a new field dispatch, Enough Project Policy Analyst Jenn Christian examines the North-South diplomatic impasse and argues that the resolution of the conflicts in South Kordofan and Blue Nile may hold the key to progress between Sudan and South Sudan.
Nearly two years have passed since the governments of Sudan and South Sudan started negotiations on post-secession issues. Today, the two sides remain much as they were in July 2010, when the full negotiation teams first met for an initial exposure session and signed the guiding principles for the process.
Against the backdrop of a new round of talks between Sudan and South Sudan in Addis Ababa, the Carnegie Endowment in Washington, D.C., held an event last week examining the many obstacles to peace between the two countries, with a focus on how the international community should engage. The speakers were well placed to offer tangible recommendations; in particular, it was an insightful opportunity to hear from U.S. special envoy to Sudan Ambassador Princeton Lyman about what he thinks are hampering the ongoing negotiations between Khartoum and Juba.
Violence has sharply decreased between warring groups in the volatile state of Jonglei, according to the governor. Whether this positive trend will last depends on the factors driving the apparent decline in intercommunal clashes, and even those who commend the government’s effort say many of the underlying causes for the violence are yet to be addressed.
In the wake of U.N. Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan Haile Menkerios’ briefing to the U.N. Security Council on May 16 concerning Sudan and South Sudan’s compliance with Resolution 2046, Khartoum remains, in many respects, defiant. In an effort to track these and other developments, the Enough Project has updated its timeline and chart that track Sudan, South Sudan, and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North’s compliance.
The recent volatility of the Sudan-South Sudan relationship raises important questions about why peace and stability between the two countries is so tenuous. From interviews conducted in Juba, South Sudan’s leaders appear open to continued talks and to the establishment of improved relations with Khartoum, especially in response to international pressure to do so. But there is a perceptible shift within the leadership in Juba toward disengagement with Sudan.
In recent days the renewed hostilities between Sudan and South Sudan have caught the world’s attention. However, the back-and-forth between the two countries has often been difficult to follow. In light of this, the Enough Project has produced a new timeline to chronicle the often confusing events along the border and in the negotiating room.
In recent days the renewed hostilities between Sudan and South Sudan have caught the world’s attention. However, the back-and-forth between the two countries has often been difficult to follow. In light of this, the Enough Project has produced a new timeline to chronicle the often confusing events along the border and in the negotiating room.
In the wake of an alarming escalation of violence and rhetoric between Khartoum and Juba, the African Union Peace and Security Council, or AUPSC, issued a decision on April 24 aimed at getting the parties back to the negotiating table. The strong tone of the decision coupled with its roadmap for a normalization of relations between Sudan and South Sudan makes it, perhaps, the most comprehensive statement of policy regarding the two states to emerge since South Sudan’s independence last July.
For nearly 10 days following South Sudan’s military occupation of the disputed oil-rich area of Heglig, Sudan and South Sudan were on the verge of war. On Friday, April 20, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, or SPLA, announced its withdrawal from Heglig, a move regarded by the international community as a positive step toward diffusing tensions between South Sudan and Sudan. However, the two countries are not any nearer to achieving a lasting peace as the Sudan Armed Forces, or SAF, continue to carry out aerial and ground attacks on territory in South Sudan, yesterday reaching a crescendo with the bombing of Bentiu, the capital of Unity state.
The Satellite Sentinel Project, or SSP, released two new reports, documenting the latest developments in the conflict raging on the border between Sudan and South Sudan. The conflict has become increasingly violent since the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, or SPLA, advanced on Heglig on April 9. Heglig (known as Panthou to the South Sudanese) is a disputed territory, with both nations claiming that it is within their borders. The area provides an estimated half of Sudan’s oil resources, making it an economically critical location.
The Satellite Sentinel Project (SSP) has published new imagery confirming that the Government of Sudan has dramatically increased the number of military strike aircraft at two airbases and that many are in range to fly deep into South Sudan. SSP has also documented, through the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative’s analysis of DigitalGlobe satellite imagery, craters consistent with reports that Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) aerially bombarded an apparent civilian area near a strategic bridge in Bentiu, the capital of Unity State, South Sudan.
The Satellite Sentinel Project (SSP) has published new imagery indicating that as Sudan and South Sudan clashed over an oil field near the disputed border town of Heglig, a key part of the pipeline infrastructure was destroyed. The damage appears to be so severe, and in such a critical part of the oil infrastructure, that it would likely stop oil flow in the area, according to SSP.
South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir announced in a press statement released Friday afternoon that southern forces would unconditionally withdraw from Heglig—10 days after seizing the disputed oil-rich region from Sudan forces—in a gesture that is likely aimed primarily at restoring South Sudan’s declining image before the international community.
Largely absent from recent coverage of Sudan and South Sudan has been the passage of the April 8 deadline after which ethnic southerners in Sudan—numbered as many as 700,000—were required to register as foreigners in Sudan or move back to South Sudan, where they are citizens.
Since the re-taking of the disputed area of Heglig by the South Sudan army last Monday, a move that has dramatically escalated hostilities between Sudan and South Sudan, the military situation has been marked by flare-ups along the North-South border and constant bombings of South Sudan by Sudan. Now the expectation is that a large counter-offensive by Sudan into Heglig could begin at any moment.
International confusion and ignorance in answering this question about Sudanese geography has become one of the greatest threats to peace, and the negotiations required for peace to be sustained, writes Sudan specialist Eric Reeves.
Both the U.N. Security Council and the A.U. Peace and Security Council issued statements about the rising conflict between Sudan and South Sudan yesterday, with the U.N. demanding and the A.U. calling on both countries to immediately to deescalate conflict along their ill-defined international border, including the South withdrawing from Heglig and the Sudan Armed Forces, or SAF, ceasing aerial bombardments in South Sudan.
The Enough Project is no longer operational. Its mission is continued by The Sentry, an investigative organization providing new leverage for human rights, peace, and anti-corruption efforts. Explore The Sentry’s work at TheSentry.org.