North and south Sudanese defense ministers agree upon key security
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By Julius N. Uma
March 26, 2011 (JUBA) - Officials from north and south Sudan’s defense
ministries have unanimously endorsed and agreed upon key security
issues following the South’s vote for independence in a referendum in
January, perhaps ending months of bickering and counter accusations.
JPEG - 40.7 kb
Sudan’s Minister of Defence Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein (R) and
South’s minister for the SPLA (the southern army) Nhial Deng Nhial
attend a joint news conference at the Ministry of Defence headquarters
in Khartoum November 11, 2010 (Reuters)
The resolution was the outcome of Wednesday’s close-door meeting held
in the South Sudan capital, Juba under the mediation of Thabo Mbeki,
head of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel for Sudan
(AUHIP).
Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein, the federal government’s defense minister
and Nhial Deng Nhial, the Sudan People Liberation Army (SPLA) affairs
minister signed the agreement, which was witnessed by Mbeki.
Both ministers, according to a March 23 AUHIP communiqué, agreed on a
joint position paper on security arrangements, police issues, National
Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) issues and arrangements, and
security cluster issues requiring political guidance.
“The ministers further agreed to continue negotiations in order to
continue reach a full and comprehensive agreement on security issues,”
the AUHIP statement said.
Also discussed, according to the March 23 communiqué, were issues
pertaining definition of security zones along the north-south border,
extension of the UN mandate in Sudan, the fate of the SPLA and Joint
Integrated Units (JIUs) in and from southern Kordofan and Blue Nile.
The meeting further resolved to convene another special session in the
next few days as a mechanism of ensuring that all that was discussed
was being implemented in letter and spirit.
Mbeki lauded the commitment shown by both ministers and remained
optimistic that what they discussed will fully be made operational.
The one-day security meeting comes less than a month after the
south-ruling party extensively publicized what it claimed were leaked
documents obtained from the Khartoum regime detailing the latter’s
alleged support to militias in the South.
The documents, spanning from 2008-2010 contained information the
Sudan’s defense ministry, military high command, the logistical
department and the national intelligence unit. Senior officials from
the Khartoum regime have distanced themselves from the allegations,
saying the southern government presented “fabricated” documents.
(ST)
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