Bashir orders Sudan army to sustain South Kordofan offensive
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July 1, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan President Omer Al-Bashir has
instructed his army to continue military operations in the North-South
border state of South Kordofan until it is “purged” and the “rebel”
Abdel Aziz Adam Al-Hilu - leader of main opposition group in the state
- is under arrest.
JPEG - 14.1 kb
Sudan President Omar Al-Bashir (Getty)
Al-Bashir made his inflammatory statement less than a week since his
government inked an AU-moderated agreement with the northern sector of
the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) as a
precursor to reaching a ceasefire deal in South Kordofan which has
been ravaged by weeks of localised violence between North Sudan army
and SPLM forces.
Following Friday prayers at a mosque in the capital Khartoum,
Al-Bashir said he had commanded the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) not to
cease its military offensive in South Kordofan until it “purges” the
area and “arrests and brings to trial the rebel” Abdul Aziz Adam
Al-Hilu for the “crimes of terrorizing civilians and killing of
innocent people.”
Al-Hilu is the leader of the SPLM in South Kordofan and the former
deputy governor who refused to concede his defeat in the state’s
gubernatorial elections to the incumbent governor Ahmad Harun of the
ruling National Congress Party (NCP).
The veteran SPLM leader and the state’s deputy governor alleged the
vote was rigged in favor of Ahmad Harun and thus declared the SPLM’s
non-recognition of the result. Independent election observers endorsed
the result despite controversial voter registration and constituency
demarcation in the run-up to the poll.
Following the contentious elections, fighting erupted in early June
between SAF and SPLM forces. It is not clear what ignited the
confrontation but the SPLA claimed it was because SAF had attempted to
disarm its fighters while SAF alleged that it responded to a raid by
SPLA members on a local police station.
The fighting escalated alarmingly as SAF applied the use of heavy
artillery and aerial bombardment to put out what the Khartoum
government now characterises as an all-out rebellion.
More than 70,000 people have been displaced by the violence, the UN
said, amid reports of widespread abuses committed by SAF specifically
against the ethnic Nuba population of South Kordofan.
The framework agreement on South Kordofan and the Blue Nile stipulates
that the NCP would recognise the right of the SPLM to continue "as a
legal political party” in north Sudan.
Also, the NCP and SPLM-North agreed to form a joint political
committee to ensure that "the issue of governance in South Kordofan
shall be discussed and resolved amicably ... within thirty days".
The agreement further states that the two sides should begin working
on a cease-fire and allow humanitarian access into Southern Kordofan.
The accord also stipulates that SPLA fighters in the North “shall be
integrated, over a time period and with modalities to be agreed, into
the Sudan Armed Forces” and that “any disarmament shall be done in
accordance with agreed-upon plans and without resorting to force.”
Meanwhile, the state’s governor Ahmad Harun said that the government
was fighting “a legitimate battle of self-defense” in South Kordofan.
Addressing supporters on Friday in Kadugli, he said that government
forces would not hesitate to use “any kind of weapon to defend the
security of citizens.”
Some rights groups accused SAF of using weapons banned under
international laws. On 25 June, Amnesty International said it had
received reports of “freshly laid” landmines around Kadugli. The
organisation warned that these mines pose a threat to civilians
returning to the area.
(ST)
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