Sudan/EU - South Sudan independence

Church leader accuses hidden forces of disrupting peace process

Article published on the 2009-09-03 Latest update 2009-09-03 13:55 TU

Javier Solana (L) talks to Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak (R)
(Photo: Reuters)

The head of the Anglican church in Sudan says that armed groups are launching attacks in the south of the country to disrupt a peace agreement that ended a 20 year civil war.

Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army rebels are thought to be behind the attacks, which have displaced tens of thousands in Sudan’s Western Equatoria State. Witnesses say the attackers appear well trained with new automatic weapons and dressed in army uniforms.

But Bishop Daniel Deng Bul Yak believes there may be another hidden force trying to disrupt the peace agreement ahead of the crucial 2011 vote on secession.

“There is no reason to attack innocent people at the moment,” he told RFI. 

“There may be somebody, somewhere in the world able to do this so that the government in Southern Sudan is unable to protect their own people.”

He says that the United Nations has a presence in Sudan, but it is unclear what action they are taking.

“Everywhere, people are being killed”, he says. “This is why we are appealing to the UN and governments in the world like the US, Germany and Norway. They should come in now, so that peace can be implemented like it was written.”

Meanwhile, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana says he does not support independence for South Sudan.

Speaking to a press conference in Cairo, Solana said that it was “very important that the country remained unified”.

“I looked at the chart, I looked at the distribution of resources, I looked at the situation as a whole. I am for the unity of the country,” he said.

A referendum is due to take place in the semi-autonomous region in 2011 which could see the south become a separate state. High ranking political officials in Sudan have a 19 August deadline to solve disagreements about the north-south 2005 peace agreement, under the supervision of US emissary Scott Gration.

The two sides are currently locked in negotiations to discuss sensitive issues like the 2010 elections, the demarcation of the north and south border and peace efforts in the state of Darfur.