South Sudan denies accusations of backing rebels in Southern Kordofan

Khartoum has voiced a complaint to the UN Security Council that its new neighbour, South Sudan, is inciting instability in the Nuba Mountains by providing weapons and logistical support to local residents who are loyal to Juba.

Both Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states were allies of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) during the country’s two-decade civil war.

Rabie Abdel Ati, a Sudanese government spokesman, said Khartoum has documented proof” that South Sudan sends aid to soldiers in Southern Kordofan, including weapons and tanks.

In response to the complaint filed on Tuesday, South Sudan’s government spokesman, Dr, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, said there was no element of truth” to Khartoum’s accusation.

SPLA-N fighters in the Nuba Mountains. Photo: Tomo Kriznar

Fighting in Southern Kordofan broke out when former fighters of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) were forced to disarm by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), the Sudanese national military.

This followed claims by the SPLM’s northern sector that Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) had rigged Southern Kordofan’s gubernatorial elections in May, declaring Ahmed Haroun as the winner instead of Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu, the SPLM candidate.

Like President Omar al-Bashir, Haroun is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity in Darfur, another volatile region that has been in war with the Sudan government for years.
 
Sudan is trying to find an excuse for its own failures,” Marial said, adding, (South Sudan’s) SPLM has no links with SPLM-North.”

Download the statement by South Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

A provision of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005 offered popular consultations to the people of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States to determine their future relations with Khartoum.

Marial said Sudan has failed to bring peace to these regions.
 
Last week, President Omar al-Bashir announced a two-week unilateral ceasefire in the areas, a move criticised by the SPLM-North as an organisational tactic to launch more deadly attacks on the people of the Nuba Mountains.

Human rights groups say al-Bashir’s government has already broken the ceasefire by continuing to attack civilians. SAF troops have also been accused of aerial bombardments from Antonov planes.

Nuba rebel leader Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu.            Photo: SPLM-North

The UN has called for an investigation into reports of human rights abuses. In a leaked report, the SAF is alleged to have carried out killings, arrests, abductions, and attacks on churches in the region since the conflict began. If proven, some of these acts could constitute war crimes.

Bashir’s government has dismissed the report as malicious” and formed committees to assess the situation in the area.

Activists have accused Khartoum of targeting ethnic Nubians in a move to stamp out any opposition. Some have said the attacks amount to ethnic cleansing.

In June, representatives of Khartoum and the states of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile signed an agreement in the Ethiopian capital to end the violence. The deal was brokered by former South African president Thabo Mbeki but has not yet taken effect.