The Citizen (Juba)
18 December 2011
The Citizen has learned from its correspondent in Khartoum, the Sudan capital that the authorities there despite protests from South Sudan government and the leadership of South Sudanese University Students Union in Juba against such gross abuse of human rights continue earth scorching search for IDPs and students for compulsory recruitment in militia armies.
The latest report says rebel leaders George Athor and James Gai were seen desperately supervising the forced recruitment of IDPs and university students to their ranks with the help of Khartoum authorities who have assigned special police contingent to help the rebels in capturing the abled bodied persons from IDP transit camps and university campuses for their forced recruitment.
Some students who were abducted from university gates and taken to collection centres before their transportation in large military trucks availed by Sudan armed forces SAF were followed by their relatives who are still in Khartoum and bailed out by paying 2000 SSP per head before they were released. The correspondent said paying ransom money was not a guarantee for not being captured again for recruitment because the same student could still be abducted and when the relative no longer can afford to bail him out by paying another 2000 SSP then he would be forcibly taken to any of the training camps notably Karasana, Abujebia, Magnis and other camps in the states bordering South Sudan. Places like Karasana belong to South Sudan but are occupied by SAF.
Many IDPs captured several weeks ago have been taken to the training camps leaving their families stranded in the transit camps as they have been registered for transport to South Sudan. As the forced conscription of the university students goes on in Khartoum and other towns in Sudan, life has become very miserable for these young people who are living in precarious conditions not knowing when they will be rounded up again for the forced recruitment. As regards the IDPs, our correspondent said their transit camps are raided frequently and many abled bodied men are captured and immediately transported against their will to the training camps.
The correspondent described one scenario in which a student in a university in Khartoum was caught at the main gate as he tried to enter the campus by a group of Southern militia helped by Khartoum special force police but was later bailed out by a relative who paid a certain an announced amount of money to the militia leaders.
During his capture, the student was quoted to have asked the militia gang leader, “Who are you?” the militia gang leader did not give an immediate answer but people accustomed to their slogan said the group belonged to the so-called ‘forces for independence of South Sudan and defence of petroleum of South Sudan”. But many analysts and sceptics say the militia situation will be short-lived because it is concentrated in particular communities and particular areas and is highly unpopular to political conscious and patriotic people of South Sudan even in the areas the self-styled militia leaders come from.
One political analyst described the militia movement as a drying lake which has no rivers feeding it with water and its final destiny is to completely dry up to mark its ultimate end.
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