South Sudan ‘backs Darfur rebels’

An adviser to Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir has accused southern leaders of training rebels from Darfur in order to destabilise the north.

Mustafa Ismail Osman was responding to accusations from the south that the north was stirring up trouble ahead of southern independence in July.

He warned the south that its support for Darfur would not be tolerated.

Tensions are again rising between north and south, after years of war which left some 1.5 million people dead.

The SPLM party, which fought Khartoum for decades until a 2005 ceasefire and now runs the south, has recently accused the north of backing rebel groups in the south and suspended talks about secession.

It has dismissed Mr Osman’s allegations.

The western region of Darfur, which will remain part of the north, has faced its own rebellion since 2003.

‘Nonsense’

One of the militia groups fighting the SPLM in South Sudan is led by Gen George Athor who went into rebellion after losing elections last year to be governor of Jonglei state, which he contested as an independent candidate.

Mr Osman told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme that the Khartoum government had nothing to do with supplying Gen Athor with arms, although he said they may have come from the north.

“But we warn the southerners, instead of discussing with us who is supporting Athor… it should be asked: ‘What are you doing with Darfur rebels?'” he said.

“We already told them if you’re going to destabilise the north, the north doesn’t need to come to south in order to destabilise the south.

“We cannot tolerate the south to try to destabilise the north – and we’ll just sit down and watch.”

Paul Akaro, the SPLM’s UK spokesman, said it was “nonsense” to think the southern government would support the Darfur rebels.

He said it was impossible as Juba lacked the resources to support any military activities and it backed the peace process for Darfur.

“When we accused the north, we accused them on the basis of evidence,” he told the BBC.

“They are trying to impose instability in the south in order for them to continue pumping oil to the north – that’s unacceptable.”

Gen Athor’s group signed a ceasefire just before January’s independence referendum but fighting resumed in February and hundreds have been killed.

President Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes in connection with the conflict in Darfur, has promised to recognise the south’s independence.

Sudan: A country divided

The great divide across Sudan is visible even from space, as this Nasa satellite image shows. The northern states are a blanket of desert, broken only by the fertile Nile corridor. Southern Sudan is covered by green swathes of grassland, swamps and tropical forest.

Sudan’s arid northern regions are home mainly to Arabic-speaking Muslims. But in Southern Sudan there is no dominant culture. The Dinkas and the Nuers are the largest of more than 200 ethnic groups, each with its own traditional beliefs and languages.

The health inequalities in Sudan are illustrated by infant mortality rates. In Southern Sudan, one in 10 children die before their first birthday. Whereas in the more developed northern states, such as Gezira and White Nile, half of those children would be expected to survive.

The gulf in water resources between north and south is stark. In Khartoum, River Nile, and Gezira states, two-thirds of people have access to piped drinking water and pit latrines. In the south, boreholes and unprotected wells are the main drinking sources. More than 80% of southerners have no toilet facilities whatsoever.

Throughout Sudan, access to primary school education is strongly linked to household earnings. In the poorest parts of the south, less than 1% of children finish primary school. Whereas in the wealthier north, up to 50% of children complete primary level education.

Conflict and poverty are the main causes of food insecurity in Sudan. The residents of war-affected Darfur and Southern Sudan are still greatly dependent on food aid. Far more than in northern states, which tend to be wealthier, more urbanised and less reliant on agriculture.

Sudan exports billions of dollars of oil per year. Southern states produce more than 80% of it, but receive only 50% of the revenue, exacerbating tensions with the north. The oil-rich border region of Abyei is to hold a separate vote on whether to join the north or the south.