---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: John Ashworth <[email protected]> Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2011 08:36:50 +0300 Subject: [sudan-john-ashworth] Fw: Blue Nile's elected governor dismissed To: Group <[email protected]>
1. Blue Nile: Sudan declares state of emergency BBC 2 September 2011 Last updated at 20:50 GMT Sudan has declared a state of emergency in Blue Nile after fighting broke out in the state, on South Sudan's border. State media said President al-Bashir had also appointed a military governor. The party of elected Governor Malik Agar earlier said soldiers had attacked his official residence. The army blamed the fighting on the ex-rebel commander. Blue Nile is the third border area to see fighting since South Sudan gained independence in July. In South Kordofan some 200,000 have fled their homes. The government has denied charges its forces have carried out ethnic cleansing in the area against groups seen as being pro-south. On Tuesday, Sudan's government lodged a complaint with the UN Security Council, accusing South Sudan governing party of backing rebels in South Kordofan, which the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) denies. There has also been fighting in Abyei, which is claimed by both sides. The BBC's James Copnall in Juba says this is the first major outbreak of fighting in Blue Nile since the north-south conflict ended in 2005. But he says the region was always a high risk state because it borders South Sudan and is split between supporters of President Omar al-Bashir's government and the SPLM. Blue Nile Governor Malik Agar heads the SPLM-North party and is an ex-commander of the rebels who now govern South Sudan. 'Tanks and militia' Sudan said Mr Agar's forces launched attacks on police stations and government buildings in the state capital, Damazin. "The Sudanese Armed Forces responded to this attack and has now driven the rebels away. The government now controls Damazin and the area around it," government spokesperson Rabbie Abdelatti told the BBC. A local resident said government tanks were patrolling the city and forces loyal to Mr Agar had withdrawn from the city. SUNA news agency later reported: "President Omar al-Bashir declared a state of emergency in Blue Nile state and named a military commander in the Damazin area as military governor of the state." Many residents have fled Damazin because they fear the violence could escalate, the resident said. He and a UN source told the BBC fighting flared up on Thursday night and shooting could still be heard in Damazin on Friday. The SPLM-North, which says it has split from the south's ruling party, says the army moved into strategic positions of Damazin with 12 tanks and 40 other armoured vehicles backed up by militia fighters. It accused the government of declaring a surprise ceasefire in South Kordofan last week to prepare the ground for an attack in Blue Nile. The SPLM led the decades-long struggle which culminated in independence for South Sudan. When a peace deal was signed in 2005 to pave the way for the South's independence, the SPLM and Khartoum agreed Blue Nile and South Kordofan would have "popular consultations" about their future. But these did not take place properly, leading to an increase in tensions and now clashes, our reporter says. War crimes Mr Agar recently warned Khartoum of the dangers of taking on rebels in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur because they were likely to co-ordinate their efforts. Opposition groups in the three areas accuse Khartoum of ethnic cleansing and failing to give them a fair share of the national wealth. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Mr Bashir and the South Kordofan governor over the conflict in Darfur, accusing them of genocide and war crimes. Mr Bashir denies the allegation and says the ICC is controlled by Western powers hostile to Sudan. Last month, a UN report said both government and rebel forces may have committed war crimes in South Kordofan, but it said the army's actions were "especially egregious" - referring to summary executions, aerial bombardments and the shelling of neighbourhoods. When South Sudan split from the north on 9 July, the new country's leader, Salva Kiir, said he would work with Mr Bashir to ensure the rights of former southern rebels in the north were respected. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14760824 END1 2. Clashes erupt in flashpoint Sudan border state Fri Sep 2, 2011 10:01pm GMT * Many backers of south's top political group in Blue Nile * Sudan government, south-aligned officials trade blame * Similar clashes led to escalation in South Kordofan * U.N. chief Ban alarmed by escalating violence By Khalid Abdelaziz and Hereward Holland KHARTOUM/JUBA, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Sudan's army and forces aligned to South Sudan clashed on Friday in a Sudanese state on the border with the newly independent south, prompting what witnesses said was an exodus of people from the state capital. Sudan's Blue Nile state is home to many supporters of the south's dominant Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). Khartoum has previously threatened to disarm southern-aligned fighters in Blue Nile state. Witnesses contacted by telephone said many residents fled al-Damazin, the state capital where clashes erupted, by vehicle, horse, donkey or foot. Some said thousands fled. An SPLM official said there was a "massive" movement of people. There was no immediate official comment on any exodus. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced alarm at violence. Ban is "deeply concerned about the deterioration of the security situation in Southern Kordofan and the eruption of fighting in Blue Nile State," a U.N. statement said. "The Secretary-General urges the parties to immediately cease all hostilities and allow access to the humanitarian agencies to all affected areas," it added. U.N. peacekeepers who used to patrol the north-south border are pulling out because Khartoum withdrew its consent. The mandate for the 10,000-strong blue-helmeted UNMIS force, which is separate from a joint U.N.-African Union force in Darfur, lapsed on July 9 and has not been renewed. Sudan's government announced a state of emergency in Blue Nile and said it was appointing a military ruler for the state, the official news agency SUNA. It said it had dismissed the state governor, who is a member of the SPLM's northern branch. AIR RAID The SPLM condemned the decision to fire the governor. "The Sudanese army started the attack on our positions," Malik Agar, Blue Nile governor told Reuters by telephone before the decision to relieve him of his post was announced. He accused Khartoum of planning the attack because it moved soldiers and 12 tanks to al-Damazin shortly before the clashes. Agar also said the Sudanese government launched air raids on an area around the Blue Nile town of Kormok, saying a woman and child were killed. Another SPLM official said four had been killed in aerial attacks, including two women. Sudanese army spokesman Al-Sowarmy Khalid Saad told Reuters that SPLM forces attacked Sudan's army late on Thursday in and around al-Damazin. The army responded and was now in control. There was no immediate government comment on any air raid. Similar clashes and mutual accusations about who was to blame have led to an escalation in violence in South Kordofan, another state in the north that is on the southern border. Thousands previously fled violence in another hotspot, Abyei. Agar earlier told SUNA clashes erupted between the SPLM-aligned forces at the entrance of al-Damazin and the Sudanese army forces during the night of Thursday to Friday and spread. South Sudan split from the rest of the country in July after a referendum on secession, part of the 2005 peace deal that ended decades of conflict between north and south. The separation was relatively smooth but tensions simmer. Under the 2005 deal, residents of Blue Nile and South Kordofan were offered "popular consultations" to determine ties to Khartoum. These have not been completed. "(Khartoum's) objective is to knock out the SPLM-North before they become a serious military force," Chris Phillips from the Economist Intelligence Unit told Reuters by telephone. He said Khartoum might see the group as a new secessionist threat to Sudan, which also faces a rebellion in Darfur. Yasir Arman, secretary-general of the SPLM's northern branch, said in a statement that the Sudanese army attacked the residence of Al-Jundi Suleiman, commander of the joint integrated units in Blue Nile, and then other areas. "The offensive was later intensified to include all SPLA (Sudan People's Liberation Army) positions," he said. On the decision to sack the governor, Arman told Reuters: "This is a political and military coup against the constitution, the (2005 peace deal) and the will of the people who brought Malik Agar into government." He also said late on Friday there was a "massive" movement of people fleeing fighting to the countryside but was not able to give numbers. He called for the international community to impose a 'no-fly' zone to stop air raids in the area. Arman said Sudan was creating a new conflict with people's stretching from Darfur to Blue Nile along its southern border. In a statement carried by SUNA, the Sudanese government said it had ordered the SPLM to hand over those involved. It accused SPLM loyalists of attacking Sudanese army soldiers who were part of the integrated forces in Blue Nile. Fouad Hikmat of the International Crisis Group said Sudan's ruling party believed the SPLM in the north was "a threat for them politically, not just militarily and this could be a vanguard to mobilise the new South of the North of Sudan." One observer who has worked in Blue Nile and the south said southern-aligned forces in Blue Nile were indigenous to the region and, unlike southern army units that had to move south after secession, these units could not be moved out. (Additional reporting by Louis Charbonneau in New York; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by David Stamp and Cynthia Osterman) http://af.reuters.com/article/sudanNews/idAFL5E7K24NA20110902?sp=true END2 ______________________ John Ashworth Sudan Advisor [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +249 919 695 362 (Sudan mobile) +27 82 853 3556 (South Africa mobile) +44 750 304 1790 (UK/international) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation -- The content of this message does not necessarily reflect John Ashworth's views. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, John Ashworth is not the author of the content and the source is always cited. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sudan-john-ashworth" group. 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