Washington, MAy 06: US envoy Scott Gration is telling the Sudanese there “is no time to waste” to solve all the problems before a 2011 referendum that could split Sudan into two states, officials said Wednesday.
Gration was this week meeting Sudanese government leaders in the capital Khartoum and leaders in the autonomous south about how to act quickly to shore up the fragile 2005 north-south Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
“That’s Scott’s message in the region this week. We face a very steep hill towards the referendum in January,” State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.
“And should the south vote to secede, it’s only six months from that point to where you have the emergence of a new country,” Crowley said.
“So there’s no time to waste. There’s a lot of very complex and important issues that have to be resolved. Border demarcation… how to resolve and share energy resources within Sudan,” he said.
Under the CPA, the Sudanese are set to hold a referendum in January on whether the south will remain part of Sudan.
“We have to be prepared for a vote that will lead to a new country in January 2011,” Crowley said. “That is a very distinct possibility.”
The Sudanese are also set to hold a referendum next year on the status of the contested oil-rich region of Abyei.
Gration spent Monday and Tuesday in Khartoum for talks with the government of Omar al-Beshir, who was re-elected president in last month’s multi-party polls, the first in 24 years.
The credibility of the election was undermined by opposition boycotts, allegations of fraud and questions from international monitors about transparency.
Gration was in Juba on Wednesday to consult the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the southern Sudanese government.
On the last leg of a trip ending May 9, Gration will leave Friday for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to participate in African Union meetings on Sudan.
Twenty-six killed in south Sudan tribal fighting
Meanwhile, clashes over livestock between members of two large tribes killed 26 people in the south Sudan state of Warrap on Wednesday, a senior officer in the south Sudan armed forces said.
“Nuer coming from Mayom county (in the southern state of Unity) attacked Dinka in (neighbouring) Warrap state. Eleven Nuer were killed and 15 Dinka,” said Malaak Auyen Ajok, spokesman for the former rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army.
“This involved fighting over livestock,” he said, adding that no more details were immediately available.
The Nuer and the Dinka, each divided into clans, are the two most important tribes in south Sudan.
The Sudanese press in recent days has spoken of increasing tensions between armed groups in Warrap in the mainly Christian and animists south.
Speaking of the same incident, the United Nations’ Miraya FM radio said 20 people had been killed in East Tonj and North Tonj counties in Warrap.
The southern region is plagued by local clashes between rival ethnic groups, often sparked by cattle rustling and disputes over natural resources, with others in retaliation for previous attacks.
More than 400 people have been killed across the south in cattle raids and revenge attacks this year alone, according to the United Nations.
Among them, more than 140 people have been killed in Warrap, one of the most violence-ridden states.
—Agencies