From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Wed Oct 14 2009 - 12:25:18 EDT
Q+A: What is behind Sudan's violence?
Wed Oct 14, 2009 3:34pm GMT
KHARTOUM/JUBA, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Clashes this year in Sudan's south have
killed more people than in Darfur to the west. What has caused the spike in
violence?
WHY ARE PEOPLE FIGHTING?
North and south Sudan signed a peace deal in 2005 ending a civil war that
had raged on and off since 1955 over religion, ethnicity, ideology and oil.
That war was separate from Darfur's uprising, which began in 2003.
This year the United Nations estimates at least 1,200 people have died in
tit-for-tat raids in the south, with tribes burning villages, stealing
cattle and killing women and children. The violence has raised fears that
parts of the south may not be able to participate in elections, set for
April 2010.
Many of the deaths in the north-south war were southerners killing
southerners as Khartoum-supported militia fought the main southern rebel
group, the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M), which now leads
a semi-autonomous southern government.
Critics say this administration has not done enough to reconcile warring
tribes or disarm civilians who acquired weapons during the war.
WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW?
Tribes have long clashed over cattle but the intensity of this year's
violence has shocked observers.
South Sudan President Salva Kiir says his former northern foes are arming
tribes to destabilise the region ahead of next year's elections and a 2011
referendum on secession given to southerners under the peace deal.
Many of Sudan's biggest oil fields are in the south and this year's violence
has affected Jonglei state where French oil giant Total (TOTF.PA:
<http://af.reuters.com/stocks/quote?symbol=TOTF.PA> Quote) is licensed to
explore.
But some in the south say the answer is closer to home and blame rival
politicians looking for support ahead of Sudan's first democratic elections
in 24 years.
WHAT IS BEING DONE?
South Sudan has made several attempts to disarm civilians but with little
success. Poor handling of disarmament of warring tribes has caused more
violence, but many southerners feel disarmament is still the solution to
insecurity.
Analysts say it will only succeed if rural communities are protected by
police or soldiers and borders are patrolled to stop the flow of weapons. A
U.N. peacekeeping force in the south is supporting reconciliation efforts
between the tribes.
DARFUR:
Martin Agwai, the outgoing head of Darfur's joint U.N.-African Union
peacekeeping force, said the region was no longer in a state of war.
This was six years after mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms sparking a
brutal counter-insurgency campaign that resulted in what the United Nations
called the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Rebels from Sudan's south and western Darfur regions share similar
complaints of neglect by central government and demand more of a share in
development, power and wealth. But Darfur rebels felt the north-south deal
excluded them.
IS THE WAR OVER?
Many analysts agree that large-scale fighting has ended in Darfur, a
conflict described at its height by Washington as genocide, a term Khartoum
rejects.
But divisions among the rebels, disaffection among militias with the
government that mobilised them, and banditry in a region awash with arms
have led to a collapse in law and order.
Gunmen regularly attack aid groups, peacekeepers, civilians and even police,
while the perpetrators are rarely apprehended. This year has witnessed the
new phenomenon of young men kidnapping staff working for international
organisations and demanding ransoms.
Sporadic clashes between the government and rebels continue, usually as the
sides jockey for territory ahead of peace talks.
WHAT ABOUT A PEACE PROCESS?
Analysts say the world's largest U.N.-funded peacekeeping mission, known as
UNAMID, will be unable to stop attacks without a comprehensive peace deal
which addresses the concerns of rebels, militias and civilians.
Almost two years on, UNAMID is still not at full strength because of
logistical problems and obstacles from Khartoum. Donor nations have failed
to provide the equipment it needs, such as helicopters.
The international community has been unable to unify the rebels behind a
single peace process. Talks are set to resume in Qatar between the
government and the most militarily powerful rebel group, the Justice and
Equality Movement (JEM). (Reporting by Skye Wheeler and Opheera McDoom)
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