A Bad Weekend for the UN

By Emily Tholen

Sudan and South Sudan have both made trouble with the United Nations (UN) over the weekend. In Sudan, a team of United Nations peacekeepers had been sent to investigate the scene of an attack that occurred in the region of Darfur. However, the group was denied entry to the local by Sudanese military forces. There has been on and off fighting or attacks in Darfur ever since the fighting first broke out in 2003, this time it was reported that ten people had been killed in the attack.

In South Sudan, UN investigator Sandra Beidas was kicked out of the country when she published (what South Sudan is calling false) reports on the poor human rights South Sudan has been showing to it's people. This is not the first time South Sudan's ethics have been questioned, including reports of wrongdoing in the army and harming its citizens. The BBC reported that, "Hilde Johnson, head of the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), called the expulsion [of Beidas] a 'breach of the legal obligations of the government of the Republic of South Sudan under the charter of the United Nations'."

It will be interesting to see how or even if the UN handles these situations. From agreeing on borders, to arresting Sudan's president on war crime charges, Sudan and South Sudan have been leading the UN around for more than a few months now, not quite obeying anything it has ordered. When South Sudan kicked out Beidas direct action should have taken place by the UN, at the very least sending in another investigator or a group of investigators to check out the claims. The stopping of peacekeepers from entering Darfur should have also been dealt with immediately. People are getting killed, tortured or raped in both of these situation and the UN is just letting it happen.

Sudan & S. Sudan: Back to Their Old Ways

By Benjamin Larson

Sudan and South Sudan had been celebrating a time of peaceful independence between each other, but this time-span was short-lived due to the fact that on Monday October 8th shells were fired toward Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan in Sudan. Reports from both BBC.com and RadioDebanga.org quoted Damian Rance of the UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in saying that, “To our knowledge there were five mortar shells that landed inand around the town of Kadugli.” This town is on the outskirts of Abyei, the most disputed area in Sudan. As the situation was investigated it was found that one of the shells landed in the Unicef compound, but remained unexploded. Due to this, members of the UN and the IRIN have been moved as a “precautionary measure.” The toll from the violent strike resulted in 6 deaths and 23 injured Sudanese. Throughout the next few hours, fingers were pointed at many groups in both of the countries for the lethal attacks.

Arnu Ngutulu Lodi of the SPLM-N, the anti-Sudan rebels concerned about border areas, finally spoke up a few hours later and claimed that the attacks were from their people. On top of this, Lodi wanted to make it known that the attacks were “noton the people of Kadugi, but the military.” The SPLM-N has been countering government forces for many years and this specific attack was directed because of the Sudanese Ariel bombings that had took place over the Nuba Mountains a few weeks earlier. Another motive believed to be used is the fact that there was to be an important political meeting in Kadugli on Monday. This meeting was to have many UN, IRIN, and Sudanese leaders according toRadioDaBanga.org. Knowing the motives of the SPLM-N has commonly been anti-government; the timing of this event was thought to have come by no coincident.

As for reports by the UN, political leaders in the area, and myself in the past few days, a feeling of disappointment was inevitable. For two countries making strides toward great independence with borders now formed and economic policies now set, it seems like a major set-back. Though this is felt throughout the countries and many people’s hearts, there is a strong feeling in my mind that this kind of violence will happen much in the future. This belief is based on the past discrepancies and the history of the rebel groups in that area. All we can hope for is that war will not be in the mind of either of the countries and their militaristic powers.

Peace and Debt Deals in Sudan

By Emily Tholen

Some of the biggest news of the week came from Thursday as Sudan and South Sudan started signing peace deals after weeks of negotiations in Ethiopia. Under the terms agreed upon, South Sudan will be able to use the pipelines that flow through Sudan again, giving back South Sudan's its monetary mainstay. The currencies under each country will soon be able be able to exchange directly to each other and not through a dollar intermediate. This is a huge step forward with will call for Sudan and South Sudan to acknowledge banks from the other respective nation and will allow an ease of trade between the nations and help to dispel inflation which has been hitting both countries hard. In addition to the economic steps agreed upon, there has also been some forward movement with the border disputes. A demilitarized zone between Sudan and South Sudan has been approved by bother nations which should help dissipate some of the growing tension in whether or not fighting will resume. (Picture above: Negotiators Idris Mohammed Abdul Gadir (Sudan, Left) and Pagan Amum (South Sudan Right) after signing the deals) 

Despite all the headway Sudan and South Sudan made in the past week, the biggest issue of the deal talks, to which country Abyei will fall to, was not resolved. South Sudan's President Salva Kiir was quoted in a Reuter's article saying:

"'As for Abyei, it was very unfortunate that we could not agree. My government and I accepted unconditionally the proposal of the AUHIP (African Union panel) to the resolution of the conflict in Abyei'...'Unfortunetly, my brother Bashir and his government totally rejected the proposal in its totality.'"

The proposal drafted by the African Union (AU) was to ask the Abyei citizens to vote for which country they would like to be a part of. Decisions made by voting in the past have not worked well between Sudan and South Sudan as there is discrepancies on which part of the population should be allowed to vote. It is yet to see if any of the deals will hold true, as both countries have histories on not following through on their parts.

In the just over a year since South Sudan separated from Sudan, Sudan's national debt has now risen to forty billion dollars because of precious loss of oil resources. Sudan has now reached out to the United Nations (UN) to forgive the debts to help it recover, as Sudan will only require more money for importing necessities until oil will start flowing through their pipelines again. The International Monetary Fund has asked Sudan to talk to donors about taking off some of that debt, but nothing has been pushed through by the UN as of late.

Problems in Sudan

By Justin T. Bradshaw

After a twenty-one year civil war that began in 1983, South Sudan formally gained their independence from Sudan on July 9th,2011. Though this seceding was thought be the end of many conflicts between the two sides, new problems evolved in both nations.

When South Sudan left, they not only left behind their northern enemies, but also large groups of supporters in two Sudan states–Blue Nile and South Kordofan. These remaining rebels call themselves SPLM-North (Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North). Since South Sudan’s departure, much violence has occurred between SPLM-North and the Sudan government. Beginning in September of 2011 back and forth skirmishes have taken place between the two sides, resulting in large casualties of soldiers and civilians. The violence has already forced 417,000 to leave their homes, 80,000 of those fleeing to South Sudan.

While having to worry about being caught in the crossfires of war, the Sudan civilians are also having to battle a struggle on a different front. On January 4th of this year the UN received reports that both the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states are currently being faced with a terrible food crisis and malnutrition situation. Just five days ago, the United States representative to Sudan, Princeton Lyman, reported that “Half a million people will face an emergency bordering on famine by March if international humanitarian organizations are not allowed into areas of Sudan that are mired in conflict.”

South Sudan is also experiencing a very challenging crisis in their young nation as well. Starting in June of 2011 the Lou Nuer tribe and Murle communities have been constantly attacking and stealing cattle from one another.The raids left 1,000 dead and at least 100,000 displaced. However, over the past the past two months the violence has increased tremendously. In a raid against the Lou Nuer the Murle killed 3,000 and drove at least 50,000 more people from their homes.