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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

UN reintegration program underway for rebels in southern and northern Sudan

CAIRO Ñ After more than 20 years of fighting, Sudanese rebels have begun the process of integration into the southern-based military.   

The United Nations has been supporting and overseeing a plan to integrate former Sudanese rebels into both the military and civilian life. About 35,000 members of the Sudan People's Liberation Army have been targeted for the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration program, which formally began on June 10.

"This is one of the most complex and largest DDR operations of its kind in the world," UN peace-keeping mission chief in Sudan Ashraf Qazi said.


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Still, many in southern Sudan expect a renewal of the conflict with the Khartoum regime. The southern government was believed to be accumulating weapons and accelerating training to enhance its military.

"The government of Southern Sudan's security decision-making continues to be driven by what it perceives to be the unresolved conflict with the north," the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey said.

[On June 14, the United Nations reported the killing of at least 40 south Sudanese soldiers and civilians in an ambush on international relief river barges. The casualties were said to have included soldiers from SPLA.]

The $385 million UN reintegration program, launched on June 11 in Juba, has been regarded as key to the 2005 accord that ended civil war in southern Sudan in which two million people died. The program does not include the current revolt in the eastern province of Darfour.

In February 2009, the UN began a similar process of integrating rebels in northern Sudan. Under DDR, 180,000 northern fighters would be assisted and trained to reenter civilian life.

Western diplomats said implementation of the 2005 agreement has been slow amid tribal rivalry and violence. The agreement was also meant to integrate rebels in northern Sudan.

Officials said rebels in both the north and south have not begun talks with the Khartoum regime on a reduction of forces. The Sudanese military has also not withdrawn from these areas.

"DDR is one of the many components of the peace process," UN deputy coordinator for southern Sudan Lise Grande said. "Its success depends also on the achievement of all the other benchmarks of the CPA [comprehensive peace agreement]."

Another snag has been disagreement between Khartoum and former rebels over the division of crude oil fields. The southern Sudanese government has insisted that it must control oil fields to ensure revenue for reconstruction.

Under the accord, elections would be held in February 2010. One year later, southerners would be allowed to vote on a referendum on whether to secede from Khartoum.

The southern Sudanese government said the drop in the price of oil has reduced revenues allocated for reconstruction as well as integration of the rebels. In May 2009, Southern President Salva Kiir said projected revenues in 2009 were already down by 50 percent.

The Kiir government has pledged $30 million for the program. Donor nations have pledged another $88 million.

"This funding will be specifically for the provision of good-quality, environmentally sustainable, low-cost homes for ex-combatants," Southern Sudanese Minister of Cabinet Affairs Luka Monoja said. "The money will enable suitable ex-combatants to gain the skills they need to take the lead in building such homes for their colleagues."



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