Sudan is said to have failed to honor an agreement to
implement a ceasefire in the Nuba mountains.
Sudanese experts told Congress that the Khartoum regime continues to
harass civilians and has not removed government troops from ceasefire areas
once controlled by the rebel Sudanese People's Liberation Army. They said
that Khartoum has in some cases simply replaced military troops with
so-called armed police, Middle East Newsline reported.
Over the weekend, a U.S.-led international military team launched its
mission to protect civilians in the Nuba mountains. The 20-member team is
led by retired U.S. Army general, Herbert Lloyd.
Roger Winter, an official of the U.S. Agency for International Aid
Development, said he was concerned that civilians would continue to be the
victims of Sudanese government attacks. Winter told Congress that more than
1.7 million people in Sudan have been unable to obtain food and other
humanitarian services because of the civil war.
"The Sudan government promised, in the Nuba agreement, to move some of
its garrisons in the Nuba Mountains," Jemera Rone, a representative of
Human Rights Watch told the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on African
affairs on July 11. "Five such garrisons have not be been moved and two or
three others have dragged their feet about leaving SPLM/A designated areas
as promised."
The Nuba ceasefire was reached in March and is regarded as the only area
where Sudanese government troops and rebel forces have actually halted
fighting. The United States and its European allies have tried to expand the
ceasefire to other areas of the war-torn south.
But Rone said the Khartoum regime is prepared for a resumption of
hostilities in Nuba. He said the regime has maintained the same number of
troops in the mountains, but merely replaced their uniforms from those of
soldiers to police.
"In recent months, access by international agencies to civilians in need
has eroded dramatically," Winter said. "There is a strong risk that we will
again witness the unnecessary deaths of tens of thousands of innocent
Sudanese."
