‘The Sudanese seemed surprised about how strong they are. Four months of street protests had defeated the seemingly untouchable Bashir’
People in Sudan are determined to provide a new political path and need to guide candidates who want to lead the country
The secretary general of the former rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) said on Monday his country was on the brink of a new north-south civil war, and called on northern forces to leave a disputed oil town. ”We’re on the brink of war. Clashes have already happened,” SPLM secretary general Pagan Amum told a news conference.
Thousands of civilians fled clashes between Sudan’s former north-south civil war foes in the oil-rich central town of Abyei on Thursday. The clashes, sparked by a local dispute, highlight the tension in an area claimed by both Khartoum and South Sudan. More than three years after a 2005 peace deal, they have not agreed on borders or a local government for the region.
An unprecedented Darfur rebel attack on Khartoum is a turning point that could persuade Sudan’s rulers to negotiate seriously with their foes or push Africa’s biggest country towards disintegration. Sudan-watchers believe the key is international involvement and say much more pressure is needed on both rebels and the government.
Southern Sudan’s Minister of Defence and a presidential adviser were among at least 23 people killed on Friday in a plane crash blamed on engine failure, officials said. ”Two engines failed and there was nothing the pilot could do,” First Vice-President Salva Kiir told a news conference.
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/ 21 November 2007
Sudan’s president promised on Wednesday there would be no return to civil war in Africa’s biggest country in a speech that sought to calm tensions over a growing stand-off with the south. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir called on his political opponents to work with him ”for the homeland”.
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/ 4 November 2007
Sudan’s former foes have agreed on steps to implement a 2005 peace deal, First Vice-President Salva Kiir said on Sunday, indicating the country’s worst political crisis in years may be resolved soon. The announcement raised hopes that ministers from the former southern rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement’s will soon return to the national coalition government.
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/ 25 October 2007
Disarray in both government and rebel ranks makes quick progress unlikely in Darfur peace talks billed by the United Nations as a ”moment of truth” to stop four-and-a-half years of violence in western Sudan. The best that can be hoped at the gathering in Libya, which begins on Saturday, is agreement to meet again.
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/ 18 October 2007
Crisis talks between Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and southern leader Salva Kiir ended on Thursday without agreement on getting his former rebels to rejoin the unity government they quit a week ago. The meeting at the presidential palace in Khartoum came the day after al-Bashir authorised a Cabinet reshuffle.
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/ 18 October 2007
The two sides in Sudan’s national coalition meet on Thursday to try to salvage their fragile peace deal after disenchanted former southern rebels walked out of the government. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir will meet First Vice-President Salva Kiir, chairperson of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, in Khartoum.
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/ 13 October 2007
The United States fears that attacks in Darfur and an impasse in implementation of a peace agreement in southern Sudan threaten peace efforts throughout the embattled North African country. The rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement accused the central government on Thursday of failing to abide by the peace agreement.
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/ 12 October 2007
Sudan’s National Congress Party (NCP) of President Omar al-Bashir on Friday criticised the decision by former southern rebels to withdraw from the Khartoum government. "The heart of the problem is that a group within the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement wants to end our partnership," the northern NCP’s number two, Nafie Ali Nafie, said.
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/ 11 October 2007
The main party in southern Sudan has suspended its participation in the national government until its northern partners reignite a stalled peace process, the secretary general of the party said on Thursday. Pagan Amum of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) said: ”The SPLM has recalled all ministers and presidential advisers.”