"Clashes in disputed Sudan region kill 10" March 01, 2011|Associated Press
JUBA, Sudan — At least 10 people died when a militia attacked a police post in a disputed area of Sudan, a southern government official said yesterday.
Deng Arop Kuol, the top government official in the disputed border region of Abyei, said the attackers were supported by the northern Sudanese government, while tribesman involved said the southern government provoked the attack.
He said she said in Sudan.
The violence underscores the volatility between Sudan’s north and south ahead of the south’s independence in July. The two sides fought for more than two decades and the civil war claimed around 2 million lives before it ended in 2005....
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And if it is the north instigating this why would the south tell the U.N. to stay out?
"S. Sudan asks UN to avoid battle areas" March 12, 2011|Maggie Fick, Associated Press
JUBA, Sudan — Scores of villagers have died in recent fighting in southern Sudan despite the presence of 10,000 UN troops there to protecting civilians.
You know, that ALWAYS SEEMS to HAPPEN be it the Congo, Srebrenica, or anywhere else the U.N. plants an outpost.
After a while you get the feeling they are just there to keep an eye on resources.
Now, internal documents say UN officials have ordered the peacekeepers not to operate in an area where civilians are at risk in upcoming battles, after being asked to avoid the region by the south’s military.
Translation: They don't want you seeing war crimes.
Last month rebel troops attacked the town of Phom el-Zeraf over two days. Women and children ran for their lives — straight into a river, where many drowned or were shot to death. Some 240 people — mostly civilians — were killed.
Rebel troops?
Several hundred UN forces are stationed a 90-minute boat ride the town. But no UN forces responded until five days later.
A month later, the south’s Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Army has launched a campaign to stamp out an intractable rebel movement in the southern state of Jonglei, according to internal UN documents seen by the Associated Press this week.
And running women and children into the river is going to accomplish that how?
These are supposed to be the good guys who voted themselves independence?
The southern military has told the UN that more civilians could be put in harm’s way because of the military campaign, but according to internal UN security reports, the UN mission has agreed to follow a request from the southern military to suspend operations in the contested area inside Jonglei....
There is NO BUT for me when it comes to innocent people being killed, sorry.
But this one is U.N.-approved, so no howls of condemnation.
The UN declared those areas as “no-go zones’’ for the UN.
And NO-LIVE ZONES for people.
The UN also declared a no-fly zone over the territory.
That seems to be the chic thing to do these days.
The head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the south denied his mission followed orders when faced with the demands.
“We didn’t declare a no-go zone. What the military did say is that this should be a no-fly zone area,’’ David Gressly said yesterday. “That doesn’t mean that we accepted that. There’s a difference.’’
Maybe, but I'm not seeing it. Let me grab the magnifying glass.
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I didn't see it there, readers.
"Southern Sudan army repels attack
JUBA — A militia opposed to the Southern Sudanese government launched an overnight raid on a strategic town but was repulsed by Southern Sudanese forces yesterday, said army and UN officials. Fighting between Sudan People’s Liberation Army forces and a militia for a minority ethnic group started outside the capital of the border state of Upper Nile in the early-morning hours. The Southern army repulsed the attack on the city of Malakal. At least 30 rebels and four government soldiers were killed (AP)."
Guess the U.N. will just have to stick around, huh?
"Military tension builds in Sudan area" April 08, 2011|Associated Press
JUBA, Sudan — Helicopter gunships and tanks have been deployed by Sudan’s military near the disputed region of Abyei, a region that could spark renewed conflict between the north and south, a US group said yesterday. Thirteen people died elsewhere in tribal violence.
Southern Sudan voted overwhelmingly in January to secede from the north, and is slated to become the world’s newest country in July. But the region of Abyei is claimed by both sides, and both militaries have been building up resources around the central region.
The Satellite Sentinel Project is an initiative begun by actor and Sudan activist George Clooney that relies on satellite imagery. The group said that the northern Sudanese Armed Forces have deployed two Mi-24 helicopter gunships and at least nine T-55 tanks about 60 miles from Abyei’s border. Trucks with heavy armor have also been deployed....
Doing spy work for the government now?
This is no movie!
Last month the group reported that northern-aligned forces had razed three villages near Abyei, a fertile and oil-producing territory that northern cattle herders use for grazing....
Gee, WHO would be interested in OIL, huh?
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And wherever there is oil:
"Violence plaguing Southern Sudan, UN says" April 14, 2011|Associated Press
JUBA, Sudan — The United Nations said yesterday that more than 800 people have been killed and 94,000 displaced because of violence in Southern Sudan this year. A top official warned of a humanitarian crisis if the violence continues.
The violence followed a January referendum that saw the region vote to secede from the north.
That U.S.-sponsored plan was supposed to solve all the problems. I know because my AmeriKan media crowed about it.
Southern Sudan is slated to become the world’s newest country in July. But since that vote, the region has seen heavy violence....
How come Kashmir doesn't get a vote?
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"105 killed in clashes in southern Sudan" April 25, 2011|Associated Press
JUBA, Sudan — At least 105 people have died in violence between government forces and rebel militias in southern Sudan over the past week, an official said yesterday, raising concerns of instability ahead of the region’s independence declaration in July....
South will have to ask U.N. to stay. So much for independence.
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Also see:
Southern Sudan Votes on Secession
Southern Sudan Selects a Capital
