South Sudan not satisfied with the African Union mediation of disputes…As Obama urges South Sudan restraint
7 min readObama urges South Sudan restraint
(AFP) –
WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama on Monday urged South Sudan in a telephone call with the young nation’s leader to show restraint following heavy border fighting with Khartoum’s forces.
In a call to US-backed South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir, Obama “expressed concern about the growing tensions” between the two nations including border clashes and bloodshed in Sudan’s Southern Kordofan state.
“President Obama underscored the importance of avoiding unilateral actions, and asked President Kiir to ensure that South Sudan’s military exercises maximum restraint and is not involved in or supporting fighting along the border, particularly in Southern Kordofan,” a White House statement said.
Obama pressed the two nations to reach an agreement on oil production. South Sudan took the drastic decision to halt its production in January after Sudan started to seize crude due to a payment dispute.
Obama also voiced hope that Kiir would soon meet with Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir after last week’s clashes prompted Khartoum to call off a summit.
“President Obama welcomed President Kiir’s commitment to moving forward with a summit and to finding peaceful solutions for Sudan and South Sudan,” the White House said.
Bloody clashes including airstrikes, tanks and heavy artillery — the worst violence since South Sudan’s independence in July — had raised international concerns the former civil war foes could return to all-out war.
Fears are also growing about food shortages in Southern Kordofan, where humanitarian groups say a relentless bombing campaign by Khartoum has severely hampered agriculture.
Sudan has pinned the blame for the crisis on South Sudan, saying that it is arming ethnic insurgents in Southern Kordofan who are affiliated to what is now Juba’s leadership.
South Sudan: Sudan’s bombing of South Sudan scares away US, Chinese oil investors
“We will not be dragged into a senseless war,” he said.
Benjamin also complained that the African Union is not doing a satisfactory job mediating talks with Sudan. South Sudan is disappointed by an AU report to the U.N. Security Council that Benjamin said portrayed his country as the aggressor in hostilities between the two countries. He suggested that a regional bloc known as IGAD take over.
The seven-nation IGAD — the Inter Governmental Authority for Development — negotiated the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended a decades-long civil war between Sudan and South Sudan. That deal led to South Sudan’s secession from Sudan last year.
Among the unresolved issues from the split is the demarcation of the border and an agreement to share oil revenue.
Benjamin said South Sudan shutdown its oil production because Sudan had stolen million barrels of oil and increased oil transit fee through its pipeline to $36 a barrel. Benjamin said it was better that South Sudan’s oil stay in the ground.
Benjamin said that South Sudan will construct two pipelines — one to Kenya and one across Ethiopia into Djibouti. Benjamin said the South Sudan is also seeking international loans in order to fill in the budget deficit caused by the shutdown in oil production.
He said the despite the bombings South Sudan still would welcome Sudan President Omar al-Bashir to meet with South Sudan President Salva Kiir. A meeting scheduled between the two for Tuesday was canceled by Sudan.
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Voice of America
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