CAIRO, 9 May 2003 — The Arab League is seeking an active role in pushing peace and reconstruction in war-torn Sudan after making its first visit to the south of the country in 50 years for talks with the main rebel group, a senior official said. Samir Hosni, the head of the 22-member League’s Arab Cooperation Department who led the delegation to southern Sudan, told Reuters he was convinced the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) was serious about peace and wanted Africa’s largest country to remain unified.

Some Arab states, especially Sudan’s northern neighbor Egypt, have been concerned that the peace talks between the Sudanese government and rebels, which began last year, could lead to southern secession and instability in their backyard. About two million people have been killed since war began in 1983. The rebels want south Sudan, which is largely animist or Christian, to have more autonomy from the mostly Muslim north.

“The objective of this visit to the southern part of Sudan and the meeting with the SPLM leadership ... was to build confidence between the Arab League and the SPLM ... I think the mission achieved the goal,” Hosni said. He said the SPLM welcomed having “an active role for the Arab League and member states in the political field, and in economic and developmental aspects in southern Sudan”.

The delegation held talks with SPLM leader John Garang and other leading officials in southern Sudan last week, the first such mission to the area since 1953. The trip followed talks between Garang and League chief Amr Moussa in Cairo last month.

Analysts said the visit was a sign the Arab League now considered the rebels as equals with member state Sudan in the peace process. “I am assured that the SPLM is serious about reaching a peaceful solution to the crisis in Sudan,” Hosni said.

Last year, the two sides agreed to allow the south a referendum on secession after a six-year transitional period. Several other key issues, such as the control of oil and division of political power, remain unresolved.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese Army warned yesterday that independence for the south of the country would have a negative impact on neighboring countries and Arab national security.

Official spokesman for the Sudanese armed forces Lt. Gen. Mohammad Bashir Sulieman also claimed in an interview with the Egyptian Middle East News Agency that Israel was providing support for the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Sudan (PMLS), a southern liberation movement.

He said, “Israel is the real threat for the Arab world and will remain the supporting element for any activity against Sudan. It is true that it supports the rebel movement in training, planning, running battles and finance. The PMLS has admitted that in the south and east of Sudan.”