KHARTOUM, 5 June 2004 — International observers heading for Sudan’s Darfur region to monitor a cease-fire yesterday signed an agreement with the government setting out the terms of their mission, the Sudanese news agency SUNA reported. The deal was signed on behalf of the government by Abdel Wahab Al-Sawy, the director of the African Union department at the Foreign Ministry, SUNA said.
It notably sets out the relationship between Khartoum and the cease-fire committee in Darfur and gives the observers free entry into Sudan and free movement inside the country. The observers are expected to arrive in the impoverished western Sudanese region where a rebellion broke out in February 2003 on Saturday to begin their mission. The Sudanese government and the rebels signed a cease-fire on April 8, also agreeing to deployment of African Union (AU) observers. But both sides accuse each other of having violated the deal.
Meanwhile, aid officials said yesterday that relief agencies delivered tons of food aid to thousands made homeless by fighting in the isolated Shilluk Kingdom after Sudan granted a three-day window for the airlift. The United Nations estimates up to 70,000 people have been driven from their homes in the Upper Nile region since the army and government-backed militiamen began fighting Sudanese rebels there in March.
Aid agencies said the already desperate situation could worsen as the rainy season approaches. “It’s quite clear, though we were able to access 24,000 people, there are many thousands more who remain out of our reach at this time,” World Food Program spokesman Marcus Prior said in Nairobi.
WFP said it delivered more than 370 tons of food, but two aid flights were cancelled because the government’s “window” had closed. A similar aid effort was cancelled last week because of a military operation in the region. Prior said aid workers who visited Shilluk this week found devastated communities.
The Arab League has earmarked $200 million for the reconstruction of southern Sudan, devastated by 21 years of civil war, the organization’s head, Amr Moussa, announced yesterday. “The money has already been earmarked, not pledged anymore. Feasibility studies for projects are underway,” Moussa, an Egyptian former foreign minister, told a press conference in Nairobi, where he is due to attend today’s formal launch of the final phase of peace talks for southern Sudan.
“As for the future work in the field of reconstruction, it will have to be coordinated with other donors on one side and the government of Sudan that will be established in accordance with the new (final) agreement. “We are ready, we will be very active in this, we will participate in all activities to reconstruct the south,” he added.
Khartoum and Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) last week signed three accords on the last issues that were standing in the way of a final peace deal to end the conflict, leaving only details of a ceasefire and implementation modalities.
