_WORLD WATCH______________________________
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Sudan
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Rebel groups merge
Cease-fire in Nuba region
Christians from southern Sudan have welcomed the merger between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the Sudan People’s Democratic Front (SPDF), the two main groups fighting for autonomy from the central government in Khartoum.
The agreement between the two rebel groups could alter the complexion of the civil war in Sudan, according to some Church leaders. That conflict, which has resulted in thousands of casualties over a period of years, pits the Islamic regime in Khartoum against the Christians and adherents of native religions who dominate the country’s southern section.
“We cannot afford disunity,” said the Rev. Clement Janda, the general secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches. “Everybody loves peace, and this is something we as Church leaders from Sudan welcome.” He said that the pact between the two rebel groups could lead eventually to a similar agreement between the rebels and the Khartoum government. The search for peace in Sudan was boosted on January 19, when SPLM and the government signed a six-month cease-fire agreement. The pact covers only the Nuba Mountain region in the south, but observers agree that it could be the first step toward a broader negotiated peace.
Outside the Nuba region, however, the bloodshed in Sudan continued. Early in February, a weekend of bombing raids by government military planes left a trail of death and injury in Bahr El Ghazal, according to Christian Solidarity International (CSI). Reports from the scene indicated that bombs had been dropped as a crowd of civilians gathered at an airstrip for the distribution of UN food supplies.
In January, Sudan’s leader, General
Omar Bashir, reportedly turned down a
request by the US special envoy to Sudan, former Senator
John Danforth, to stop
bombing schools, hospitals, churches, and relief centers in southern Sudan.
Danforth subsequently told the press that the Khartoum government was engaged in
direct, intentional, and egregious attacks on civilians in the south.
Priest returns to face trial