Kordofan could add to Sudan woes

Oct.17, 2007


Kordofan could add to Sudan woes

THE political crisis in Sudan sparked by the southerners' decision to quit the government and the escalation of violence in the western Darfur region has a graver dimension — it could trigger a a full-blown conflict in the oil-rich Sudanese region of Kordofan.
Reports say that Kordofan is already rife with discontent towards Khartoum, with an increasing number of groups claiming grievances very similar to those that led to the eruption of the Darfur revolt in early 2003. Kordofan residents complain that they have been for long neglected and marginalised. Unemployment is high in the area, leaving many young men there bitter and discontented. Shortcomings in the government's response to provide assistance and rehabilitation following recent floods there have raised the local residents' anger and frustration, reports say.
Darfur rebels are accused of trying to take their revolt to Kordofan and the Khartoum government is reportedly building a strong military forces there in order to counter the dissidents.
Haskanita, where 10 African Union (AU) peacekeepers were killed in September in an attack blamed on Darfur rebels, lies on the border with Kordofan. The attack followed a deadly raid against police inside Kordofan in August.
The oil-rich Abyei region, the status of which is still under dispute between the government and the southerners despite the 2005 north-south peace agreement, lies in South Kordofan. The unresolved question is whether the Abyei region belongs to the north or south. It is one of the key demands of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), which suspended its participation in the country's unity government last week. The SPLM is also demanding a re-shuffle of ministerial posts inside the coalition government. The group is very active and popular in the area. As such, the failure of efforts to end the standoff between the Khartoum government and SPLM would have an immediate impact on the brewing crisis in Kordofan.
UN mediation seems to have produced a small opening. The SPLM has agreed to find a common ground with the government and presented a list of its demands to the government. It is unclear how the government was responding to the demands.
The Arab World and Sudan's neighbours Africa as well as the UN — plus of course countries with vested interests in Sudan's oil resources — are anxiously watching how the situation develops.
One thing is clear: The collapse of the unity government in Khartoum would have serious consequences, with the added prospect of a violent flare-up in the Kordofan region that would be a big blow to hopes that the people of Sudan were slowly moving out of the days of misery and suffering.