CPA: JDB Working Well, OAGs Still a Problem

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001811

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS SU
SUBJECT: CPA: JDB Working Well, OAGs Still a Problem


1. (U) SUMMARY: On July 18, the Technical Committee of the Joint
Defense Board (JDB) addressed the Assessment and Evaluation
Commission (AEC) and reported that establishment and deployment of
the Joint Integrated Units (JIUs) was almost complete, although
training remained an issue. The Sudanese Peoples' Liberation Army
(SPLA) is no longer in the north, and the redeployment of Sudanese
Armed Forces (SAF) out of the south is well ahead of schedule, but
still "tricky" around the oil fields.


2. (SBU) The committee emphasized that other armed groups (OAGs)
would remain a threat until the OAG Commission had counted them and
a proper Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR)
program begins. After being pressed, the SAF admitted to continuing
to support the unaligned OAGs with food and medicine, although not
weapons, until the DDR process is complete. For the Lord's
Resistance Army (LRA),the committee said that the JIUs, SPLA, and
SAF are developing a plan to quickly deal with the LRA if talks
fail. End Summary.

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JDB Working Well, JIUs in Place
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3. (U) Comprised of eight members split evenly between SAF and
SPLA, the Technical Committee is responsible for the day-to-day
operations of the JDB. Its offices are now fully operational and it
is supported by a staff of 42. During the presentation, the
committee members from both sides worked well together and clearly
had established a good rapport.


4. (U) The committee explained that it had now established many of
the ground rules for the JIUs, including uniform design, insignia,
pay (75 percent premium pay),code of conduct, and method of
operations. The two issues that remained were equipment --
currently all JIU troops bring the equipment issued them by their
respective armies, leading to inequities -- and training. Training
was more difficult because they had no budget and therefore no way
to plan. Without joint training, they opined, the units could not
really function as an integrated whole. The only joint training
that had taken place so far was demining training in Kenya, and
those groups were already starting to map minefields and begin
work.


5. (U) Virtually all 39,500 JIU troops, evenly split between SAF
and SPLA, were now deployed and salaries were being paid. The
breakdown of deployed JIU troops is as follows: 24,000 in Southern
Sudan, 6,000 in Nuba Mountains, 6,000 in Southern Blue Nile, 3,000
in Khartoum (in Soba and Jebel Aulia),and 600 in Abyei.

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Redeployment Ahead, But Not Around Oil Fields
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6. (U) The Technical Committee said that redeployment was now well
ahead of schedule, with all SPLA troops withdrawn from the north and
almost all SAF troops out of the south. The SAF had completely
pulled out of greater Equatoria and the last contingent of SAF in
greater Bahr Al-Ghazal was awaiting redeployment. The committee
said the SAF headquarters in Juba and Wau had been turned over to
the JIUs and the headquarters in Malakal would be transferred soon.
Redeployment in the greater Upper Nile region was further behind,
and the oil fields were the la!(pent to the oil
field regions.


7. (SBU) The oil fields remain a potential trouble spot, with a
relatively small area hosting troops from JIUs, SAF, SPLA, OAGs
aligned to either the SAF or the SPLA but not integrated, unaligned
OAGs, and other northern security forces. A few days after the
presentation, this was highlighted by a small misunderstanding
between a SAF soldier and some OAGs that turned deadly. COMMENT:
The fact that the incident was dealt with quickly and did not lead
to further escalation is a testament to the level of confidence
between the SPLA and the SAF. END COMMENT.

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OAG Major Threat to Peace
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8. (U) Both the SAF and SPLA representatives agreed that OAGs
remained a major threat to peace, and would remain a problem until
the CPA's mandated OAG committee was formed and a full DDR program
could proceed. The OAG committee was charged with counting all
OAGs, recording their status -- SAF-aligned, SPLA-aligned, or to be
disarmed -- and mapping them. The committee estimated that there
were 45,000 OAG troops at the end of the war, most under the banner
of the South Sudan Defense Force (SSDF) and supported by the SAF.
Of these, 15,000 are being integrated into the SPLA and 6,000 have
declared for the SAF. The SAF will redeploy 3,000 of these troops
north, with the remaining 3,000 assigned to JIUs: 1,000 in each of

KHARTOUM 00001811 002 OF 002


the south's three regions. That left 19,000 which remained
unaligned. The SAF explained that while they supported these groups
in the war, they had no capacity to integrate them and the groups
had refused to move north.


9. (SBU) The SAF representatives then admitted that they were
continuing to provide support for these 19,000 troops in the form of
food and medicine. In a shift from the overwhelming congenial tone
of the meeting, the SPLA representatives responded with alarm and
said that they had not heard this before. One SPLA representative
explained he was from Pibor, where the SSDF is causing problems, and
that any support to this OAG allows it to operate more easily. The
SAF responded that it would continue to do this until DDR takes
place, because the alternative, a hungry and sick armed group, was
worse. They emphasized that no arms were being provided, only
humanitarian assistance.

STEINFELD