SUDAN: ALLEGED SAF ATTACKS OUTSIDE OF JUBA

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 002560 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE FOR AF/SPG E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MCAP SU SUBJECT: SUDAN: ALLEGED SAF ATTACKS OUTSIDE OF JUBA ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) sources say they have arrested 16 persons in connection with alleged Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)-related attacks near Juba that killed over 40 people in the last week. The Secretary General of the ruling Sudan People's Liberation SIPDIS Movement (SPLM) publicly accused the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) of fomenting the violence. Other Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) and SPLA officials acknowledge that the LRA played a role in the recent violence, but increasingly point to SAF. End Summary. -------------- SPLA Arrests 16 Suspects -------------- ¶2. (SBU) SPLA troops deployed in the village of Gumbo, just across the Nile from Juba, and arrested sixteen persons October 21. According to several GoSS officials, the detainees participated in two nights of violence in Gumbo that left 5-10 people dead. Some asserted that the detainees were also responsible for other attacks in the Juba region that left a total of over 40 people dead. ¶3. (SBU) All but one of those detained was Sudanese, according to a government source, and none were ethnic Acholi. Although the majority of LRA captives and combatants are ethnic Acholi from Uganda, their ranks also include Sudanese and Ugandans of other ethnicities. Some of the detainees, who reportedly were all picked up in the vicinity of Gumbo, were said to hold SAF identification cards. A senior government official offered to show us the identification card and a "SAF uniform" from one of the detainees. The sole female detainee, described by one official as a "captive," was released October 21. ¶4. (SBU) Eyewitnesses to some of the attacks say they were carried out by males and females in dreadlocks and shabby clothing. Others saw attackers in combat fatigues. The detainees picked up in Gumbo are all clean-shaven, according to a journalist who saw them. Others familiar with the situation in Gumbo said the SPLA had used heavy-handed tactics in searching the area and questioning residents. The detainees include a local chief and his son, who was reportedly wearing fatigues. Guns were found in the chief's house. Both guns and fatigues are not uncommon in the area. Journalists have pressed the GoSS to issue a definitive statement about who carried out the spate of attacks. ¶5. (SBU) Both the political and military leadership of the GoSS have been in protracted internal consultations about how to respond to the violence. While GoSS sources assert privately that both the LRA and the SAF had a role in the recent events, CG Juba has only heard one official accuse the SAF publicly, Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) Secretary General Pagan Amum, who made the charge in remarks SIPDIS broadcast over FM radio in Juba. -------------- Transportation Interrupted -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Road transportation from Juba to Kenya and Uganda along routes east of the Nile remained all but shut down October 21 because of the recent attacks. SPLA convoys reportedly escorted several vehicles along the Juba-Nimule road. Officials also shut down air traffic in and out of Juba's airport for the Museveni visit (septel). Museveni sent his presidential plane to Juba, but traveled separately in a helicopter. He was also accompanied by three Ugandan helicopter gunships. POWERS