Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KHARTOUM2572
2006-10-29 14:59:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Khartoum
Cable title:  

SUDAN: FIVE MORE DEAD IN JUBA VIOLENCE

Tags:  PREL PGOV MCAP ASEC UG SU 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO3266
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #2572/01 3021459
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 291459Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5054
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 002572 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR AF/SPG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV MCAP ASEC UG SU
SUBJECT: SUDAN: FIVE MORE DEAD IN JUBA VIOLENCE

REF: A. KHARTOUM 02527


B. KHARTOUM 02558

Classified By: CDA Eric Whitaker, Reasons: Section 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 002572

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR AF/SPG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV MCAP ASEC UG SU
SUBJECT: SUDAN: FIVE MORE DEAD IN JUBA VIOLENCE

REF: A. KHARTOUM 02527


B. KHARTOUM 02558

Classified By: CDA Eric Whitaker, Reasons: Section 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (U) SUMMARY: Five more persons were killed on the night
of October 26-27 in fighting just east of Juba. Sudan
People's Liberation Army (SPLA) commanders once again pointed
either to the -Sudan Armed Forces (SAF),Khartoum-backed
militia, or the Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) as
responsible for the violence. The dead reportedly were all
civilians. Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) President
Salva Kiir repeated his promised to make public the evidence
against 15 persons now under detention. Government sources
claim that at least some of the detainees are directly linked
to the SAF. Kiir said he had ordered the SPLA to "be
prepared" for more intense action against the attackers, and
SPLA leadership said a brigade was being deployed to
establish security east of the Nile and keep key roads open.
The GoSS mediation team at the LRA peace talks proposed that
the Ugandan army withdraw from most locations east of the
Nile to facilitate assembly of the LRA near the Uganda-Sudan
border. End Summary.

--------------
More Fighting
--------------


2. (C) Five persons were reported killed in fighting just
east of Juba on the night of October 26-27. Sporadic
automatic weapons fire was audible to residents of Juba. The
fighting lasted for approximately six and one-half hours,
from 8:00 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. SPLA Chief of Staff Maj. Gen.
Oyai Deng confirmed the deaths and confirmed that SPLA units
had been engaged in the skirmishes. Although he stated that
he believed the engagement involved the LRA, he repeated that
he believes SAF elements, the LRA, and remnants of the
Equatoria Defence Forces (EDF) are all involved in the
current violence.

--------------
Kiir Urges Calm, Promises Action
--------------


3. (U) GoSS President Salva Kiir said on October 27 that he
had ordered the SPLA to "be prepared" to take more decisive

action against the perpetrators of the current violence. He
added that the current fighting illustrates the weakness of
the national Joint Integrated Units (JIUs),established under
the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). "For how long shall
we be waiting for the JIUs to act?" Kiir asked. "If the
JIUs can't do it, we will." The GoSS president spoke at
prayer services for the daughter of Clement Wani, governor of
the Central Equatoria State. (who had been killed in the
attacks?)


4. (U) Reprising several elements of a more formal address to
the nation on October 23, Kiir urged the residents of Central
Equatoria to report any information on the activities of
armed groups to security authorities. He promised to present
15 detainees currently in GoSS custody to the people, so that
ordinary citizens and the world at large could learn who is
behind the violence. In his October 23 remarks, however,
Kiir cautioned that "we will not rush into accusing any
person or organization without concrete evidence." He also
called on the media to refrain from speculation about who is
behind the killings.

--------------
SPLA Deploys
--------------


5. (C) SPLA Chief of Staff Oyai Deng said he had ordered a
"brigade" of forces to redeploy from other parts of Southern
Sudan to the areas affected by the current violence. Two
battalions had already reached the area, he claimed, and
reinforcements would arrive soon. (Note: The precise size
of these units is unclear, although the total number is
probably 1000-1500 troops. End note.) Their mandate will be
to protect civilians, defeat the attackers, and keep
transportation routes open to the east and south of Juba,
Deng explained. Before the latest upsurge in violence, there
was a flourishing movement of people and goods along these
routes, which link Juba to regional centers and to Kenya and
Uganda.

--------------
UPDF May Redeploy
--------------


6. (U) Meanwhile, GoSS Vice President Riek Machar tabled a

KHARTOUM 00002572 002 OF 002


proposal in the ongoing peace talks between the LRA and the
Government of Uganda that would require the Uganda People's
Defense Forces (UPDF) troops to withdraw from most positions
east of the Nile. Machar is chief mediator in the talks,
underway sporadically since July. Ugandan officials reacted
angrily to the proposal. UPDF Chief of Military Intelligence
Col. Leo Kyanda, present at the talks, claimed GoSS President
Kiir had assured Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni as
recently as October 21 that Ugandan forces would be allowed
to engage LRA forces who were not moving to agreed assembly
areas. The UPDF has operated in southern Sudan under
intermittent and varying mandates since 2002.


7. (U) Machar's proposal, a draft addendum to the lapsed
Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, would require the LRA to
assemble at one of two currently designated locations within
10 days. Machar rejected an LRA demand that all their forces
be allowed to move to the Ri-Kwangba assembly point on the
Sudan-Congo border. Machar has reiterated that only LRA
forces west of the Nile should be allowed to move to
Ri-Kwangba. Remaining forces east of the Nile should proceed
to Owiny-Kibul on the Sudan-Uganda border. Machar and other
other officials have blamed heavy Ugandan deployment east of
the Nile, particularly around Owiny-Kibul, for the LRA's
failure to remain in that area. Sources at the talks said
they believed at least some LRA forces were returning to
Owiny-Kibul, but this has not been confirmed. Machar's
proposal also defines the assembly areas as any point within
five kilometers of the administrative centers of Owiny-Kibul
and Ri-Kwangba.
EWHITAKER