SUDAN: FIVE MORE DEAD IN JUBA VIOLENCE

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