New York, Jan 27 (DPA) The US Tuesday raised concern over the flow of heavy weapons into southern Sudan, where violence has increased as the region prepares for elections in April.
US Ambassador Susan Rice said the UN Security Council, which met on the situation in Sudan, was briefed about the flow of weapons while it discussed preparations for elections five years since Khartoum and the south signed a comprehensive peace agreement.
“What we have seen is the level of violence in a high degree of sophistication and it’s a real concern,” Rice told reporters after the council meeting. No other diplomats discussed the issues openly.
Rice said the US is working with the UN and the Sudanese government to ensure security in the south so it can carry out the local elections.
She said concern was raised about the source of the weapons, which she said may have originated from northern Sudan as there had been a long history of the north fueling the conflict in the south. Rice said the flow of weapons to the south was “deliberate”.
The peace agreement also called for a referendum in 2011, which will let the south decide whether it wants to continue the power- sharing scheme with Khartoum as part of the 2005 peace agreement that ended decades of north-south warfare. Relief organizations said the conflict caused the deaths of up to 2 million people.
The agreement was signed by Khartoum’s National Congress Party and the main opposition in the south, the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM).
“We raised the issue of insecurity in the south where violence has increased, and the protection of civilians,” Rice said about the discussion in the council. She said insecurity was exacerbated by inflow of weapons.
