New civil war 'looms' in Sudan
2008-06-02 10:05
Khartoum - The United States special envoy for Sudan on Sunday shuttled between northern and southern leaders to try to resolve a crisis in a disputed oil district, where heavy clashes sparked fears of a new civil war.
After late-night talks with southern leaders from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), Richard Williamson met members of the National Congress of President Omar al-Beshir behind closed doors later on Sunday.
The envoy called for creative thinking in order to restore security in Abyei, a contested oil district on the border between north and south, with a wider mandate for foreign peacekeepers one possibility for consideration.
Williamson said: "If we are going to get humanitarian relief and allow those 50 000 people to return, we first have to get a sense of security back there and that means a much different arrangement than we've had to date."
Civil war
Sudanese government forces controlled the main town in Abyei after the latest bout of heavy fighting ended on May 20. Violence and looting flattened the once bustling small town and displaced up to 90 000 people.
United Nations peacekeeping monitors were conducting street patrols. The arrangements of a US-mediated 2005 peace that ended Sudan's devastating 21-year civil war between north and south stipulated joint Sudanese force patrols.
"There are a variety of ways that have to be looked at," Williamson said.
Asked whether a more effective international peacekeeping mission should be deployed, Williamson said the possibility "certainly should be considered.
"There are other options that also have to be considered, but the principle of security in Abyei is uncompromisable," Williamson said.
'No excuse for failure'
Describing the devastation of the town as a "tragedy" after a visit on Friday, Williamson held separate talks with the SPLM and their partners of the National Congress in the unity government set up under the peace deal.
"We think there is a way forward, that there's no excuse to allow this failure to result in ending the chance of real peace in Sudan," he said after his talks with the SPLM.
Yaser Arman, SPLM deputy secretary general, called for US mediation to help implement a protocol on Abyei, of which America was a driving force.
Abyei was accorded a special status and was to be governed by a joint administration until twin referendums in 2011 decide whether it remained part of the north or joined the south, and whether the south would secede.
State media on Saturday quoted Beshir as telling a news conference in Tokyo that his northern and southern vice-presidents were discussing a proposal for a joint administration, providing no further details.