South Sudan, Sudan trade accusations in setback to peace deal
(Reuters) Sudan and South Sudan accused one another of incursions in disputed border zones on Wednesday, jeopardizing plans to secure the boundary and resume cross-border oil flows vital to their economies. The two former civil war foes agreed in September to end hostilities and restart oil exports from the south through Sudan after coming close to war again in April, the worst violence since the south became independent in July 2011. But relations have soured again in the past few days after both sides failed to agree on how to move their forces back from the unmarked joint border, something both had said must happen before oil exports resume. Sudan denied the accusation, saying its forces had attacked a camp some 40 km (25 miles) inside Sudanese territory used by rebels who are fighting the Khartoum government. “The armed forces conducted an internal battle deep in its territory,” Sudanese military spokesman Al-Sawarmi Khalid said in a statement on Wednesday. “The presence of South Sudan’s army in the area … represents aggression and blatant military intervention on our land, and we have the full right to respond by dealing with them as enemy forces,” he said. On Monday, Sudanese state news agency SUNA said rebels from the Darfur region had set up camp in a contested border region. Analysts say while both Juba and Khartoum need the lucrative returns from oil, they also want to be seen as tough on the other side to shore up domestic support.
Further Reading: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/21/us-southsudan-sudan
Darfur citizens: government is delaying vaccination campaign
(Radio Dabanga) Citizens of Central and South Darfur have criticized the authorities for delaying the start of the vaccination campaign, causing fear among citizens and camp residents that the disease will spread to the overcrowded displaced camps in the region, Radio Dabanga learned on Wednesday November 21. Additionally, they criticized the authorities for their disregard of spraying operations against the mosquitoes that transmit the disease. The citizens called on the health authorities to have all the people in the state vaccinated and to allow international aid organizations to access the area and help carry out the campaign as well as to contribute to the spraying operations. A camp coordinator from Zalingei called on the Government of Sudan to declare Darfur a ‘disaster zone’ and to allow health organizations to access the area to provide emergency assistance to affected citizens in the state. He also called for clear and honest information about the disease and its spread in Darfur. The camp coordinator explained that there have been cases of death as a result of yellow fever in Zalingei and claimed that hospital doctors withhold the information. Additionally, he demanded that all the people of Darfur receive a vaccination against the disease.
Further Reading: http://www.radiodabanga.org/node/38705
