AFRICA/SUDAN - "I hope dialogue between north and south Sudan continues", said the Nuncio in Khartoum

Khartoum (Agenzia Fides) - "I hope political dialogue between the two parties continues, based on good faith and on the agreement in Addis Ababa, which provided for an end of hostilities" says to Fides His Exc. Mgr. Leo Boccardi, Apostolic Nuncio to Sudan, referring to border clashes between Sudan and South Sudan (see Fides 27 and March 28, 2012).
"These clashes create an impasse in negotiations, which should regulate first and foremost the issue of border areas, then the oil issue and finally the one related to the citizenship of South Sudanese living in Sudan, and vice versa the status of north Sudanese in South Sudan", underlines the Nuncio.
Mgr. Boccardi notes that "people who live in areas affected by fighting between the Sudanese army and SPLA troops (the army of South Sudan), are forced to leave their villages while the rainy season approaches, with all that this implies in terms of difficulty of movement and no possibility of seeding. The UN offices and some organizations are trying to bring humanitarian aid, but since they are areas affected by military operations, access is not open to everyone".
On the military side, in the last hours fighting on the border land between the two states have not been reported, even if South Sudan said that Sudanese aircraft bombed some border areas during the night, an accusation rejected by Khartoum. Today, March 29, in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, a meeting is planned between the delegations of Khartoum and Juba, with the avowed intention of putting an end to the tensions. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 29/3/2012)