AFRICA/SUDAN - SECESSIONISTS ACCUSE GOVERNMENT OF VIOLATING TREATY IN WEST SUDAN

Khartoum (Fides Service) – The treaty signed on 3 September in Darfur, eastern Sudan between the government of the Southern Sudan Liberation Movement SLM, has fallen through. On September 6 the SLM rebels said that two army helicopters attacked three SLM bases in Kutum, northern Dafur. Information on casualties was not given.
The cease-fire agreement, reached in Abeche (Chad), included an exchange of prisoners.
The SLM formed in August 2001 says it is fighting racial discrimination, marginalisation and exploitation in Darfur, a semi desert region where most of the people are hostile to the Khartoum regime.
The SLM accuses the government of using local mercenary bands to harass non Arab people in the region. One such band, known as Jenjaweed has attacked various villages leaving at least 81 people dead and 2,700 homeless.
One of the reasons for the fighting in Sudan is oil found mainly in southern Sudan. Various western and Asian companies have invested in the exploitation of local oil fields. Sudanese opposition and international humanitarian organisations say the Khartoum government uses income from oil sales to fund the war on non Arab civilians in Southern Sudan. Now, after international pressure, a number of foreign companies are withdrawing investments from Sudan. The latest to do so was the Austrian company OMV which announced it had sold its exploration rights in Sudan. The rights were purchased by an Indian company which had already acquired Sudanese oil duct project shares from the Canadian company Talisman.
In the meantime war is impoverishing people all over the country, also because a number of oil wells in combat zones had to be closed. As usual war makes the poor poorer. LM (Fides Service 9/9/2003 EM lines 30 Words: 321)