Sudan-Uganda talks hit snag
Aug 18, 2003
KHARTOUM, Sunday - Sudanese and Ugandan observers have abandoned a joint position set up to prevent cross-border rebel activities after differences emerged between the two sides, a Sudanese minister said on Sunday.
KHARTOUM, Sunday - Sudanese and Ugandan observers have abandoned a joint position set up to prevent cross-border rebel activities after differences emerged between the two sides, a Sudanese minister said on Sunday.
Sudanese foreign minister Mustafa Ismail in a statement said the two Ugandan liaison officers returned to Kampala while their two Sudanese counterparts returned to Khartoum from the common border position.
“There is a difference over the commitments of each side towards the other,†he told reporters.
He, however, expressed confidence that the military protocol under which the two countries undertook to halt support to each other’s rebels would survive.
“The two capitals are capable of tackling the issue.....the protocol has not collapsed and is still effective ... Sudan is committed to it,†he said.â€
The protocol, signed in 1999, is directed against the southern rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
It allows Kampala’s forces to track down the LRA inside Sudan, while committing Uganda to ban the activities of the SPLA.
Ugandan officials last month said Sudan had admitted that some Sudanese military officers had given assistance to the LRA rebels and its leader Joseph Kony, but without the knowledge of the government.
Sudanese foreign minister Mustafa Ismail in a statement said the two Ugandan liaison officers returned to Kampala while their two Sudanese counterparts returned to Khartoum from the common border position.
“There is a difference over the commitments of each side towards the other,†he told reporters.
He, however, expressed confidence that the military protocol under which the two countries undertook to halt support to each other’s rebels would survive.
“The two capitals are capable of tackling the issue.....the protocol has not collapsed and is still effective ... Sudan is committed to it,†he said.â€
The protocol, signed in 1999, is directed against the southern rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
It allows Kampala’s forces to track down the LRA inside Sudan, while committing Uganda to ban the activities of the SPLA.
Ugandan officials last month said Sudan had admitted that some Sudanese military officers had given assistance to the LRA rebels and its leader Joseph Kony, but without the knowledge of the government.