Sudan: A borderless conflict

May 8, 2023

Source: Al Mayadeen English

From seven sides, neighboring nations closely monitor the spillover risk, mainly due to Sudan’s unique geostrategic significance.

By Rasha Reslan 

Sudan’s neighbors are watching closely, and they don’t like what they see.

Sudan’s neighbors’ worst nightmare is playing out, as over three weeks of fighting are burning the country of 49 million people. They are watching closely, and they don’t like what they see. Scenarios open up a wide range of possibilities amid fears that the escalating clashes will likely transcend Sudan’s borders and inflame conflicts within its neighbors’ territories. 

Geostrategic importance

The African country shares borders with seven nations — Egypt, South Sudan, Chad, the Central African Republic (CAR), Libya, Ethiopia, and Eritrea– which have already had their share of warfare, sedition, or political crises in the past few years.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres recently warned that a “catastrophic conflagration” of the conflict “could engulf the whole region and beyond” as expectations for a quick resolution dwindle with each breached cease-fire.

Meanwhile, European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, said as quoted by the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag that there is a risk that the crisis in Sudan can spill over to other countries in the region.

He warned that there are very fragile countries among Sudan’s neighbors and that the repercussions of the clashes spreading would be catastrophic.

Earlier, Sudan’s ousted Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok stated that the conflict in Sudan could turn into one of the world’s worst civil wars if it is not put to a stop early on.

Hamdok explained that the ongoing conflict is a “senseless war” between two armies, given that “there is nobody who is going to come out of this victorious. That is why it has to stop.”

Sudan has sunk into chaos since the clashes erupted on April 15 between the forces of rival generals General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan (Sudanese Armed Forces) and Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo (Rapid Support Forces – RSF), following weeks of heightened tensions over a power-sharing agreement.

More than 530 people have died in the violence, and tens of thousands of people have been scrambling to flee their homeland, as per the Sudanese Health Ministry. Some have managed to secure coveted seats on lifeboats and emergency airlifts across the Red Sea. But the majority are forced to find safety on their own.

Here’s why the fighting in Sudan sends shockwaves across the region

From seven sides, neighboring nations closely monitor the spillover risk, mainly due to Sudan’s unique geostrategic significance, its size, and its location at the confluence of the Indian Ocean, the Horn of Africa, North Africa, the Red Sea, and the Arab world. 

“What happens in Sudan will unquestionably impact neighboring countries.”

-Ayman Al Qassem Ahmad Abed Al-Aziz

 Expert in Arab Intellect Affairs

An Expert in Arab Intellect Affairs Ayman Al Qassem Ahmad Abed Al-Aziz told Al Mayadeen English that there are no natural borders separating Sudan from its neighbors, and there exists a remarkable ethnic, cultural, and linguistic overlap between the populations of western Sudan, Darfur, eastern Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia.

Concurrently, Chad and South Sudan immediately emerge as being at risk of a potential spillover, and as the fighting escalates, it is more likely that the conflict will spill over to other neighboring countries and beyond, he further argued.

In the north, Egypt looks to Sudan as a safety net against political unrest and as a partner in local water disputes.

Egypt and Sudan rely on the Nile River, which originates in Ethiopia. the two water-stressed countries have always considered the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam a threat to their access to water, and any disagreements between Cairo and Khartoum could imperil efforts to strike a water-sharing arrangement with Addis Ababa.

Sudanese writer Mohamamd Al Mahjoub told Al Mayadeen English that Sudan’s frontiers with Egypt have a long history of stability. However, in recent years, with the “gold rush” looming, some troubles have come to pass, starting with illegal mining, contrabands, and human trafficking, among other issues.

The main activity between the two neighboring countries is commerce, underdeveloped but continuous, he added.

“With raw materials and vegetables as the main goods crossing from the Sudanese part to the Egyptian side, on the other hand, we have: consumer goods, household, medical supplies …etc entering Sudan from the Egyptian part,” he further stressed.

On Sudan’s opposite side, thousands of predominantly South Sudanese refugees have recently started pouring across the 1,200-mile border to go back to their home country amid the infighting.

South Sudan gained its independence in 2011 but slid two years later into a civil war that left nearly 400,000 dead.

Despite the signing of a peace agreement in 2018, sporadic bursts of violence continued between the government and opposition forces, in addition to conflicts between ethnic groups in the country, which caused heavy casualties among civilians.

South Sudan, one of the world’s poorest nations, is ill-prepared to take in foreigners or returning refugees from Sudan. According to Marie-Helene Verney, the country’s representative for the UN refugee agency, there are over 12 million people living in South Sudan, 2 million of whom are internally displaced, and 75% of them depend on humanitarian help. In other countries in the region, there are about 2.3 million South Sudanese refugees.

The recent surge in the number of Sudanese and South Sudanese returning from exile runs the potential to reignite violence and struggle over the few resources in the fledgling country. In 2011, primarily African and Christian or animist South Sudan declared its independence from the Arab and Muslim-majority Sudan, putting an end to decades of civil violence. But in 2013, a new civil war in South Sudan broke out, this time spurred by unresolved ethnic conflicts and quarreling political leaders.

A crisis that will cross borders

On Sudan’s western side, the UN predicted that over 100,000 people would flee Sudan to Chad, which already hosts more than half a million refugees, with aid agencies warning that larger flows of refugees are estimated to arrive. In the past few days, an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 people have fled Sudan’s Darfur region to seek refuge in neighboring Chad, as per the UN.

About 400,000 Sudanese refugees from earlier conflicts were already living in border camps in Chad.

Political instability in Chad may be further enflamed by the fighting in Sudan and the resulting power void. The Janjaweed, a conglomeration of Arab tribal militant groups active in Darfur and parts of Chad, and the RSF, have a bloody history in Chad.

Under Al-Bashir’s command, the Janjaweed intimidated Sudan’s Darfur area and carried out cross-border assaults on Sudanese refugees in Chad in the 2000s. N’Djamena accused Khartoum of aiding militants in Chad.

Chad also worries about being entangled in proxy and regional battles. The Central African Republic, a former French colony southwest of Sudan, has suffered for years from sectarian conflict, mismanagement, and uprisings. According to the United Nations, armed groups and militias effectively rule the nation, where 50% of the population lacks access to enough food and clean water. Price increases have already been a result of the turmoil.

Ethiopia, which borders Sudan to the southeast, is perturbed about how the violence would impact two of its top priorities: securing water rights for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and resolving Ethiopian claims to a contentious border region where fighting has previously broken out.

Abed Al-Aziz warned that the flames in the wider Horn of Africa might add fuel to the ongoing fighting in Sudan, thus leading to a wider conflict.

Tens of thousands of Ethiopians from the Tigray region have also sought sanctuary in Sudan. Their two-year battle with the national government ended in a fragile peace agreement late last year, and it now threatens to erupt once more.

Shifts in the region’s balance of power could also disturb neighboring Eritrea’s weak alliances.

Many Eritreans escaping their government’s compulsory conscription fled to Sudan, which welcomed thousands of refugees and asylum seekers from its eastern neighbor. In Ethiopia’s recent conflict with Tigray militants, Eritrea backed Ethiopia. The two nations had just recently put an end to a protracted cold war.

For just a minute, let us put aside all the round negotiation tables, the collared delegations, their eloquent press conferences, the condemnation statements, and politicized UN resolutions.

Sudan, just like many other African countries, is already suffering from the grip of systemic poverty, and limited tangible opportunities, under the death grip of the IMF and other global hegemonic bodies.

The crisis today is not a noncontextual event, but rather the direct result of decades of direct Western intervention, colonialism, resource theft, and internal meddling.

One thing is crystal clear: Sudan’s future is intricately linked to its need to give less weight to its broader geopolitical landscape and instead focus on internal Sudanese dialogue. This will suit Sudan just fine. Other options will suit the West.

Sudan Turmoil

Clashes broke out after weeks of tension between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Though the two groups were once allies, tensions have been brewing since the proposed integration of the RSF into the military. As factions battle for control, where is Khartoum headed?

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Blood Gold

Blood Gold

PressTV Interview with Peter Koenig

Transcript

Background

The Middle East Eye reports  there are no gold mines under Dubai’s sands with artisanal miners or children toiling away trying to strike gold. But there is the Dubai Gold Souk and refineries that vie with the largest global operations as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) strives to expand its position as a major gold hub.

In recent years, the UAE, with Dubai in particular, has established itself as one of the largest and fastest-growing marketplaces for the precious metal, with imports rising by 58 percent per annum to more than $27bn in 2018, according to data collated by the Observatory for Economic Complexity.

With no local gold to tap, unlike neighboring Saudi Arabia, the UAE has to import gold from wherever it can, whether it be legitimately, smuggled with no questions asked, sourced from conflict zones, or linked to organized crime.

Blood gold

The Sentry’s investigation (Sentry Investigations specialize in private and corporate investigations in the UK) found that 95 percent of gold officially exported from Central and East Africa, much of it mined in Sudan, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo, ends up in the Emirates.

Gold has become so important to Dubai’s economy that it is the emirate’s highest value external trade item, ahead of mobile phones, jeweler, petroleum products and diamonds, according to Dubai Customs.

And it is the UAE’s largest export after oil, exporting $17.7bn in 2019. Gold’s importance has only increased as Dubai’s oil reserves have dwindled and the UAE has tried to diversify its economy.

The Swiss connection

Dubai is not the only gold player with dirt, and even blood, on its hands.

“It is not just Dubai, it’s also Switzerland. The Swiss get large quantities of gold from Dubai. The Swiss say they are not getting gold from certain countries [connected to conflict gold], but instead from Dubai, yet the gold in Dubai is coming from these countries. Dubai is complicit, but Swiss hands are equally dirty as they can’t cut Dubai from the market,” said Lakshmi Kumar, policy director, at Global Financial Integrity (GFI) in Washington DC.

Switzerland is the world’s largest refiner, while [more than half] of all gold goes through the country at some point, according to anti-corruption group Global Witness. Switzerland’s trade is tied to the UK, which imports around a third of all gold.

—————-

RT Question:
Gold has become such an important commodity for the UAE, that it is the largest export after oil, exporting $17.7bn in 2019. But there is the other side to this story. A report by the UK’s Home Office and Treasury earlier in December also named the UAE as a jurisdiction vulnerable to money laundering by criminal networks because of the ease with which gold and cash could be moved through the country. Is this the case?

PK Reply
First, International Gold Laundering is a gigantic Human Rights abuse, foremost because laundered gold stems from many countries in Africa and South America where massive child labor is practiced. Children not only are put at tremendous risk working in the mines, in narrow rickety underground tunnels that could collapse anytime, and often do – but they are also poisoned on a daily basis by chemicals used in extracting gold ore from the rock, notably cyanide and mercury – and others.

Second, Gold laundering is an international crime, because it illegal and it is mostly run by mafia type organizations – where killing and other type of violence, plus sexual abuse of women – forced prostitution – is a daily occurrence.

There should be an international law – enforceable – issued by the UN – and enforced by the International Criminal Court against anything to do with gold laundering. Infractions should be punished. And countries involved in gold laundering should be held responsible – put on a black list for illegal financial transactions and for facilitating human rights abuses.

The United Arab Emirates — has no gold, so all of the $17.7 billion of their gold exports is being imported and “washed” by re-exporting it mainly through the UK into Switzerland and other gold refining places, like India. With a worldwide production of about 3,500 tons, there are times when Switzerland imports more gold than the annual world production, most of it coming from the UK, for further refining or re-refining, for “better or double laundering” – erasing the gold’s origins.

From the refinery in Switzerland, it goes mostly into the banking system or is re-exported as “clean” gold coming from Switzerland. And its origins are no longer traceable.

Worldwide about 70% of all gold is refined in Switzerland.

Gold mine production totaled 3,531 tons in 2019, 1% lower than in 2018. About 70% of all gold, worldwide is refined in Switzerland. So, it is very likely that the UK, receiving gold from United Arab Emirates, re-exports the gold to Switzerland, for re-refining, for further export to, for ex. India. – Coming from Switzerland it has the “label” of being clean. How long will this reputation still last?

Metalor is the world’s largest gold refinery – established in Switzerland. And they are absolutely secretive, do not say where they buy their gold from, because the Swiss Government does not require the origin when gold enters Switzerland.

Once it is refined – the origin can no longer be determined, because gold does not have a DNA.

RT Question
The Sentry’s investigation found that 95 percent of gold officially exported from Central and East Africa, much of it mined in Sudan, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo, ends up in the emirate, through what’s known as blood gold: gold obtained through brutal mining practices and illicit profits, including the use of children, how do you see this?

PK Reply
Yes, this is absolutely true.

As mentioned already before – much of the gold from Africa / Central Africa, Ghana and South America, notably Peru, is blood gold. Of course, it passes through many hands before it lands in a refinery in the UK, Switzerland or elsewhere, and therefore is almost untraceable.

But, the company that buys the gold, like Metalor, they know exactly where the gold is coming from, but, as mentioned before, since the Swiss government does not require the importing company to divulge the origin of the gold – the human rights abuses will never come to light, or better – to justice.

It is estimated that up to 30% of all gold refined in Switzerland is considered blood gold. Imagine the suffering, disease, and even death – or delayed death through slow reacting chemicals like cyanite and mercury.

However, if there is no international law – a law that is enforced – that puts the criminals to justice – and put countries that facilitate gold laundering on an international list – for the world to see – and hold them accountable, with for example financial sanctions, little will change.

Peter Koenig is a geopolitical analyst and a former Senior Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he has worked for over 30 years on water and environment around the world. He lectures at universities in the US, Europe and South America. He writes regularly for online journals and is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed; and co-author of Cynthia McKinney’s book “When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis” (Clarity Press – November 1, 2020)

Peter Koenig is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization.

أفريقيا… حيث تتقدّم‎ ‎‏«إسرائيل» يتراجع العرب‎ ‎السودان نموذج: التصويب والاصطياد

د. عدنان منصور

بعد قيام دولة الاحتلال “الإسرائيلي” في فلسطين، عام 1948، لم يغب عن استراتيجية “إسرائيل”، العمل على احتواء دول عربية، تشكل أهمية كبيرة للأمن القومي العربي، ومنها مصر وسورية والأردن والعراق والسودان.

اذ إن تطلّعات “إسرائيل” الى احتواء السودان، تعود الى الخمسينيات من القرن الماضي. ففي عام 1951، وقبل استقلال السودان وانفصاله عن مصر عام 1956، أرسلت تل أبيب بعثة “إسرائيلية” تجارية الى الخرطوم، مؤلفة من خمسين شخصاً، وذلك لشراء منتوجات سودانية وتصديرها الى “إسرائيل”. ما مهّد في ما بعد للتواصل مع أحزاب وتنظيمات سياسية سودانية مختلفة.

وبالفعل، جرى أول لقاء سري في لندن عام 1954، بين حزب الأمة الاسلامي، برئاسة زعيمه الصديق المهدي، ووفد ضمّ مسؤولين إسرائيليين، لبحث ما يمكن أن تقدمه “إسرائيل” لدعم استقلال السودان، ومواجهة النفوذ المصري.

السبب الذي دفع بالصديق المهدي ليمدّ الجسور مع “إسرائيل”، والتواصل معها، هو نزعته الانفصالية عن مصر، وتطلعه الى السلطة، خاصة بعد فشل حزبه في الانتخابات النيابية التي جرت عام 1953، والتي أسفرت عن انتصار كاسح للحزب الوطني الاتحادي الذي يتزعّمه إسماعيل الأزهري، الذي كان مؤيداّ لوحدة وادي النيل، والذي شغل منصب رئيس الوزراء بين عامي 1954 و1956 لحين استقلال السودان في الأول من كانون الثاني 1956 .

بعد اللقاء الأول للصديق المهدي مع الإسرائيليين، توسّعت شبكة العلاقات بين الطرفين، اذ إنه في عام 1955، جرى لقاء سري آخر في العاصمة القبرصية نيقوسيا، جمع مسؤولين إسرائيليين، مع السياسي السوداني، محمد أحمد عمر، مهندس العلاقات بين الطرفين، وأحد أبرز أعضاء الوفد الذي رأسه الصديق المهدي في اجتماع لندن، في العام السابق.

في ما بعد، توسّعت مروحة العلاقات السودانية _ الإسرائيلية، لتشمل أحزاباً سودانية، وحركات انفصالية منتشرة في جنوب السودان.

إسماعيل الأزهري، كان احد ابرز المنادين بوحدة وادي النيل. إلا أنّ الرأي العام السوداني بدأ يميل للاستقلال، وكذلك غالبية أعضاء حزب الاتحاد الوطني، الذين كانوا يشكلون الأكثرية داخل البرلمان، مما دفع بأعضاء المجلس للتصويت على استقلال السودان يوم 19 كانون الأول 1955، والذي أصبح نافذاً يوم 1 كانون الثاني عام 1956.

بعد سنتين من استقلال السودان، في عام 1958، قاد الفريق ابراهيم عبود أول انقلاب عسكري، حيث تسلّم السلطة إثر ذلك، من رئيس الوزراء آنذاك، عبدالله خليل، وبقي فيها حتى عام 1964، بعد ان أطاحت به ثورة شعبية.

إبراهيم عبود اتخذ قرارات بوقف العمل بالدستور، وحلّ البرلمان، وإلغاء الاحزاب، ثم عمل على أسلمة جنوب السودان وتعريبه، ودمج شماله بجنوبه، وحظر التبشير وطرد المبشرين، ولم يندفع للعلاقة مع “إسرائيل”، وظل على مسافة بعيدة منها، وهو الذي كان مؤيداً من قبل أكبر مجموعتين دينيتين: واحدة يرأسها عبد الرحمن المهدي زعيم حزب الأنصار، والأخرى، سر الختم خليفة، زعيم طائفة الختميّة. أدى الوضع السائد ايام إبراهيم عبود، الى تدويل قضية جنوب السودان، بضغط من الفاتيكان، وبعض الدول الغربية. في الوقت الذي بدأ فيه قادة التمرد في الجنوب، عملياتهم العسكرية، ضد السلطة المركزية في الخرطوم، متخذين من دول الجوار، منطلقاً، وقواعد تدريب، ومقار لهم، ولهجماتهم العسكرية ضد الجيش السوداني.

كان إبراهيم عبود يرمي الى دمج السودان وتوحيده ثقافياً واجتماعياً، بغية ترسيخ هوية سودانية موحدة في ما بعد، الا ان محاولاته لم تسفر عن النتيجة التي كان يتوخاها، بسبب اشتداد الصراع وحدّته في الداخل، بالإضافة الى تدخل دول الغرب في الشأن السوداني، وسياساتها الداعمة لقوى الانفصال في الجنوب.

بعد سقوط حكم إبراهيم عبود، عاد إسماعيل الازهري الى ساحة الحكم من جديد، ليتولى رئاسة مجلس السيادة، بين عامي 1964 و 1969، قبل ان يطيح به انقلاب عسكري قاده جعفر النميري عام 1969.

في عهد إسماعيل الأزهري، قويت العلاقات مع مصر، وتمّ الاتفاق معها على مواجهة العدوان الإسرائيلي عام 1967، في الوقت الذي كانت فيه “إسرائيل”، تجري اتصالات مع الحركات الانفصالية في جنوب السودان، وتقدم لها مختلف وسائل الدعم المادي والعسكري واللوجستي.

بعد حرب حزيران 1967، قالت غولدا مائير، بشكل صريح، إنّ إضعاف العراق والسودان، يتطلب إثارة النعرات الطائفية فيهما، لينال من وحدة البلدين، ومن أجل كشف العمق الاستراتيجي لدول المواجهة، وجعله مزعزعاً في اي مواجهة مقبلة مع “إسرائيل”.

شهد السودان منعطفاً جديداً، مع وصول جعفر النميري الى الحكم، اثر انقلاب عسكري قام به عام 1969، اذ أعطى جنوب السودان الحكم الذاتي، وحل الأحزاب باستثناء الحزب الشيوعي. الا انه بعد محاولة هذا الأخير القيام بانقلاب عسكري عام 1971، تمت ملاحقة أعضائه، وإعدام زعيمه عبد الخالق محجوب.

بعد مفاوضات مع الجنوبيين، وقع اتفاق اديس ابابا عام 1972، حيث نعم السودان بالسلام لمدة احد عشر عاماً، لتنفجر الحرب مجدداً بين الشمال والجنوب، بعد اتهام الجنوب للنميري بعدم احترامه لبنود الاتفاق، لجهة اللغة والدين والقومية لجنوب السودان.

شكلت فترة حكم النميري، محطة للقاءات سرية سودانية إسرائيلية، تحت ضغط أميركي، للسماح بهجرة يهود الفلاشا في إثيوبيا الى “إسرائيل” عبر السودان. في هذه الأثناء استطاعت “إسرائيل” ان تتغلغل في الداخل السوداني، وتتواصل بشكل مباشر مع حركات الجنوب.

بدأت موجات هجرة الفلاشا الى “إسرائيل”، اعتباراً من عام 1977، وكانت موجات قليلة العدد. الا انها نشطت بشكل كبير عام 1984، حيث تم نقل 12000 إثيوبياً من الفلاشا، عبر جسر جوي، اتخذ من الأراضي السودانية، محطة لإتمام العملية، التي تمّت بسرية مطلقة، والتي تمّ كشف النقاب عنها، بعد فترة من وصول الفلاشا الى “إسرائيل”، من قبل نشرة “نكوداه”، وهي إحدى نشرات المستوطنين اليهود في الضفة الغربية. وبعد ذلك تناقلتها وسائل الإعلام العالمية بشكل واسع. وقد عرفت هذه العملية، بعملية موسى، حيث بلغت تكلفتها مئة مليون دولار، ساهمت الولايات المتحدة بخمسة عشر ألف دولار، والباقي قامت بتغطيته جماعات يهودية أميركية.

في عهد عمر البشير الذي جاء الى السلطة بعد الإطاحة بنظام جعفر النميري عام 1989، وحتى انفصال الجنوب عن الشمال عام 2011، قامت “إسرائيل” بدور فاعل في دعم انفصال جنوب السودان، والعمل على إنهاك الدولة السودانية في الصراع المسلح، التي قبلت بعد ذلك بالانفصال ظناً منها، أنه سينهي الحرب الأهلية في السودان.

“إسرائيل” التي لعبت على الوتر الديني مع الحركات الانفصالية، لا سيما أحزاب الجنوب، ومنها الحركة الشعبية لتحرير السودان بقيادة جون غارانغ، نسقت بشكل كامل معه، وهي تدفع بكل قوة باتجاه انفصال الجنوب السوداني عن شماله. مقدّمة دعماً طبياً وغذائياً، كما أرسلت أطباء الى الجنوب، ووفرت الدعم السياسيّ والعسكريّ واللوجستي للقادة الجنوبيين، والذي توسّع كثيراً وتعزز بعد إرسال طائرات عسكرية إسرائيلية، كانت تسقط معدات الاسلحة على معسكرات الجنوب.

“إسرائيل” التي ركّزت على الانفصال، كانت وراء سقوط طائرة جون غارانغ، بعدما شعرت انه يميل الى وحدة السودان.

اهتمام “إسرائيل” بتقسيم السودان، عبر عنه لاحقا، أبراهام (أفي) موشي ديختر ، عضو الكنيست عن حزب كاديما عام 2005، رئيس جهاز الشاباك بين عامي 2000 و 2005، وزير الأمن الإسرائيلي بين عامي 2006 و 2009، في محاضرة له عام 2008، جاء فيها: “انّ اهتمام إسرائيل بالسودان، هو كونه بموارده ومساحته الشاسعة، وعدد سكانه، محتمل أن يصبح قوة مضاعفة الى قوة العالم العربي. لأن موارده اذا ما استثمرت في ظل أوضاع مستقرة ستجعل منه قوة، يُحسب لها الف حساب!”.

لم تتوقف “إسرائيل” عن تدخلها في جنوب السودان، وانما نسجت علاقات مع العديد من الفصائل المسلحة في اكثر من اقليم سوداني، لا سيما في دارفور، لدفعه الى الانفصال. وهذا ما اشار اليه ديختر ايضاً في محاضرة نشرتها الصحف الإسرائيلية في تشرين الأول من عام 2008 جاء فيها: “الاستراتيجية التي نفذناها في جنوب السودان، نجحت في تغيير اتجاه السودان نحو التأزم والانقسام. وستنتهي الصراعات بتقسيمه الى كيانات عدة. انّ قدراً كبيراً تحقق في الجنوب، ولدينا فرصة لتحقيقه في دارفور”.

مؤسس حركة جنوب السودان، كشف لاحقاً عن دور “إسرائيل” في انفصال جنوب السودان، معتبرا انها وضعت الحجر الأساس لانفصاله.

الى جانب الدور الإسرائيلي، كان هناك على الساحة السودانية، غزل من قبل أكثر من فريق سوداني باتجاه “إسرائيل”. ففي مؤتمر الحوار الوطني السوداني عام 2014، أثير موضوع العلاقات مع “إسرائيل”، من قبل حزب المستقلين، من اجل التطبيع معها، تمهيداً لتحسين العلاقات الخارجية باتجاه الولايات المتحدة. هناك أصوات سودانية رسمية اخرى كانت تعلو بين الفينة والاخرى، تدعو الى التطبيع مع العدو، منها تصريح وزير الخارجية السودانية الأسبق ابراهيم غندور، قال فيه، إن بلاده لا مانع لديها لبحث إمكانية التطبيع مع “إسرائيل”. كما انّ مستشار عمر البشير، مصطفى عثمان إسماعيل، أبدى عن رغبة بلاده للتعاون مع واشنطن وتطبيع العلاقات مع “إسرائيل”.

لقد تهافت العديد من المسؤولين السودانيين، وقادة أحزاب سودانية، للإعلان عن رغبتهم في تطبيع العلاقات. حيث توالت اللقاءات، وكان من بينها لقاء اسطنبول عام 2017 الذي ضمّ مبعوثاً إسرائيلياً، ومسؤولين سودانيين، وفقاً لما كشفته القناة العاشرة الإسرائيلية.

دفء العلاقات السودانية _ الإسرائيلية في السنوات الأخيرة، حمل رئيس مجلس السيادة السوداني، عبد الفتاح البرهان، الى عقد اجتماع يوم 3 شباط الماضي، مع رئيس وزراء العدو نتنياهو في أوغندا، مما شكل منعطفاً، وصدمة ودهشة للسودانيين. إذ ما أدركه الرئيس المصري الراحل جمال عبد الناصر، من أهمية السودان للأمن القومي العربي، عجز عن إدراكه المسؤولون السودانيون الجدد، وهم يهرولون ويزحفون على بطونهم، للتطبيع علناً مع العدو الإسرائيلي، من دون ان يدركوا خطورة وتداعيات هذا التطبيع على بلدهم وأمنهم ووحدة أرضهم، والأمن القومي العربي.

عبد الفتاح برهان، اعتبر اللقاء مع نتنياهو، إنجازاً لبلاده (!)، مدّعياً ان لـ “إسرائيل” دوراً كبيراً في إقناع الولايات المتحدة بإزالة اسم السودان عن لائحة الإرهاب، ليلاقيه نتنياهو بقوله، انّ فريقاً “إسرائيلياً” سيضع خطة لتوسيع رقعة التعاون بين البلدين!

خطوات السودان اللاحقة، سمحت للطائرات الإسرائيلية، بعبور أجوائه، ليتبع ذلك هبوط أول طائرة إسرائيلية في مطار الخرطوم.

مما لا شك فيه، ان تطبيع السودان لعلاقاته مع “إسرائيل”، سيوسع تحرك الاخيرة في القرن والوسط الأفريقي، حيث لـ “إسرائيل” اليوم علاقات متجذرة على مختلف الصعد وفي المجالات كافة، لا سيما العسكرية مع إثيوبيا واريتريا التي يوجد فيها قواعد عسكرية للعدو. ففي اريتريا يوجد أكثر من خمسمئة خبير وفني. كما لـ “إسرائيل” في تشاد قواعد عسكرية عدة، بالإضافة الى علاقات متينة متنوّعة مع أوغندا وكينيا اللتين دعمتا انفصال جنوب السودان وفصائله المسلحة، ما عزز الحضور والنفوذ السياسي والإعلامي والأمني والاقتصادي والتجاري والمالي والتكنولوجي لـ “إسرائيل” في دول الفارة الأفريقية، في الوقت الذي يتراجع فيه الحضور العربي، وبالذات الحضور المصري الذي كان في زمن عبد الناصر قوياً، فاعلاً ووهاجاً.

هل يدرك اليوم، عبد الفتاح برهان، ومجلس السيادة السوداني، والمسؤولون السودانيون، خطورة التطبيع مع العدو؟! وهل يعلم البرهان، ان التطبيع لن يوفر مستقبلاً للسودان، الأمن والرخاء والاستقرار، والأهمّ من كلّ ذلك وحدة ما تبقى من الأراضي السودانية؟!

إن العدو الإسرائيلي لن يكتفي بالتطبيع، ولا يريد علاقات سليمة، بل سيظل يركز انظاره ويواصل تآمره على تفتيت السودان، حتى لا تقوم له قائمة. وما الأحداث التي تجري في دارفور وغيرها، وتصريحات الإسرائيليين حيال مستقبل السودان، إلا لتصبّ في اتجاه التقسيم وإنشاء الكيانات الضعيفة. حيث ستظلّ اليد الإسرائيلية طويلة ووراء كل المصائب والويلات التي تشهدها أمتنا.

فمتى نتعلم من وقائع الأحداث، وما تبيّته “إسرائيل” لنا من سياسات مدمّرة لنتعظ؟!

للأسف الشديد، حيث يتقدّم العدو الإسرائيلي، في الدول الأفريقية، وعلى مستوى القارة كلها، ينحسر الوجود العربي شيئاً فشيئاً، ويتراجع دوره وينحسر، لا سيما بصورة خاصة، تراجع الدور المصري بشكل لافت ومحبط، الذي كان في الخمسينيات والستينيات والسبعينيات من القرن الماضي مؤثراً، قوياً ومتألقاً، في عهد الزعامة الناصرية، ومندفعاً بكلّ قواه، في مواجهة المدّ الإسرائيلي، وتضييق الخناق عليه.

*وزير الخارجية والمغتربين الأسبق

THE POWER OF SAUDI MONEY: IRAN, SUDAN FALL OUT OVER YEMEN

China helping out to bring peace to South Sudan

China to deploy 700 peacekeepers to South Sudan

23 December 2014 9:32

391445_China-troops

China reportedly plans to deploy a total of 700 troops to South Sudan as part of a UN peacekeeping mission in the conflict-torn African country.

According to China’s Xinhua News Agency, 180 of the peacekeepers will be sent to the country in January and the rest are to be deployed there in March.

The report added that the Chinese force will be equipped with drones, armored infantry carriers, anti-tank missiles, mortars and other weapons for self-defense purposes.

The infantry battalion includes 121 officers and 579 soldiers, among them female troops.

More than 2,000 Chinese soldiers have been deployed to conflict zones around the world as peacekeepers.

South Sudan plunged into violence in December 2013, when fighting erupted between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and defectors led by his former deputy, Riek Machar, around the capital Juba.

The conflict soon turned into an all-out war between the army and the defectors, with the violence taking on an ethnic dimension that pitted the president’s Dinka tribe against Machar’s Nuer ethnic group.

The clashes have left tens of thousands of South Sudanese dead and forced around 1.9 million people to flee their homes in the world’s youngest nation.

South Sudan gained independence in July 2011 after its people overwhelmingly voted in a referendum for a split from the North.

Sudan back on US-Israel radar

The US State Department and Jewish NGOs trained and funded Arab Spring protests have hit Khartoum and Omdurman behind the smokescreen of government’s decision to cut fuel subsidies.
On September 27, Sudanese interior minister Ibrahim Mahmoud speaking at a radio talk show said that police has arrested more than 600 anti-government protestors – and 100 of them are being investigated for burning and looting public and private properties. Khartoum sources have claimed the death of 37 people including a policeman.Last week, several Jewish groups urged the Hotel Association and its New York members to deny accomodation to Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir during his visit to the attend the UN General Assembly in New York. These Evildoers have been running similar campaign against former Iranian president Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad between 2006-2012.

The US-Israeli problem with Sudan is not just the country’s huge oil reserves, but its strategic location along the Nile waterway. The Jewish supremacy over Nile basin was acknowledged by Zionist leaders even before the creation of the Zionist entity by the western colonial powers. Sudan along with South Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, depends on the Nile as their water source. Khartoum still remains the only regime which doesn’t recognize the Jewish occupation of Palestine. Therefore, the Zionist entity and its western stooges have to continue covert operation to bring a pro-Israel regime change in Khartoum even after the break-up of the country.

On September 28, 2013, Tony Cartalucci, posted an investigative post, entitled, ‘Old Dog, Old Trick: US, Saudis, Qatar attempt “Arab Spring” retread in Sudan‘. Cartalucc claims that the protests are smokescreen for unfolding US-Saudi-Qatar backed violence seeking regime change in Sudan. Let us not foget that in the past US-Saudi-Qatar were also responsible for bringing regime changes in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Libya. According to the US Jewish scholar, Gabriel M. Scheinmann, Israel has come out as the winner of Arab Spring.

The West’s interest in Sudan is not causal or spontaneous. It was listed as one of several Muslim nation-states the US had intended to violently overthrow and subjugate as a pro-USrael client regime since at least 2001, revealed in a speech given by US Army General Wesley Clark in 2007. Watch the video below.

UNSC Draft Resolution on AU Roadmap in Sudan

Local Editor

United Nations Security Council meetingThe United Nations Security Council (UNSC) started deliberating on a draft resolution introduced by the United States calling for implementation of the African Union (AU) roadmap aimed at resolving disputes between north and south Sudan.

The plan was adopted by the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) during its meeting this week that discussed the fallout from the occupation of Heglig area by South Sudan before Sudan army managed to take it back a week ago, Sudan Tribune reported Friday.

The Pan-African body called for immediate return to negotiations, cessation of hostilities, activation of border monitoring mechanism, ending support to rebels and withdrawal of both countries’ troops inside the borders including from Abyei among other things.

It gave a three month deadline to reach an agreement on post-independence issues namely oil, Abyei, borders and citizenship.

Sudan and South SudanThe UNSC resolution proposed to be under Chapter VII threatens sanctions on Sudan and South Sudan if found violating the terms of the AU plan.

U.S. ambassador to the UN Susan Rice suggested that there is some resistance among UNSC members which may result in the resolution taking some time before being considered for vote.

“We are members of the African Union. We respect everything that comes from the African Union. That doesn’t mean anything comes from the African Union or African Peace and Security Council being or to be exploited by certain members here in the Security Council and try to for their own sake,” Sudan’s UN ambassador Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman told reporters today.

The ambassador expressed reservations and appeared critical of using Chapter VII of the UN charter in the resolution saying that Sudan’s understanding is that it should be directed to the “aggressor”.

Sudanese officials have given conflicting statements on their willingness to resume negotiations with Juba following the Heglig battles.

Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir ruled out any talks and said that South Sudan only understands the “language of the gun”.

“We will not negotiate with the South’s government, because they don’t understand anything but the language of the gun and ammunition,” Bashir told Sudanese troops in Heglig earlier this week.

But Bashir’s foreign minister Ali Karti later said that negotiations could be restarted on security issues only and particularly on Juba’s alleged support to rebels fighting to topple regime in Khartoum.

Juba strongly denies supporting Sudanese rebels and accuses Khartoum of aiding insurgent in its territories.

Source: Websites
27-04-2012 – 17:47 Last updated 27-04-2012 – 17:47

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S. Sudan Withdraws from Heglig, Damages Revealed

Local Editor

Heglig area of Sudan occupied by South SudanSouth Sudan’s army has completed its withdrawal from Sudan’s main Heglig oil field, the military said Sunday, but condemned the north for bombing the area.

Juba seized the flashpoint oil hub on April 10, claiming that Khartoum was using Heglig as a base to attack the South’s oil-producing Unity State.

Although South Sudan disputes it, Heglig is internationally regarded as part of Sudan.

The South’s Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) “completed its withdrawal from Heglig yesterday,” the South’s military spokesman Philip Aguer told AFP.

However, Sudan’s presidential assistant, Nafie Ali Nafie, has accused South Sudan’s government of deceiving its people by saying that its army withdrew from Heglig, Sudan Tribune reported.

Sudan Presidential Assistant Nafie Ali NafieAddressing a mobilization rally of Sufi groups in the capital Khartoum on Saturday, Nafie claimed that Juba had in fact pleaded with international mediators to stop Khartoum from shelling SPLA troops inside Heglig.

UN chief Ban Ki-Moon branded Juba’s 10-day occupation of the region illegal and US President Barack Obama has said the long-time rivals must negotiate to avoid further military escalation along their contested and volatile border.
For his part, The Sudanese First Vice President Ali Osman Taha ruled out quick return to negotiations with S. Sudan, suggesting that negotiations with the South are pointless.

In an interview with Blue Nile TV, Taha also accused Juba of launching economic war on Sudan when SPLA damaged the operating system software of Heglig oil facilities and set the main controls of the plants on fire. The details and scope of the destruction will be revealed in the coming hours, he added.

Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha visiting a wounded man during the clashes in HegligSudan state TV aired footages from inside Heglig showing major destruction in the town while oil facilities were still burning and efforts were made to put out the fires.

The Washington-based Satellite Sentinel Project (SSP) said in a statement today that new satellite imagery revealed that a key part of the pipeline infrastructure was destroyed.

“The damage appears to be so severe, and in such a critical part of the oil infrastructure, that it would likely stop oil flow in the area,” SSP’s statement read.

The Heglig violence was the worst since South Sudan won independence in July after a 1983-2005 civil war in which about two million people died.

Tensions have gradually mounted over the disputed border and other unresolved issues.

Source: Agencies
22-04-2012 – 16:11 Last updated 22-04-2012 – 16:11

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Fighting rages after South Sudan captures Sudan oil field

Published Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Fierce fighting raged Wednesday as warplanes bombed contested regions on the border between Sudan and South Sudan, the second day of violence in the latest round of bloody clashes.

South Sudanese troops held positions in the disputed Heglig oil field, seized on Tuesday from Khartoum’s troops, said Mac Paul, deputy director of South Sudan’s military intelligence.

“SPLA (the South Sudan armed forces) are holding their positions in Heglig and the bombardment continues… there was bombing all night long,” Paul told AFP in the capital of South Sudan’s frontline Unity state.

Several airstrikes by Sudanese Antonov airplanes and fighter jets were reported at least 50km deep inside South Sudan, although officials had no immediate reports of casualties.

On Tuesday, an AFP correspondent on the South Sudanese frontline heard heavy artillery shelling and multiple airstrikes lasting for around an hour, with one bomb dropped by aircraft landing less than a kilometer away.

Large Southern Sudanese troops movements were seen close to the frontier, with convoys heading up to the frontline near Heglig, an area Juba claims but which makes up a key part of Khartoum’s oil production.

The clashes follow border fighting that erupted last month between the two neighbors, the most serious unrest since Juba’s independence last July, and which prompted international fears of a return to all-out war.

Khartoum has vowed to react with “all means” against a three-pronged attack it said South Sudanese forces had launched against Sudan’s South Kordofan state, including the Heglig oil field.

A statement on Khartoum’s official SUNA news agency warned of “destruction” in South Sudan.
Khartoum also claimed Southern forces were backed by rebel groups. It did not specify which rebels but the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) has been battling government troops in South Kordofan since June.
(AFP)

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Eye on The Enemy:’’Israel’’ Welcomes Dialogue with Salafis, Hails South Sudanese President

 

Local Editor
Former Chief of Mossad: We welcome a dialogue with the Salafis
“Israeli” Radio
‘Former chief of Mossad, MK of the Labor Party, Danny Yatom declared that “the situation in Egypt is disturbing, though those in power in Cairo were trying to maintain peace, but there are big concerns that they might not succeed, because we know that the weakness of the central authority in Egypt is increasing.”

“The unrest in Cairo shows the lack of control by the Egyptian authorities that should enforce order and security in the Sinai, and as a result, Egypt is losing control of the peninsula, and anyone who wishes to execute a sabotaging operation against “Israel” will feel freer and will have lots of options to do so,” he stated. Yatom added that “the growing Islamic movements and Islamic extremists in Egypt, mainly the Salafis, requires admitting that they do not reject dialogue with us, and certainly we must have a dialogue with all the parties in power in Egypt without any exception in order to have an effect on them, even slightly, depending on the way in which they will address to us.”

“However, the Salafis’ ideology is more extreme than the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, for when it comes to “Israel” they do not want to see it on the map, but if they changed their minds, on the contrary, we’ll feel happy to talk with them,” he confirmed.

“The tension in Egypt is festering between two parties, the first is led by the army, which is the secular movement; and the second is led by those who claim that the army stole the revolution from them, and that it’s an extension of “Mubarak’s regime,” Yatom mentioned.

Moreover, some people alleged that the Islamists of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafi “al-Nour” Party have made a deal behind the scenes with the army, whereby in the event of winning the elections they will formulate the parliament and the future government, and in exchange the army will relinquish its office and will gain capacities that affects the political course in Egypt.

“I don’t know if this is true, yet I assume that these two parties will eventually clash; the army representing secularism and Muslim Brotherhood-Salafis representing the most extreme Islamic ideology, then a clash might take place. We should follow-up on the events of Egypt very closely,” he said.
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South Sudanese President: “Israel” is the Role Model
“Israeli” International Channel
The South Sudanese president, Salva Ki’ir expressed his excitement to set foot on the Promised Land, and said that the establishment of two states, “Israel” and South Sudan, is very similar, pointing to the great support provided by “Israel” to establish their state, and adding that he views “Israel” as a role model state.

It is an honor for me to sit down with Peres, for he is known by the successive generations. The history of your country has very much contributed in making your state very well-known around the world,” Ki’ir said.

An agreement was reached between South Sudan and “Israel” to send an “Israeli” delegation to South Sudan to inspect the situation there in order to develop plans to provide possible “Israeli” assistance to establish the infrastructure there and develop the country.

It is worth mentioning that the State of South Sudan, which received recognition
\by the United Nations as an independent country around six months ago, is of a Christian majority.

The consolidation of relations between “Israel” and this country falls within the “Israeli” efforts to form a front of Christian countries in Africa to defy the Islamic extremists whose strength is boosting in the north of this the continent.
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South Sudan Approved to Absorb African Infiltrators to “Israel”
Walla news portal
Knesset Member Danny Danon (Likud), who heads the Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, said that “the state of South Sudan is ready to absorb 10 thousand infiltrators in “Israel””. Danon added that South Sudan has asked “Israel” to assist them in areas of infrastructure, communications and agriculture.

Danon revealed that South Sudan has agreed to absorb the African refugees who entered “Israel” from other African countries such as Eritrea, adding that since the establishment of the State of South Sudan half a year ago, 100 to 400 refugees southern Sudanese left “Israel” and returned to their homeland in exchange for $ 500 per capita paid by “Israel”.

He pointed out that “the readiness of South Sudan will help in reducing the number of African infiltrators to “Israel”, which according to the official data are nearly fifty thousand, many of whom came from Eritrea.

Danon described the approval of South Sudan to absorb infiltrators as a “great achievement”. He suggested that “the prison camp built to detain African refugees in “Israel” should be built in Africa instead, and “Israel” should grant a financial compensation to the State that agrees to set up the camp within its territory.”

He considered that “the cost of building such a prison camp in Africa is cheaper, plus it would pass a message to the infiltrators that, in all cases, they will not be able to stay in “Israel”, and Prime Minister (Netanyahu) seconded this idea but haven’t yet implemented it.”

On South Sudan, Danon stated, “I think the new nation should be strengthened, which is a Christian minority within a Muslim majority. Strengthening the cooperation with them on infiltrators benefits both sides; on one hand, they gain an economic advantage and on the other hand, “Israel” reduces the infiltrators into its territory”.

Source: Hebrew Newspapers, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org

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