South Sudan Denies Funding Northern Militias

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The Sudanese government claims that South Sudan is aggressing deep into its territories by supporting its party branch SPLM-North in Sudan. However, the government spokesperson Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin told journalists in Juba that, his government is not involved in supporting any militias in Sudan and downplayed the allegations. 

“This is really not true; we aren’t supporting any militia groups. We’re sympathetic to them since they’ve got a political problem but we totally deny supporting illegal groups,” Marial said. 

Tensions between the two countries since last month’s military aggressions along the border regions has reached its peak as they trade accusations and propaganda statements jeopardizing diplomatic ties between them. 

Khartoum has so far accused the South Sudanese government led by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) whose branch remained in Sudan while declaring it as a branch rebels allegedly being funded by the South government. 

During the 2010 April general elections held in a number of States; Blue Nile, Southern Kordofan among others in Sudan were won by majority members of the then SPLM opposition party. 

Prior to the South’s independence, the two States of Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan had mainly remained under the control of the SPLM-North which is currently branded as a militia group. Marial explained that, after the independence the SPLM army that was part of the SPLA also remained in the mentioned areas with all military assets. 

“The arms the SPLM-north posses were properties of the SPLA; because there was Division 9 and 10 but when South Sudan became independent the citizens of those areas remained intact,” Marial explained . 

The already expired Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) had spelt out a protocol through  popular consultations having viewed the future crisis on the two States; Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan as the resolution to address crisis to arise after the South’s independence. However, Khartoum has downplayed the implementation of the resolution in what Marial said remains the major cause of the crisis there. 

He suggested that the Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir to absorb the different militia groups into the national army the way South Sudan did as one way of addressing the crisis. He added that South Sudan is ready to mediate between the Sudanese government with the militias there if need be to strive for peace in the country.