South Sudan Cabinet Affairs Minister Deng Alor. [Gurtong/James Deng Dimo]
By James Deng Dimo
WAU, 13 May 2012 [Gurtong] - The South Sudanese Cabinet Affairs Minister Deng Alor said Thursday that South Sudan is ready to meet the Sudanese negotiators “anytime” despite the latter’s resistance of peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict.
Speaking upon arrival from a meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, Alor reiterated South Sudan’s commitment to fully comply with a recent United Nations Security Council resolution that demanded an immediate end to hostilities along the border with Sudan and resumption of talks on all outstanding issues with Khartoum.
The Sudan Armed Forces on Wednesday continued to carry out air and ground attacks on targets in Western Bahr el Ghazal in Timsha area and Hufranhas, Upper Nile and Unity States on Monday and Tuesday in a clear violation of Security Council resolution which had called for an immediate end to the raids.
The resolution, adopted on May 2, represented the endorsement by the international community of an African Union roadmap for peace and stability between South Sudan and Sudan after the two countries nearly came to war in the wake of repeated aggression by Khartoum against Juba.
It called for amongst others, an immediate cessation of hostilities, withdrawal of forces from contested areas, activation of border security mechanisms, implementation of signed agreements and prompt resumption of negotiations on post-independence issues.
South Sudanese officials said on Thursday that withdrawal of hundreds of police from Abyei had been complete in line with the AU roadmap.