VZCZCXYZ0002
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKH #0943 1090912
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY ADBD38BF AMG8561-695)
O 190912Z APR 06 ZDS
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2411
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000943 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D C O P Y ((PARA 6 MARKINGS)) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV SOCI AID SU
SUBJECT:  Southern Sudan: Tambura Residents Demand 
 
 
Development 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: The Acting Consul General (A/CG) accompanied 
representatives from the Bureau of Population, Refugees 
and Migration (PRM) to Tambura, a county seat near the 
border of the Central Africa Republic (CAR).  This is the 
first visit by USG officials to the area since the peace 
deal was signed in 2005.  During the visit, A/CG met with 
both County Commissioner-Designate Paul Matthew, and with 
village leaders from around the county.  Every local 
leader reassured the delegation that Tambura was a 
completely safe and secure place for international 
organizations to operate, despite reservations from some 
NGOs on the ground.  The primary concern of the leaders 
was development, and several people in separate 
conversations demanded concrete houses with tin roofs to 
replace their traditional tukuls.  End Summary. 
 
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Security Issues 
--------------- 
 
¶2.  County leaders expressed concern over the recent 
evacuation of international organizations following the 
attack on the UNMIS compound in Yambio, about 150 km 
southeast.  The immediate departure of UNHCR, GTZ, 
International Medical Corps (IMC), World Vision, and 
Medecins Sans Frontieres disrupted refugee returns and 
curtailed some basic health services in the community. 
Only IMC and World Vision have come back.  The County 
Commissioner-Designate emphasized that these evacuations 
were not necessary. 
 
¶3.  On the other hand, the regional security director for 
IMC expressed reservations about the security situation. 
He told A/CG that he believes it is not a question of 
"if" the LRA will attack, but "when."  The LRA is 
reportedly operating in northeastern Congo, relatively 
far from Tambura, but the security director said that he 
has heard stories of LRA movements in the area. 
 
¶4.  The security director does not think he can properly 
secure the IMC operations in the district, but IMC has 
made the decision to do the best it can.  Because the UN 
and the local government have failed to establish or 
approve a proper radio network, IMC has just purchased 
sets of Motorola Toys-R-Us type walkie-talkies to 
facilitate internal communication.  As for contacting 
local authorities if they get attacked, the security 
director explained that the Commissioner-Designate has 
the only Thuraya in the government, and the local SPLA 
security forces have no communications whatsoever. 
 
¶5.  Even if the SPLA could be notified, the security 
director doubted there would be an effective response. 
Following the attacks in Yambio, additional security was 
requested for Tambura but has failed to materialize. 
According to the security director, the local Zande 
population believes that the Dinka-led SPLA does not put 
a priority on their safety.  Ethnic fights between Dinka 
and Zande are common in the area. 
 
---------------- 
Development NOW! 
---------------- 
 
¶6.  Most of the conversations with local leaders revolved 
around a demand for immediate development.  The villagers 
complained that due to the heavy rains in Western 
Equatoria, their tukuls require extensive maintenance 
every year and must be re-roofed every two years.  They 
asked the donor community for help in building concrete 
houses with tin roofs and pointed out that all the local 
NGOs had built or renovated solid houses for themselves. 
 
STEINFELD