VZCZCXRO7743
PP RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0089 0221252
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 221252Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9755
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000089 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/SPG, S/CRS, AF SE WILLIAMSON 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU
SUBJECT: SAF AND SPLA DECLARE EACH OTHER'S REDEPLOYMENTS INCOMPLETE 
 
REFERENCE: (A) KHARTOUM 0026 
(B) 07 KHARTOUM 2003 
(C) 07 KHARTOUM 1928 
 
¶1. (SBU) Two weeks after the January 9 deadline for troop 
redeployment, and despite high-profile media announcements by both 
armies that they had redeployed their troops, now both the SAF and 
the SPLA have begun accusing each other of not fully withdrawing. 
One of the National Congress Party's most prominent Misseriya Arab 
members, Dirdeiry Mohammed Ahmed, told poloffs January 16 that more 
than 20,000 SPLA troops still occupy areas north of the 1/1/56 
border in Southern Kordofan.  Dirdeiry acknowledged that the SPLA 
had largely withdrawn from Blue Nile State, but claimed they had 
moved into "contested areas" that both the north and south claim 
along the border.  SPLA spokesman James Hoth claimed to the media 
and repeated to CG/Juba officers that 500 Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) 
remained in the south and that other SAF troops are within 10 to 20 
kilometers of the 1/1/56 border. 
 
¶2. (SBU) UNMIS Chief Operations Officer Ajay Singh told poloff on 
January 21 that once the UN has completed its verification process, 
the verification statistics will be submitted to the Ceasefire Joint 
Monitoring Commission (CJMC) for review.  He said that the next CJMC 
meeting is scheduled for January 29.  UN Force Commander Lt. General 
Jasper Singh Lidder told emboffs that he welcomed the SAF and SPLA 
force redeployment announcements but since none have been verified 
by the UN or the joint monitoring verification teams, claims of 
redeployment are premature. 
 
¶3. (SBU) International NGO officials told poloff January 16 that 
some SPLA troops have withdrawn from South Kordofan, but local Nuba 
militia remains.  Since the SPLA controls one faction of the local 
militia, the NGO officials expressed concern that the local militia 
will continue to be a source of instability, especially in light of 
the recent fighting in and around Abyei.  International NGO contacts 
in Blue Nile State said that while the SPLA has not totally 
withdrawn, there is a "dramatic decrease" in the number of SPLA 
troops and those who remain are still moving south as of January 20. 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) Comment:  In the days before the January 9 deadline, both 
sides said that meeting the deadline would be difficult because of 
the large number of the troops and the difficult terrain. The 
widely-publicized announcements on January 9 of movements of large 
numbers of troops surprised the UN, in part because neither side had 
met any of the agreed interim monitoring steps (ref B) nor submitted 
movement plans to the UN or to the Sector Joint Military Committees. 
 It appears that the redeployments are far from complete and must be 
verified.  The piecemeal initiatives by both sides to move their 
troops, however, should be viewed positively while realizing that 
process is incomplete and the possibility of unintended military 
confrontation remains. End comment. 
 
FERNANDEZ