Disillusionment: Bashir accuses South Sudan of ‘betrayal’

KHARTOUM: Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir on Sunday warned South Sudan against supporting rebels north of the border and accused Juba of “betrayal,” in the latest sign of deteriorating bilateral relations. “The president of the republic addressed a strong message to the government of South Sudan, calling on them to stop supporting the rebels,” the official SUNA news agency reported. Bashir was speaking after performing prayers to mark the Eid al-Azha festival in the Blue Nile state’s border town of Kurmuk, which the Sudanese army on Thursday captured from the SPLM-North, the opposition party turned rebel insurgents. He accused the Juba government of being behind an attack on the Sudanese army in the disputed border region of Abyei in May, SUNA said. “He cited the betrayal of the government of the south for the attack on the armed forces in Abyei... and the support of the government of the south for the SPLM (North) and its betrayal in Kadugli,” it added, referring to the capital of South Kordofan state.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7^th,  2011.