South Sudan and Sudan discuss safety measures for war-trapped South Sudanese nationals

South Sudan and neighbouring Sudan are in discussions to ensure the safety of South Sudanese nationals currently trapped in conflict areas of war-torn Sudan.

South Sudan's Foreign Affairs Minister, Ramadan Abdallah Goch, informed the Sudan Tribune on Monday that high-level discussions are ongoing to protect South Sudanese nationals following reports and graphic images showing mistreatment by Sudanese authorities.

"We have seen reports and graphic images, and as a government, we have mechanisms for conducting verifications and addressing such issues," Goch told the Sudan Tribune.

The South Sudanese government plans to use appropriate channels to verify and raise these issues, which have already attracted public attention. 

Recent weeks have seen graphic images of South Sudanese nationals being thrown onto pick-up trucks and placed in congested waiting areas before deportation to states in South Sudan at the Sudanese border.

In 2012, the two countries signed a cooperation agreement granting four freedoms: freedom of residence, freedom of movement, freedom to undertake economic activity, and freedom to acquire and dispose of property.

Sudanese refugees who fled the violence in Sudan's Darfur region and newly arrived ride their donkeys looking for space to temporarily settle, near the border between Sudan and Chad in Goungour, Chad May 8, 2023. (Reuters)

Professor Yanga William, a concerned citizen advocating for the safety of South Sudanese nationals in Sudan, called for an extension of the limited notice period issued by Sudanese authorities.

He argued that an extension would allow citizens to prepare and leave safely. William stated that Sudanese authorities have launched a crackdown on South Sudanese refugees, with security forces arresting and deporting them through Jabelein, a border town near South Sudan's Upper Nile state.

"There are concerns about how arrests are made. Many fear that some returnees could face persecution upon return. Others had legitimate reasons for fleeing and sought refuge in different states in Sudan, which has hosted both military and political dissidents. These dissidents have used Sudanese authorities as mediators in their grievances with the South Sudanese government," he added.

General Simon Gatwec Dual, leader of a breakaway faction of the armed opposition group SPLM-IO operating in Kitgwang in northern Upper Nile State, remains active. 

Sources told the Sudan Tribune that Dual has not attended talks due to being trapped in Sudan and unable to return to South Sudan despite numerous presidential amnesties extended to dissident groups or relocate to a third country.

It is unclear whether some of his fighters have joined rival factions in the Sudanese conflict. Another rebel leader, Stephen Buoy Rolnyang, operating at the Sudan-South Sudan border, also has fighters with family members in Sudan. Rolnyang is participating in the Kenyan-led mediation with the holdout group.

Analysts have noted that the recent crackdown in Sudan, targeting South Sudanese who have lived and owned property in various states and cities, reflects the nature of war, where individuals without known affiliations are subject to suspicion and distrust.

Military authorities and national security agents, who have the power to arrest without hesitation, have accused foreigners and anti-war activists of being agents of the paramilitary Rapid Support Force. However, some claim that family members of South Sudanese fighting alongside Sudanese armed forces have not been targeted, leading to mixed opinions on the approach.

Presidents William Ruto (Kenya), Lazarus Chakwera (Malawi), Hakainde Hichilema (Zambia), Faustin-Archange Touadéra (Central African Republic), Emmerson Mnangagwa (Zimbabwe), Salva Kiir (South Sudan), Somalia Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre and the AUC Chairperson Moussa Faki witness the launch of the South Sudan Mediation Process chaired by Lazarus Sumbeiywo at State House, Nairobi, on Thursday, May 9, 2024. (Photo: PCS)