South Sudan questions Sudanese government’s ability to secure borders  

JUBA, NOV. 3, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – The South Sudanese government on Thursday questioned the ability of its neighbor, Sudan, to control its southern border and said the ongoing conflict is impeding Juba’s ability to implement its 2018 peace agreement.

In a speech at an inter-ministerial summit on migration governance organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Juba, South Sudan’s cabinet minister Martin Elia Lomuro said that South Sudan is directly affected by the Sudanese conflict.

The senior government official said it is very difficult for South Sudan to deal with the government of Sudan on the border management because it do not know who controls the southern border between the warring parties, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and the Sudanese army.

“We are almost crossing towards 500,000, 600,000 refugees fleeing the conflict in Sudan, and we don’t know who is controlling our border on the other side,” he added. “We really have a real challenge, and this is a national challenge.”

Lomuro also said that the Sudanese conflict is impacting the implementation of the South Sudan peace agreement, calling on the international community to address how the war in Sudan is affecting Juba’s ability to implement its own peace.

“The international community should also look at how this war in Sudan is affecting the South Sudan ability to implement its own peace,” Lomuro said. “We are not responsible for creating problems in those countries. But they are impacting us negatively. In a situation where we are even being assessed on our seriousness to implement the agreement.”

“Imagine you want to assess me on my seriousness to implement the agreement, but you don’t want to see how the problems created in other countries impact on my ability to implement the agreement,” he added.

Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began in April this year when the RSF attacked several Sudanese government and army positions in the capital Khartoum.

Thousands of people have been killed and millions have been displaced. South Sudan is one of the neighboring countries where fleeing Sudanese civilians have fled to. The Sudanese army still controls most of its border with South Sudan.

Lomuro’s comments raise concerns about the security and humanitarian situation on the South Sudan-Sudan border.

The lack of clarity about who controls the border could make it easier for armed groups and smugglers to operate in the area. It could also make it more difficult for humanitarian organizations to provide assistance to people in need.