AFRICA/SUDAN - Is Darfur in dispute between north and south Sudan?

Khartoum (Agenzia Fides) – The crisis in Darfur, in western Sudan, risks leading to new tensions between the central government in Khartoum and the autonomous administration of South Sudan (whose capital is Juba).
The head of the secret services of Khartoum (NISS – National Intelligence and Security Services), Mohamed Atta Al-Moula, has asked Juba's government to immediately arrest the rebels of Darfur that are in South Sudan, in the interests of peace between the north and south. The inclusive peace accord, signed in 2005 in Nairobi (Kenya), which put an end to the 20-year-long war between north and south Sudan, calls for the constitution of an autonomous administration in South Sudan (led by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, SPLM, the former guerrilla group that fought against Khartoum), the appointment of representatives of the SPLM in the central government, and the holding of a referendum (in January 2011) on the independence of southern Sudan. A second referendum will decide whether to assign the oil-rich territory of Abyei to the north or the south.
Darfur, a vast territory in the western part of the country, has experienced a situation of instability since 2003 when a series of guerrilla movements appeared, calling for greater support and attention from Khartoum towards the region.
Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir did not want his first Vice-President, Salva Kiir (who is also president of southern Sudan and the SPLM leader) to get involved in the issue of Darfur, and is skeptical in regards to the efforts of southern Sudan to bring together various movements in Darfur to seek a common platform for dialogue.
According to the head of the NISS, southern Sudan is home to the basis of some guerrilla movements in Darfur, in particular the JEM (Justice and Equality Movement), which until now were not disturbed by the government in Juba (which maintains its own army, independent from that of Khartoum).
The Darfur issue, therefore, adds itself on to the other pending litigations between Khartoum and Juba, such as the alleged subsidies sent from the central government to the dissidents of the SPLM and other armed groups that operate in the south. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 09/11/2010)