Sudan ex-rebels withdraw from northern areas

From Yahoo News 

JUBA, Sudan (AFP) - South Sudan former rebels have left contested northern areas, implementing a key protocol of the troubled peace agreement that required north and south to re-deploy to their respective sides.

Troops from the ex-rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army had started heading south ahead of an initial July 9, 2007 deadline, but halted their movement at signs that the northern troops were not reciprocating.

Deputy chief of staff Major General Hoth Mai said on Thursday that the ex-rebels had been moving in the past month but that the withdrawal had been tough owing to the absence of roads.

"These are jungle areas," Hoth said. "They move one, two days, and rest; one, two days, and rest."

Hoth said the withdrawal of 7,000 troops from Blue Nile, a northern state that borders the south, is "100-percent complete."

The ex-rebels also had 5,000 in the Nuba Mountains. Hoth said their withdrawal was complete save for fewer than 100 troops, who would reach the southern areas late on Thursday or Friday.

Transport problems have also slowed the march of northern troops to their side of the border. They have been moving since Monday, but some were reported to have reached the border only on Wednesday.

As both sets of troops continued to slog it out through the jungle, the respective withdrawals were deemed officially complete on January 9, to coincide with the third anniversary of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended Africa's longest-running civil war.

The anniversary was marked by low-key events in the national capital Khartoum and is to be celebrated on January 14 in the south.

The Sudanese army flag was lowered and the flag of the new joint integrated units (JIUs) raised at the former headquarters of the northern troops in the area of Bentiu, according to official media.

The joint units, made up of equal numbers of ex-rebels and northern troops, are supposed to patrol the oil areas, according to the peace agreement.

"The two armed forces and the JIUs shall be regular, professional and non-partisan armed forces," according to the Security Protocol of the CPA.

"They shall respect the rule of law and the civilian government, democracy, basic rights, and the will of the people."

The peace agreement allows for integrated units of 21,000 soldiers -- half government half SPLA -- to be formed during the six-year interim period. The south is set to vote on full secession in 2011.

The units are supposed to look after disputed areas, such as Southern Kordofan and the Nuba Mountains, and the oil-rich area of Abyei.