Kasha stands firm on South Darfur’s claim to two border areas

The Governor of South Darfur, Hamid Musa Kasha, announced on Thursday that he will not give up the state’s claim to two border areas disputed with Bahr El Ghazal State to the south. He said that the areas Hofrat En Nahas and Kafia Kinji belong to the state, contrary to claims by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement. Kasha was speaking after a meeting in the Al Radum area of Nyala. He said that all the documents confirm that the areas belong to the State of South Darfur and that any talk otherwise is contrary to the facts. Dozens of Southerners had demonstrated during the last few days in the city of Wau in Bahr El Ghazal, demanding that the areas Kafia Kinji and Hofrat En Nahas belong to Southern Sudan. The protesters delivered a statement to the state Acting Governor who in turn handed the statement to the United Nations Mission and the Government of Southern Sudan.The name Hofrat En Nahas in Arabic means “copper pit,” and indeed it is a place where there are deposits of copper and other minerals. The area was transferred from Bahr El Ghazal to Darfur in the 1960s.The image above shows roughly the location of the two disputed areas.