Sudan threatens to close border, treat S. Sudanese as foreigners

Sudan's cabinet has threatened to prosecute South Sudanese in Sudan without proper papers, a move that would suddenly change the special status of South Sudanese refugees, according to state media.

In an announcement on Thursday, the cabinet also threatened to reverse a recent presidential decision to open the border with South Sudan for the first time since independence in 2011.

The cabinet said that it would treat any South Sudanese within its territory as foreigners, suggesting that they could be denied healthcare and education services, and even warned that they could face legal action if they are found without a passport and visa within this week.

The statement said South Sudanese would be treated as “foreigners regarding receiving health, education and other services”.

The decision if implemented would affect at least 170,000 South Sudanese who arrived in Sudan since December 2013, few of whom have any official passport, and hundreds of thousands more refugees living in the country since before that time.

South Sudanese who arrived in Sudan since the outbreak of civil war in December 2013 have never been given official refugee status but were theoretically entitled to the same rights as Sudanese citizens and received the same access to healthcare and other services.

The comments came ahead of an African Union-mediated meeting in Addis Ababa today between Sudanese officials and rebels from South Kordofan, Blue Nile and the western Darfur regions to discuss the conflicts in Sudan's border regions.

Border

“If the government of South Sudan does not stop supporting the insurgents, we might take measures to protect the security of our country and we might even close the border with South Sudan again,” Ibrahim Mahmoud, aide to President Al Bashir, told reporters after officials met African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki in Khartoum.

Particularly the SPLM-N in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, that is in control of several areas, continues to be a major security concern of the government. There has been a surge in fighting between Sudanese troops and allied militia in South Kordofan state, which borders South Sudan, and Blue Nile state, in recent weeks.

Al Bashir ordered the reopening of the frontier with South Sudan on January 27 after years of tense relations between the countries, including disputes over several border areas.

(Source: Radio Dabanga, Radio Tamazuj, Yahoo News)