Chuck,
There is no news coverage because the NIF Government does not want journalists to see the reeducation camps, burned out villages, or their own economic problems; hence journalists who are not associated with the NIF regime are not allowed into the fighting areas.
Now there is one African group called "Frontline Fellowships", which conducts activities solely in African war zones, including the Sudan. They carry relief supplies against the Regime's wishes into the southern Sudan on a regular basis and report I believe . Try "Frontline Fellowships" in your Internet search engine.
Coverage also lacks because the press does not understand the underlying causes of the war, or who is fighting. A good example here on this Thread is people confusing a few of the breakoff militias like Riak Machar with the Main Body of the SPLA.
As for "encircling" Juba, the SPLA cannot give away its strategy in the press, or on which of the three fronts it intends to prosecute the war. The NIF are relentless and merciless, just like a venemous snake- it will take all of their skills and effort (and God's grace) to defeat them. So you do not want to give any tips to the NIF.
"Support from the North": good observation- the nature of this war changed in the last seven months. Initially it was the African Christians and Traditional Religionists versus the Arab Moslems. The Africans perceive the Arabs and their Muslim Religion as a form of military and cultural colonialism, and by and large reject it. That fact can be confirmed that now, after eight years of heavy fighting and over 1,000,000 dead mainly in the south, that there are more Christians both in relative and absolute numbers in the Sudan than there were in 1989 when the NIF coup occurred and the fundamentalists seized power. In my mind, that fact can only be explained by African efforts to reject the NIF's cultural colonialism. Very few non-Sudanese have been into the war zone and could have influenced this fact because you will be shot on the spot if you do not have a proper authorization..... Indeed the complete abscence of any western powers is one of the most interesting things about the SPLA efforts. The African frontline States while embracing much of western culture, laws, and values have said to the western powers "Relax, let us solve our own issues here...." And they are.
Now in late 1996 a couple of things happened that changed the course of the war. US Secretary of State Warren Christopher visited the OAU Headquarters in Addis Ababa and pledge $20 mm in "surplus military equipment" to the frontline states and Ethiopia began after a six year hiatus (the Mengistu regime) to allow Sudanese Rebels to operate from Ethiopian soil (fear of being surrounded by Islamic Fundamentalists in both Sudan and Somalia)). Next Mahdi of the former pre-NIF Sudanese Government miraculously just walked away from eight years in captivity in Khartoum in a maximum security prison and ended up in Ethiopia. Mahdi agreed to organize the moderate Muslims, particularly those dispossessed from power to fight the NIF Regime too. Those include the Beja Congress from the Northeastern Sudan. (The Beja are better known for their traditional upswing hairdo's which Rudyard Kipling historically referred to as the "Fuzzie Wuzzies"). Also the Fur People of the far western Darfur Region joined the NDA/SPLA Alliance. Both the Beja and Fur have been marginalized by the Arabic peoples around Khartoum in recent Sudanese History, and are tired of being ignored. Finally the Nuba of the Kordufan region (central Sudan) who have suffered most heavily from the savage Jihad of the Government, mass rapes of all women over 14 by NIF agents (to dilute and destroy their tribal blood lines), mass murders and reeducation camps joined the rebellion.
So the war changed from an Arab Moslem versus African Christian fight into the "haves" (tribes around Khartoum) versus the "have- nots" (tribes located away from Khartoum) in the last seven months, or into a genuine regional war. So when the SPLA says that they are "here to stay", that just means that they now have enough men under arms (and equipment) to fight a conventional rather than just a guerilla war as had been previously conducted.
And also if you have noticed lately Egyptian Troops have been making noises about the disputed border with the Sudan of late. And of course do not forget that many sub- Saharan African Nations South Africa, Zambia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Uganda have all voiced public support of the SPLA, while the Congo, Kenya, and Rwanda have quietly supported the fighting, and the Central African Republic has allowed border crossing movements by rebel soldiers. (In turn Libya, Iraq, and Iran have been financing the NIF regime most heavily, with some assistance from the UAE, Jordan, Yemen, and Qatar too. Most noticeably absent from this list is the regional "heavyweight" Saudi Arabia. Saudi would be quietly very happy to see these "friends of the Iranians" disappear... None of the above countries have offered help in the way of manpower, except for a few Iranian advisers,since that would likely only trigger direct involvment by the frontline African States too).
Major towns captured by the NDA/SPLA starting in the South include Kajo Kayi and Yei south of Juba; Rumbek north of Juba; last week Gogrial about 100 miles NW of Rumbek; and Shambe a couple of days ago, about 150 miles north of Juba on the White Nile, mainly to shut all barge traffic to Juba and other points south on the Nile River. Waw about 80 miles NW of Rumbek , and Juba near the Ugandan Border are the two main towns in the Bahr al Ghazal/Equatoria Regions still in Government hands. Both are resupplied by air. The Government incurred heavy losses in the South with entire brigades and regiments being either wiped out or captured. This tended to neutralize the Government's advantage and make the relative military balance about even).
On the SW Front the SPLA has captured Kurmuk and a bunch of little towns up to about 80 miles south of the Rosiere Dam on the Blue Nile. On the NE front the NDA captured Kassala, and the 60 square mile area around that town, and then most of the area to the NE up to and near, but I do not believe including the Town of Tokar.
Hope that helps....
Sincerely,
Doug F.
P.S. Any relation to the former General Braxton Bragg (another rebel who fought and lost).... |
