Situation Report: Insecurity in South Sudan: A Threat to the IGAD Peace Process

After a long and tortuous process, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) peace talks in Naivasha finally produced a signed framework agreement on 26 May 2004. In spite of this worthy achievement, the security situation and the prognosis for the immediate future in southern Sudan do not support a sense of optimism. The security agreements currently in place have been ignored regularly, which casts doubt both upon the agreements and the organisations monitoring their implementation. There has been no increase in the level of trust between the belligerents after two years of almost continuous negotiations, and there are indications that elements without the national army are sabotaging the peace process by fostering insecurity in southern Sudan.