Cablegate: Southern Sudan: Pangak Fighting Continues As Unmis

VZCZCXRO8933
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1996 2351638
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 231638Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4257
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001996

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV MOPS KPKO UN SU
SUBJECT: Southern Sudan: Pangak Fighting Continues as UNMIS
Attacked

1. (U) An UNMIS monitoring team was attacked while patrolling the
Nile during a routine joint monitoring mission on August 17. The
UNMIS boat patrol was fired upon by unknown forces an hour south of
Malakal near New Pangak (Note: this is not the town of Pangak,
which is further upriver. End note.) A statement from the
Ceasefire Joint Military Commission (CJMC) has called this a serious
violation of both the ceasefire agreement and the CPA.

2. (U) The UNMIS team was comprised of two patrol boats with 25
Bangladeshi UN Force Protection Soldiers, three Indian UN observers,
a Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) monitor, and a monitor from the Sudan
People's Liberation Army (SPLA). While the attack was largely by
small arms fire, a rocket was reportedly fired at the patrol and
narrowly missed. Two UNMIS soldiers and the SAF monitor received
minor gunshot wounds and have been hospitalized. The UNMIS force
withdrew as soon as the fighting began.

3. (SBU) This oil-rich area has been the source of intermittent
fighting over the past year between the SPLA and Gabriel Tang, a
commander with the South Sudan Defense Force (SSDF). Embassy
officials spoke with Tang and SSDF leader Gordon Kong, who said that
the current fighting began with an attack by the SPLA on August 12
and has included some civilian casualties. The SSDF claims that
Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) President Salva Kiir declared
war on them during his recent visit to the United States.

4. (SBU) While investigations are ongoing, a high-ranking UNMIS
official told the Acting Consul General in Juba that he also
believes the SPLA is conducting an offensive against the SSDF
between Malakal and Pangak. While it is not yet confirmed, he
believes the SPLA may be responsible for the attack on the UNMIS
patrol, and that it could have been an effort to keep the UN out
while they finish their operations. All INGOs and UN agencies have
pulled out of the area and the UNMIS has temporarily stopped patrols
while they make plans for more robust policing. The UNMIS official
believes that this fighting will continue, and could eventually
culminate in a large battle in New Pangak, home to a major SSDF
base.

HUME

© Scoop Media