US may give Sudan $200 million

Sudan will receive as much as $200 million in financial aid from the US as soon as the government signs a peace deal with southern rebels, the al-Ayyam newspaper quoted a US diplomat as saying.

Rebel leader John Garang (R) and Vice President Ali Osman Taha

The newspaper reported that Gerard Gallucci, the US charge d’affaires in Khartoum, said US aid would subsequently increase to reach a total of $500 million.

The financial assistance would be provided for rehabilitation projects in the south and other regions affected by the conflict, he added, without specifying exact financial terms. 

Gallucci said he was “confident that the donors would not refrain from extending assistance to the Sudan, like in Afghanistan” once peace is signed, the newspaper added.

Devastation

Sudan’s civil war is the longest running in Africa and has claimed more than 1.5 million lives. Some four million others have been displaced by the fighting which has ravaged the mineral-rich country since 1983.

(I am) “confident that the donors would not refrain from extending assistance to the Sudan, like in Afghanistan”  (once peace is signed)

Gerard Gallucci,
US charge d’affaires

Under a deal reached last year, the government and the rebels agreed on a six-year transitional period at the end of which the southern Sudanese will vote for unity with the north or secession.

Southern rebel leader John Garang and Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha last month signed a crucial agreement detailing security arrangements for the south during the interim period.

Talks between the two men will recommence on 15 October in Kenya. Discussions are expected to revolve around power sharing and oil resources.

Source: AFP