SPLM denies expelling relief agencies

The SPLM reiterated its position on Tuesday that no NGOs had been expelled or forced to leave its area of control in south Sudan. Spokesman Samson Kwaje said they had “opted to leave of their own volition” rather than have their activities regularised through a formal association between them and the rebels’ Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Association (SRRA). “To misinform the international community that they were expelled is not only false propaganda but a malicious ploy,” Kwaje said in a statement. He called on donors not to be misled or cut funding, since the memorandum was “neither about control nor sovereignty, but rather good organisation and smooth operations”.

Meanwhile, SRRA executive director Elija Malok on Monday said agencies which signed the MOU that the situation would be assessed over three months to see how it was working, and a review of its terms would be possible then, humanitarian sources told IRIN. Malok last week insisted that NGOs which had not signed were “irrelevant” and would not be included in any such negotiations.