International aid agencies resuming operations in south

A spokesman for Oxfam confirmed on Wednesday that the organisation would be resuming operations in southern Sudan. He told IRIN that Oxfam had not yet signed the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) Memorandum of Understanding - which outlines conditions for aid agencies to work in rebel-held areas - but that it anticipated doing so. He said that Oxfam was co-coordinating its move with other agencies, including Save the Children Fund (SCF). A statement issued by Care International also announced the resumption of operations.

SPLA spokesman Samson Kwaje announced on Monday that four international agencies - Oxfam, SCF, Care International and the German and Belgian branches of Veterinaires sans Frontieres (VSF) had agreed to return to southern Sudan after signing the Memorandum of Understanding. Humanitarian sources said the agencies had received assurances of co-operation by the rebels’ humanitarian arm, the Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Association (SRRA). A number of international agencies suspended operations in southern Sudan earlier this year, after refusing to sign the Memorandum, saying that it was too restrictive.

They also objected to financial stipulations and a clause requiring them to leave behind project assets in the event of an “interruption” of activities, which the SRRA reserved the right to order.