More than 750 prisoners of war to be released soon

A memorandum of agreement between the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Sudanese government could soon see more than 750 prisoners held by the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), freed. "The ICRC has maintained an active dialogue on these issues with both parties over the past weeks," Lorena Brander, ICRC media relations delegate in Sudan told IRIN on Tuesday. "It is a hopeful sign that the government has decided to sign the memorandum, which sets out the rules and principles governing the release and transfer of persons detained in the course of the armed conflict in southern Sudan," she said. "The ICRC has visited and registered more than 750 prisoners who are held by the SPLM/A," Brander said. "The government has stated they are not holding any prisoners in relation to the conflict. If it would be the case that the government was holding prisoners too, the ICRC might be asked to facilitate their release as well," she added. The parties requested the ICRC to facilitate the release of detainees after a permanent ceasefire between the government and the SPLM/A was signed on 9 January in Nairobi, Kenya. The SPLM/A signed the memorandum on Monday, clearing the way for the practical details to be worked out between the government of Sudan, the SPLM/A and the ICRC. Under the memorandum, the ICRC is to provide humanitarian assistance, including the reestablishment of family links, and ensure appropriate logistical support for transferring the released persons to their former places of residence. "Only prisoners who want to go back will be transferred," Brander added. "Nobody will be forced to return to their place of origin against their will." She said although the SPLM/A has expressed its willingness to release the prisoners in the near future, the ICRC had received no direct notice. "It is not for the ICRC to determine the timetable of the prisoners' release," she noted. The ICRC has requested the Sudanese government and the SPLM/A to grant all necessary authorisations and assistance for organising transportation of the released detainees, and to allow it access to all those concerned with the release and transfer process. The war between the SPLM/A and the Sudanese government erupted in southern Sudan in 1983, when rebels took up arms against the authorities, based in the north, to demand greater autonomy. The fighting has killed at least two million people, uprooted four million more, and forced some 600,000 to flee to neighbouring countries.