Sudan crisis is destabilising South Sudan. African and Arab peacemakers working hard to help save Sudan

"Sudan's conflict is already destabilizing South Sudan. Gen Hemedti demanded that South Sudan cease paying the Sudanese government - meaning Gen Burhan - for use of the oil pipeline to Port Sudan, the only export route for that country's main source of revenue. South Sudan has not yet commented on the demand.

Over the weekend, Mr Ruto travelled to Chad to confer with President Mahamat Déby. Deeply fearful of the potential of the Darfur crisis to destabilize his country, Mr Déby held a crisis meeting with Darfuri leaders, including the commanders of the former rebel groups, to discuss how best to respond." 

Read more in a report at BBC News
By Alex de Waal
Africa analyst
Published Thursday 13 July 2023 - here is a full copy:

Sudan crisis: From Ruto to Sisi, leaders vie to drive peace process

IMAGE SOURCE,

GETTY IMAGES

In a clear sign of their seriousness to end the escalating conflict in Sudan, four East African states, led by Kenya, are pushing for the deployment of a regional force to protect civilians and ensure that humanitarian aid reaches millions of people trapped in the war zone.

But getting the agreement of the warring factions will be a tough call, as they have shown no interest in anything other than military victory since the conflict broke out in mid-April.

Meanwhile Egypt is hosting a summit of Sudan's neighbours to discuss ways to end the conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The military, headed by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, controls most of eastern and central Sudan, and is fighting to hold on to its bases in the capital, Khartoum.

The rival RSF, led by Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagolo, known as "Hemedti", has made advances in Khartoum, where its fighters have been accused of murders, rapes and occupying and pillaging hospitals.

The military bombs RSF positions relentlessly in the capital, reportedly causing widespread civilian casualties.

Over the media horizon, horrifying violence rages in Sudan's western region of Darfur.

The RSF has overrun most of the region. Along with their allied Arab militia, RSF fighters have driven out many thousands of ethnic Masalit from their historic homeland in western Darfur.

They burned the palace of the sultan, the group's customary leader. When the governor, Khamis Abbakar, called it "genocide" men in RSF uniform abducted and killed him.

More than 160,000 Masalit refugees have fled across the border to Chad.

The RSF also ransacked the city of Zalingei, home to the Fur community, and encircled the two biggest cities in the region, al-Fashir and Nyala.

Many Darfuris fear this is the culmination of a long-standing plan to transform the ethnically-mixed region into an Arab-ruled domain.

IMAGE SOURCE,

REUTERS

Image caption,

With Darfur worst-affected by the conflict, people are fleeing into neighbouring Chad

The urgent need in western Darfur is civilian protection. Ironically, the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur had exactly this mandate. But it was withdrawn two years ago in a decision that now seems terribly misguided.

RSF forces are also besieging the capital of North Kordofan state, El-Obeid.

Should they capture it, the military will survive only in pockets west of the River Nile.

In South Kordofan, a rebel group, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, waging its own insurgency for the past 12 years, has advanced towards the state capital, Kadugli, as the military finds itself over-stretched fighting the RSF.

Suddenly, there is a flurry of diplomatic activity. But there is no agreement on who should be in the lead.

Since the second week of the conflict, the US and Saudi Arabia have been convening ceasefire talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

But hopes for a cessation of hostilities - the most recent over the Eid al-Adha holiday - have come and gone without a slackening in the pace of violence.

The US and Saudi Arabia say they will float a new proposal in the coming days. They have also made efforts to bring the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on board, which is significant because the UAE is seen as the major backer of the RSF and, according to some reports, continues to arm them. The UAE has not commented on the reports.

Just over a month ago, unimpressed with the low energy of the African Union (AU) in responding to the crisis, East African leaders launched their own initiative under the auspices of the regional body, Igad.

A quartet - made up of the leaders of Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Djibouti - was appointed to seek a ceasefire, humanitarian access and political dialogue in order to restore Sudan's transition to democracy.

IMAGE SOURCE,

GETTY IMAGES

Image caption,

Air strikes and artillery shelling have led to the destruction of residential blocks in Khartoum

Kenya's President William Ruto - who heads the group - has been outspoken, describing the war as "senseless", condemning both warring parties for using their military power "to destroy the country and kill civilians", and warning that there are "already signs of genocide" in Darfur.

It is this group of leaders, meeting in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa on Monday, that took the first steps towards organising a regional intervention force.

Their second track is working with the Americans and Saudis to convene a face-to-face meeting between the warring generals - Burhan and Hemedti - to secure a ceasefire.

Track three is an "inclusive political process" to start by August. That requires bringing civilian representatives together, and giving them enough political backing so that they have real leverage in talks, as part of efforts to ensure that Sudan returns to the path of democracy.

But Gen Burhan rejected the initiative, claiming that Mr Ruto is biased towards the RSF. He also accuses leaders of some of the civilian parties of siding with Gen Hemedti - they counter that Gen Burhan has mobilized Islamist groups on his side. He first agreed, then refused, to attend Monday's meeting. A delegate from the RSF attended.

The military claims the legacy and legitimacy of government, though it took power in a coup with the RSF in 2019, before their leaders fell out, triggering the civil war.

The military certainly has a stronger claim to government than the RSF, which is a paramilitary group run by the Dagolo family, making money from its gold mines, mercenary activities and business empire.

It has shown no interest in governing, and has allied itself with Arab supremacists from Darfur and neighbouring countries.

Gen Burhan's handicap is that his forces cannot protect either the state or the population. In fact they don't even control the capital, the customary minimum threshold for being accepted as a legitimate government in Africa.

The US initially failed to signal its support for Mr Ruto's initiative, preferring to stick with the AU. But it has come around to engaging with what is the highest-level African intervention thus far.

Sudan's conflict is already destabilizing South Sudan. Gen Hemedti demanded that South Sudan cease paying the Sudanese government - meaning Gen Burhan - for use of the oil pipeline to Port Sudan, the only export route for that country's main source of revenue. South Sudan has not yet commented on the demand.

Over the weekend, Mr Ruto travelled to Chad to confer with President Mahamat Déby. Deeply fearful of the potential of the Darfur crisis to destabilize his country, Mr Déby held a crisis meeting with Darfuri leaders, including the commanders of the former rebel groups, to discuss how best to respond.

Egypt is already hosting more than 250,000 newly arrived refugees from Sudan. It fears that the ongoing destruction of Khartoum is leading to the inexorable exodus of the country's entire middle-class - Egyptians speak of two million and even more.

President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi announced a joint initiative with Qatar and is convening its own summit meeting.

Egypt's sympathies lie openly with Gen Burhan, which helps explain why he is stalling on the Igad plan. Mr Sisi sees Gen Burhan as his most reliable ally in Sudan, and is ready to tolerate a return of Sudanese Islamist groups - which have the backing of Qatar and Turkey - if it means stabilising the country.

But there are fears in some diplomatic circles that rival African and Arab peace processes will cancel each other out.

IMAGE SOURCE,

GETTY IMAGES

Image caption,

Little aid is getting into Sudan to help victims of the conflict

The United Nations has been sidelined. Its special representative for Sudan, Volker Perthes, was chosen for his technical skills in supporting institution-building during the now-aborted transition to democracy, rather than experience in mediating a brutal conflict.

Additionally, Gen Burhan has declared him persona non grata. Most Sudanese are dismayed by the UN's failures in Sudan and don't want to see it leading a diplomatic effort.

Similarly, Sudanese worry that the European Union's obsessive focus on migration means that they will deal with any leader who promises to stem the mass exodus.

Some Sudanese blame the EU for supporting the RSF in the past as part of a plan to control the country's borders - a claim the EU disputes.

The challenge of peace in Sudan is huge. The African leaders' plan is the boldest and most comprehensive yet, but there are still many roadblocks on the path to peace - not least the refusal of the warring sides to accept that there is no military solution to the conflict.

Alex de Waal is the executive director of the World Peace Foundation at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in the US.

View original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-66169535

[Ends]

Sudan: Darfur rebellion started in 2003 never ended

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: When did the Darfur conflict started in 2002/3 end? It didn't end because the root causes were never resolved. See below: 'The root causes of the Darfur conflict: A struggle over controlling an environment that can no longer support all the people who must live on it'.

The report from Chad is by @paraicobrien and @Zahra_ZW of @Channel4News. The stories of individual families forced to free #darfur are terrifying. History repeats itself, more brutally than ever. https://t.co/doXrL9khPZ

— Lindsey Hilsum (@lindseyhilsum) July 11, 2023

_________________________ 

Sudan Watch - 14 July 2006
'The root causes of the Darfur conflict: A struggle over controlling an environment that can no longer support all the people who must live on it'

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2006/07/root-causes-of-darfur-conflict.html

[Ends]

Sudan crisis: Threatens progress on Abyei & borders

Report from UN News

Dated Tuesday 09 May 2023 - excerpt:

Sudan violence threatens fragile cross-border progress with Juba

The impact of ongoing violence among rival military parties in Sudan is threatening to derail bilateral political progress with neighbouring South Sudan, worsen the fragile humanitarian situation, and pose fresh risks, top UN officials warned the Security Council on Tuesday.

“The outbreak of violence in the Sudan may deeply impact the chance for political progress on Abyei and border issues,” Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, told the Council.

Security in Abyei, a disputed oil-rich border region straddling both African nations, had been a point of contention, but agreements had been reached before the outbreak of violence in Sudan on 15 April, she said, providing updates to the UN Secretary-General’s latest report on the unfolding situation.

Read full story: https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/05/1136492

[Ends]

South Sudan: Kiir urges Sudan to protect oil pipeline

Report from SudanTribune.com

Dated 20 April 2023 - excerpt:

Kiir urges Sudanese rivals to protect oil pipeline

President Kiir emphasized to the two [Sudan] leaders the need to protect the pipeline that exports oil from South Sudan to the international markets through Sudan.

South Sudan relies on Sudan to export its crude oil, which travels through a pipeline to the Red Sea via Khartoum where fighting erupted on Saturday.

For his part, Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol has urged the warring parties in Sudan to fulfil their moral responsibility and obligation of providing protection of critical infrastructure in their country under international law.

A man examines a leaking oil pipe line at a pumping station built next to his village on land that was once used for agriculture Paloch, Sudan 20 Jan 2010 

Full story at Sudan Tribune here.

[Ends]

China evacuates its citizens out of Sudan

China has evacuated the majority of its citizens out of Sudan

More than 1,500 Chinese citizens were in Sudan at the start of this month’s conflict

Over 1,300 Chinese nationals have been evacuated from Sudan, some by warship

A small number of Chinese nationals remain outside Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum

Reports have claimed that the Sudanese army is seeking to buy Chinese J-10C fighter jets to boost its military in case of war with Ethiopia

While China also worked closely with the U.S. and other Western countries to help facilitate peace talks between Sudan and South Sudan in 2013, it remains unlikely that Beijing will choose to reprise its role in the current conflict — despite its vested interests

Full story from TheChinaProject.com

By Nadya Yeh 

Published Thursday 27 April 2023

China evacuates its citizens out of Sudan

Over 1,300 Chinese nationals have been evacuated from Sudan, some by warship. The conflict between two rival local factions is raging on, but Beijing is unlikely to reprise its role as a mediator, despite its oil interests in the region.

China has evacuated the majority of its citizens out of Sudan, as violence continues to wreak havoc in the northern African country.

“As of today, more than 1,300 Chinese nationals have been brought to safety. Some have left Sudan by Chinese warships and boats and some are on their way out of the country,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Máo Níng 毛宁 said at a press conference today. China’s Ministry of Defense confirmed in a statement that the Chinese military yesterday sent naval vessels to Sudan to evacuate Chinese personnel.

A small number of Chinese nationals remain outside Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum, Mao Ning added. China’s Foreign Ministry estimated that more than 1,500 Chinese citizens were in Sudan at the start of this month’s conflict. No Chinese fatalities have been reported.

On April 15, fighting broke out between two rival factions — the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group battling for control of the country, and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). Escalating violence has led to at least 459 deaths as of April 25, the World Health Organization reported, with at least 4,072 people injured.

Shootings and bombings have destabilized Khartoum, disrupting the supply of energy and internet services, as well as blocking safe access to food and water. Sudan’s main airports remain closed, as foreign ministries rush to evacuate their citizens using truck convoys.

“So far, we’ve helped the nationals of five countries to leave Sudan by Chinese ships,” Mao Ning said.

The third attempt at a 72-hour cease-fire fell apart with the sounds of gunfire and fighter jets on Tuesday. The U.S.-brokered truce, which started on April 24 to honor the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, was aimed at opening up routes for civilians to escape. The refugee agency UNHCR estimates that some 270,000 people could flee into South Sudan and Chad alone. Some Sudanese are fleeing by foot.

Sudan was the gold standard of China’s engagement with Africa

China is one of the biggest investors in Sudan, particularly in oil. China established relations with Sudan as early as 1959. Cooperation took off in the 1990s due to Beijing’s keen interest in tapping the country’s vast oil resources. Chinese entities signed oil exploration deals with Sudan in 1994. Two years later in 1996, state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation acquired a 40% majority stake in Sudanese oil consortium the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Co.

China had sought to become a viable alternative to many Western nations, which refused to build relations with certain countries in Africa due to rampant corruption and human rights abuses: While China was strengthening its presence in Sudan’s oil sector under its “non-interference” foreign policy, the United States added Sudan to its list of states sponsoring terrorism in 1993. Those sanctions have since been lifted.

“Engagement with Sudan was a hallmark of an earlier phase of Chinese engagement with Africa. As a latecomer, Chinese actors frequently had little choice but to work in high-risk environments because they were crowded out by competitors in safer ones,” Cobus van Staden, managing editor of the China-Global South Project, told The China Project today. “At that time, China also wanted to secure supplies of oil and other commodities, and Sudan played an important role there.”

South Sudan cedes, and China’s interest in Sudanese oil drops

But in 2011, South Sudan seceded from Sudan to become an independent nation, taking about three-quarters of the oil fields with it. These fields still relied on pipelines through Sudan to export the oil. But oil production plummeted due to internal conflicts and widespread corruption in South Sudan.

“While Chinese companies remain invested there and China still contributes a significant number of peacekeepers to the UN operation in South Sudan, Sudanese oil is no longer the important issue for China that it once was,” David Shinn, a professorial lecturer in the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, told The China Project today. “This development has almost certainly reduced the importance of Sudan as China contemplates its policies in the region.”

Prior to the split, China imported about 6% of its crude oil from Sudan. Today, China imports less than 1% of its oil from both South Sudan and Sudan, opting instead to get the majority of its energy resources from Russia and Saudi Arabia.

“In the 2010s, China worked hard to diversify its supply of oil, and the development of the Belt and Road Initiative aided this goal. China’s intense subsequent diplomatic engagement with Russia and Saudi Arabia was part of this process of securing more diverse, efficient, and dependable oil supplies, as Sudan and South Sudan also never found a way of making their oil cooperation work,” van Staden told The China Project.

“Essentially, China moved on to the rest of the world,” van Staden added.

For China, there’s a lot more to Sudan than just oil

Despite losing its taste for Sudanese oil, China maintains a strong presence in Sudan. China’s ambassador in Khartoum, Mǎ Xīnmín 马新民, said last May that more than 130 Chinese companies are operating in the country.

“The China-Sudan relationship remains strong and enduring despite the fact that Chinese imports of Sudanese oil have dropped in recent years,” Paul Nantulya, a research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University, told The China Project today. “China still has a stake in what happens in Sudan (and South Sudan) because Chinese firms continue to operate the oil infrastructure in the two countries.”

For China, what began largely as an interest in oil has expanded into a diverse trade partnership with Sudan. Sudan is a key partner in China’s Belt and Road Initiative: China inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to help build the Sudanese portion of a 3,200-kilometer (1,990-mile) railway link between the city of Port Sudan and N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, as part of a network of trade corridors spanning the African continent. Meanwhile, Chinese firms have tapped into Sudan’s mining, real estate, services, and agriculture sectors.

Sudan also purchases large quantities of Chinese weaponry, technology, and national security wares, including surveillance technologies like drones, Nantulya added. Reports have claimed that the Sudanese army is seeking to buy Chinese J-10C fighter jets to boost its military in case of war with Ethiopia.

Those military ties came under fire during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when Beijing was heavily criticized by international human rights groups and other organizations for selling weapons to the Sudanese military to be used in the Darfur conflict. China also continued to receive oil from Sudan throughout the Darfur conflict that began in the early 2000s, with imports hitting a record near $1 billion worth of Sudanese crude oil in 2010.

Beijing faces a more complicated diplomatic task in Sudan

Beijing has not taken sides in this month’s conflict in Sudan to date. Much of its focus has been on getting its citizens out of danger, and has shown little interest in taking up the role as a mediator in the conflict.

While China has stepped up its global diplomacy — Beijing brokered a landmark normalization agreement between archrivals Saudi Arabia and Iran last March — there are slim chances that Beijing will repeat that success in Sudan.

“Ending the fighting in Sudan is more complex and difficult than convincing the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Iran to reestablish normal relations,” Shinn told The China Project. “China’s success in this case offers few lessons for the challenge posed by Sudan’s generals. In any event, China alone does not have the leverage to end the conflict, although it could join a much-broader international coalition to help bring this tragedy to a close.”

In June 2022, China’s special envoy for the Horn of Africa, Xuē Bīng 薛冰, organized a peace conference in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to mediate conflicts in the region. However, no tangible results have come from the conference.

“China has treaded very carefully among Sudan’s warring factions since the removal of Bashir…Beijing seems to be pursuing a cautious strategy of continuity, which means they will not be willing to antagonize any actor in Sudan, whether it is the warring generals or the civilians demanding for a return to the transitional process,” Nantulya told The China Project. “As such, I do not foresee Ambassador Xue Bing doing anything more than balancing between all sides and avoiding getting drawn into a complicated and unpredictable negotiations process. I expect him to sit this one out and watch from the sidelines.”

China has tried to mediate conflicts in Sudan in the past. In 2004, China made a significant but discreet diplomatic push to resolve the crisis in Darfur. Beijing’s behind-the-scenes efforts played an integral role in persuading the Bashir administration to allow international peacekeeping efforts into the country.

“Some serious high-level diplomacy was used to secure Sudan’s acceptance of these forces, including direct, face-to-face talks between then Chinese President Hú Jǐntāo 胡锦涛 and his Sudanese counterpart in Khartoum, at which Hu reportedly applied economic pressure on his host,” Nantulya told The China Project.

While China also worked closely with the U.S. and other Western countries to help facilitate peace talks between Sudan and South Sudan in 2013, it remains unlikely that Beijing will choose to reprise its role in the current conflict — despite its vested interests.

Nadya Yeh is a Senior Editor at The China Project. Nadya got her Master’s degree at the Global Thought program at Columbia University and her Bachelor’s at Williams College. She has previously done research at the China Institute. Read more

View original: https://thechinaproject.com/2023/04/27/china-evacuates-its-citizens-out-of-sudan/

[Ends]

'Complicity' in war crimes alleged: Top Lundin Energy executives charged over Sudan legacy

Full copy of news report published at Upstream Online.com

Written by IAIN ESAU in London 

Dated 11 November 2021 14:22 GMT UPDATED  17 November 2021 16:08 GMT

'Complicity' in war crimes alleged: Top Lundin Energy executives charged over Sudan legacy

Swedish Prosecution Authority lays charges against chairman Ian Lundin and director Alex Schneiter after 11-year investigation into historic operations of Lundin Oil

Pictured in 2009: The Thar Jath oilfield lies in Block 5A in South Sudan. It was discovered in 2001 before South Sudan's independence and before Lundin Energy sold its stake in the block Photo: AFP/SCANPIX

The Swedish Prosecution Authority (SPA) has laid criminal charges, including "complicity in grave war crimes", against Lundin Energy chairman Ian Lundin and director Alex Schneiter, related to the company's legacy operations in Sudan.

Lundin Oil was a key player in war-torn Sudan between 1991 and 2003, when it exited Block 5A.

It quit the country fully in 2009, two years before the country split into South Sudan — which holds most of the oil — and Sudan, through which the south's oil is exported.

The SPA said Lundin Oil was active in Sudan when control of oilfields in the country's southern region became a contentious issue in a long-running civil war.

The SPA — which began its probe into the company's Sudan activities in 2010 and has now generated an 80,000-page report — said the two men are "suspected of having been complicit in war crimes committed by the then Sudanese regime with the purpose of securing the company’s oil operations in southern Sudan".

Lundin 'refutes' charges

The Stockhom-listed independent said it "refutes that there are any grounds for allegations of wrongdoing by any of its representatives", stressing that both executives "strongly deny the charges and have the full support of the board in contesting them at trial".

Lundin Energy said in a statement today the charges against its chairman and director refer to periods of operations in Sudan running between 1999-2003 and 2000-2003, respectively.

The charges include claims against Lundin Energy involving a forfeiture of economic benefits of about SKr1.39 billion ($159 million) and a corporate fine of SKr3 million.

This forfeiture represents a gain of SKr720 million the company made when selling its Sudanese business in 2003.

The prosecution said the company was actively exploring Block 5A in Unity State, which eventually became one of the areas worst affected by the war.

Military forces from the south were originally charged with providing security around Lundin Oil's assets when the company started operations in 1997, said the SPA, claiming that a militia group allied to the Khartoum government tried to take control of Block 5A, but failed, although its attacks led to "great suffering" among civilians.

Khartoum-militia protection

In 1999, the SPA said that Sudan's military, together with the same militia group, led operations to take control of the area and create the necessary conditions for the company to continue its activities, leading to a conflict that was still underway when Lundin Oil quit the block in 2003.

The SPA believes Sudan's government, through its military and the militia allied to the Khartoum regime, carried out a war that conflicts with international humanitarian law and, according to Swedish law, constitutes grave war crimes.

Systematic attacks

Public prosecutor Henrik Attorps, SPA's head of the Sudan probe, said: ”In our view, the investigation shows the military and its allied militia systematically attacked civilians or carried out indiscriminate attacks. Consequently, many civilians were killed, injured and displaced from Block 5A.”

Chief public prosecutor Krister Petersson, alleged that directly after the military went into Block 5A in May 1999, in breach of a local peace agreement, "Lundin Oil changed its view of who should be responsible for security around the company’s operations", requesting from Sudan's government that its military should undertake this role, "knowing that this meant" the use of "force."

"Complicity"

He said: "What constitutes complicity in a criminal sense is that (the company) made these demands despite understanding or... being indifferent to the military and the militia carrying out the war in a way that was forbidden according to international humanitarian law.”

The SPA alleges that Ian Lundin and Schneiter "continued to promote crimes that the (Sudan) military and its allied militia were to commit to enable continued oil operations until March 2003."

"Comprehensive" evidence

The SPA said its evidence is "comprehensive" and centres on civilians who were attacked.

"We will also hear witnesses who followed and studied the situation in Sudan and... met refugees and heard their stories. We will rely on written reports from the area, primarily from the UN and other international organisations as well as from journalists who observed the area”, said public prosecutor Karolina Wieslander.

In terms of support for its allegations of complicity in war crimes, the SPA said this consists of Lundin Oil's internal reporting, its communications with Sudan's government and witnesses connected to the company.

In total, the SPA said it has carried out about 270 interviews with about 150 people.

As a result of these charges, Ian Lundin will not stand for re-election as chairman at Lundin Energy's 2022 annual general meeting, but both he and Schneiter will remain board directors.

"Incomprehensible decision"

Commenting on the charges, Ian Lundin said: “This is an incomprehensible decision by the SPA since it is not supported by any evidence in the investigation, a situation that has not changed for the last 11 years.

"I know that we have done no wrong and that we will ultimately prove this in court."

He was placed under investigation by the SPA in 2016 and interviewed for the first time a year later.

Lundin Energy said it is "extremely concerned about the fairness, reliability and legal basis of the investigation and about the credibility and accuracy" of reports from a non-governmental organisation "that seem to form the basis of the prosecution case."

While the company did not name the NGOs, Amnesty International and Christian Aid have both published reports on the Sudan conflict.

"No evidence"

"In the company’s firm opinion," said Lundin Energy, "there is no evidence linking any representative to the alleged primary crimes and this will be fully demonstrated at trial."

The company said it is "firmly convinced" it was a positive force for development in Sudan and operated there "responsibly", as part of an international consortium, and in "full alignment" with the policy of constructive engagement endorsed by the United Nations, European Union and Sweden at the time."

"No legal basis" to fines and forfeitures

Lundin Energy said it will "firmly contest the claims for a corporate fine and forfeiture."

The company said the forfeiture amount is less than announced by the SPA in 2018, and believes "there is no legal basis for any such claim."

Lundin Energy pointed out that the SPA's decision to lay charges is another step in a lengthy legal process that may take "many years" to reach a conclusion. (Copyright)

View original: https://www.upstreamonline.com/people/complicity-in-war-crimes-alleged-top-lundin-energy-executives-charged-over-sudan-legacy/2-1-1097152