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Sudanese President Directs Interior Ministry To Ensure Security Of Southerners
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Jan 3, 2011 - 6:34:10 AM

Sudanese President Directs Interior Ministry To Ensure Security Of Southerners

KHARTOUM, Jan 3 (BERNAMA-NNN-SUNA) -- With the referendum for South Sudan set to begin this Sunday, Sudanese President Omer Al-Bashir has directed the Interior Ministry to ensure the security of southerners living in the northern Sudan and their properties before and after the referendum.

In a meeting with Interior Minister Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid at the Republican Palace here Sunday, President Al Bashir also called for reinforcing security in Darfur in western Sudan, securing voluntary repatriation and proceeding with strategic projects, especially the civil register and traffic safety.

The minister later disclosed in a statement to SUNA that he briefed the president on security and the criminal situation in the country, which is witnessing remarkable improvment, besides the ongoing efforts to secure the Jan 9 to 15 referendum and the implementation of Darfur peace strategy.

The referendum, provided for under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which ended the decades long vivil war between north and south, is to enable the people of South Sudan to decide whether to remain a part of one country or to be a separate state.

The security plan for Darfur meanwhile will take place at two levels involving the deployment of police forces to secure the voluntary return of displaced people to their villages.

The Interior Minister also affirmed that the police forces were ready to secure the referendum and the safety of the citizens and their properties. He said this at a meeting with the police force in charge of securing the referendum process.

The Wali (governor) of Khartoum State, Dr. Abdul-Rahman Al-Khidir, was present at the meeting.

Hamid said that the police forces were ready to protect southerners in the north so that they were free to exercise their constitutional rights before and after the referendum.

The police would not tolerate any attempt to undermine security and stability, he added.

The Wali said the the security for the citizens was being given a top priority, adding that the police would defend the southerners and secure their constitutional rights.

-- BERNAMA-NNN-SUNA