The Sudan: Too Late for Peace?

For two weeks an uneasy peace had settled on the southern Sudan, aided by Prime Minister Mohammed Mahgoub's offer of amnesty to the rebels struggling for regional independence. The amnesty persuaded only five guerrillas to lay down their arms, and when it expired last week so did the peace. "The rebels are opening fire on our forces at Katari," the government radio suddenly reported. Another guerrilla band attacked a garrison in Equatoria province. To the west, the army opened fire on a "rebel camp" near Wau, reportedly killing 250.

In Khartoum the army was ordered on emergency alert, and heavy guards were ringed around government buildings to prevent sabotage. Prime Minister Mahgoub flew back from a quick trip to Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya with the news that all three nations had agreed to give no aid to the rebels. Even so, pressures were growing in the black nations to support their fellow blacks against the Arab north, and the Nairobi Daily Nation warned that the war could grow into "another Viet Nam." "Is it too late for peace in the Sudan?" asked the Tanzania Standard. "It will be tragic for Africa if it is."