Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the Inner City to Wall Street to the United Nations

As Sudan Denies Blocking Medevac from Wau, UN Asked Why Deferred to Khartoum

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, August 8 -- The delay in medical evacuation of three peacekeepers from Abyei raises the question of whether Abyei, even now, belongs more to Khartoum than South Sudan.

Inner City Press has pursued the issues for days, getting the UN to belatedly admit that they asked to fly to Abyei from Wau in South Sudan, but were blocked by Khartoum and later came from Kadugli, by which time the three peacekeepers died.

Now in a closed door Security Council meeting, the UN has been criticized for deferring to Khartoum on flying from South Sudan to Abyei, essentially "giving Sudan a veto." The question was raised: why doesn't South Sudan, which also claims Abyei, then have a similar veto over flights from North Sudan into Abyei?

Meanwhile, Inner City Press asked Khartoum's Permanent Representative to the UN outside the Security Council on Monday to respond to the UN charge that they denied permission to fly from Abyei, saying "that's a different country."

"We never rejected" it, he replied, adding "Wau is in a different country." He criticized the UN for focusing on the issue, which he called a "little nitty gritty."

He said he would not speak at the UN TV stakeout, because he is fasting. Inner City Press offered a "stakeout at sunset." Video of his answers was nevertheless obtained, and put on YouTube, here. Watch this site.