The U S state Department said yesterday a retired U.S. ambassador sent to Sudan to try to help settle north-south disputes on sharing wealth and power ahead of a referendum on independence for the south.
The two sides need to resolve sensitive issues including demarcating the border, defining citizenship and sharing oil and Nile waters in the case of either result in the January 9, 2011 referendum secession or unity, Reuters reported. Princeton Lyman, former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria and South Africa, left for Sudan on Tuesday as part of a beefed up U.S. team trying to help the two sides ahead of the referendum, which most analysts believe would lead to southern secession.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Ambassador Lyman would provide a senior-level presence in Sudan dedicated specifically to working with the CPA parties to reach consensus on outstanding CPA implementation issues, such as citizenship, border demarcation and resource sharing. The State Department said Lyman left to join U.S. special envoy Scott Gration for talks with both sides this week. Lyman will shuttle between Khartoum and Juba, with periodic consultations in Washington.