Six Islamic banks announced the liquidation of their assets and had stopped providing services to customers in southern Sudan with the end of a period granted by the regional government according to a peace treaty signed with the Sudanese Central Government in Kenya in 2005. The agreement stipulates that an Islamic banking system should be established in the north and a traditional banking system in the south.

Sudan’s Southern Government is facilitating the operation of Kenyan banks in the region to work side by side with two Southern [Sudanese] banks and had reached an agreement with the Investment “Masraf” Bank shared by the UAE, Libya and Algeria to open branches in the region.

Al-Sharq, Qatar, February 17, 2008