April 21, 2014 (JUBA) - The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said on Monday that more than 200 people died in Bentiu after the strategic Unity state town fell to opposition forces last week.

SPLA soldiers get off of a pick-up truck in Bentiu, Unity state January 12, 2014. (Photo Reuters/Andreea Campeanu)

UNMISS, in a statement, said it "strongly condemns the targeted killings of civilians based on their ethnic origins and nationality in Bentiu."

"More than 200 civilians were reportedly killed and over 400 wounded at the Mosque," the world body said in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Monday.

"UNMISS also strongly condemns the use of Radio Bentiu FM by some individuals associated with the opposition to broadcast hate speech," it added.

Fighting erupted in mid-December between soldiers aligned with former vice president Riek Machar and President Salva Kiir with the president accusing his ex-deputy of staging a coup, which Machar denied but now leads a rebel movement.

The fighting is often seen as pinning President Kiir's Dinka tribe against Machar's Nuer, although both politicians have supporters across irrespective of tribal affiliation.

Most army defectors accused government of President Kiir of allegedly using his Dinka armed men to kill Nuer civilians at the onset of conflict in the capital, Juba.

Both sides have been accused by Human Rights Watch of committing atrocities.

Bentiu has changed hands several times between rebel and pro-government forces.

But the UN, in it statement, accused the SPLA in Opposition of allegedly sorting civilians along tribal lines after capturing Bentiu.

"SPLA in Opposition soldiers similarly asked civilians who had taken refuge there to identify their ethnic origins and nationalities and proceeded to target and kill several individuals," the statement said.

The UN mission also said its investigators confirmed that when SPLA in Opposition forces captured Bentiu on 15 and 16 April, they searched a number of places where hundreds of South Sudanese and foreign civilians had taken refuge and killed hundreds of the civilians after determining their ethnicity or nationality.

"These atrocities must be fully investigated and the perpetrators and their commanders shall be held accountable", said Raisedon Zenenga, a UNMISS official.

He further reminded the parties of their respective obligations to protect civilians and called on them to immediately stop the targeting of innocent, unarmed civilians, and to respect the cessation of hostilities agreement they signed in January.

"At Bentiu Hospital, on 15 April, several Nuer men, women and children were killed for hiding and declining to join other Nuers who had gone out to cheer the SPLA in Opposition forces as they entered the town. Individuals from other South Sudanese communities, as well as Darfuris, were specifically targeted and killed at the hospital," the statement noted.

"On the same! day, the SPLA in Opposition forces entered the Kali-Ballee Mosque where civilians had taken shelter, separated individuals of certain nationalities and ethnic groups and escorted them to safety, while the others were killed," it added.

More than 200 civilians were reportedly killed and over 400 wounded at the Mosque.

"At the Catholic church and at the vacated WFP [World Food Programme] compound, SPLA in Opposition soldiers similarly asked civilians who had taken refuge there to identify their ethnic origins and nationalities and proceeded to target and kill several individuals," further stated the UN statement.

Hussein Nyuot, a spokesperson for the rebel delegation at the Addis Ababa talks, however, told Sudan Tribune in an interview that the UN statement as "untrue".

NUER YOUTH DENOUNCE KILLINGS

Meanwhile, a group of exiled Nuer youth on Monday condemned mass killing of displaced civilians sheltered at the UN camp in Bor, the Jonglei state capital.

Nuer Youth Union (NYU), in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune, demanded that South Sudan government be held responsible for the killings at the UN mission base.

"As a youth of Nuer we condemn in strongest term possible the senseless killing of Nuer children and women by the government of [Salva] Kiir in south Sudan," said Koat Gatkuoth Thoat, the NYA chairman Ethiopia.

“This is clear plan by the Dinka government to eliminate one Ethic community in south Sudan under helpless and silent watch of united nation in south Sudan", he added.

Thoat, however, urged South Sudan's warring parties to refrain from attacking civilians.

(ST)

April 21, 2014 (ARUA) - An estimated nearly 15,000 South Sudanese refugees currently living at Rhino camp refugee settlement in the West Nile region of Uganda have been hit by severe water shortage, a condition which piles more misery to their dire humanitarian situation.

The only borehole that supplies thousands of refugees in Ocea cluster, April 20, 2014 (ST)

Located over 1,000km from Uganda's capital, Kampala, Rhino camp is presently composed up of 13 clusters, with Ocea being the worst affected.

Women and children, on a daily, line up for up for up to two hours or even more to pump water from the few boreholes or nearby water supply tanks.

Over a million South Sudanese have reportedly been displaced since fighting broke out in the country's capital, Juba in mid-December last year. An estimated 280,000 have since been displaced to neighbouring countries, including Uganda.

Sarah Nyagut Ding spends about an hour and a half every day, waiting for her turn to draw water from a pump in the Ocea sector in Rhino resettlement camp in Uganda.

Ding is one of more than 4,000 South Sudanese refugees who have lived in the tightly packed Ocea cluster since fighting broke out in South Sudan more than four months ago.

The refugees are not only battling homesickness and fear for the future of their country, but also tough challenges in the camp, including a chronic shortage of clean water that has led to tensions with the local community.

Women like Ding wait in line for hours to pump water from boreholes or to draw their share of water from 10,000-liter tanks.

Because the refugee population at the settlement has doubled in the past four months, and because the refugees are competing with locals for water, very often, Ding and the others go home from the pump empty-handed.

"Most of us stay a week without bathing. Some of us go to a nearby dirty stream to collect water. We try to treat the dirty water with ash tree to kill the germs so we can drink it," she said.

The lack of water has led to fights between locals and refugees, another South Sudanese refugee, Kidden Ester, said.

"Sometimes, the natives threaten the Sudanese and then they start fighting," Ester said.

Simon Peter, the chair of a committee set up by the refugees in the Ocea cluster, said there simply is not enough water to go around at the settlement.

"We have four boreholes. One of them is OK — it can give us enough water — but the other three, if you pump to fill one jerry can, it will take half an hour. And sometimes after four or six jerry cans, the water will stop," he said.

Another problem is that the 10,000-liter water tanks are not always delivered. When they don't show up, refugees have to go without water for days, Peter said.

David Abili, the assistant settlement commander said camp authorities are working to address the water problem by bringing in a specialist company to drill for water, and community leaders are trying to patch things up between locals and the refugees.

South Sudan – the world's newest nation, could face one of the most devastating famines to date in a matter of weeks, if radical action to alleviate widespread hunger are not taken before the planting season, UN agencies warned in their report.

An estimated $230 million, the UN said, is urgently needed to help address the dire humanitarian situation, which puts about 3 million people at risk of starvation.

(ST)

April 21, 2014 (KHARTOUM) - The former rebel Justice and Equality Movement led by Bakheit Abdallah Abdel-Karim alias Dabajo (JEM-Dabajo) threatened to scrap a peace deal signed with the government, accusing some government officials of igniting dissidence within the group.

Bakheit Dabajo in a file photo released by his group

The political development comes after the release of a statement signed by 46 commanders some of them are members of the group's executive bureau announcing the relieve of Dabajo, his deputy and the deputy general commander, calling to hold a general conference to elect a new leadership.

JEM Dabajo secretary for presidential affairs Nahar Osman Nahar accused some officials in Darfur peace implementation follow-up office of being involved in these internal rifts and backing the splinter group.

"There are a number of officials in the office of Darfur peace implementation follow-up who encourage, support and finance the splinter faction as part of a process aiming to dismantle the movement," Nahar told Sudan Tribune on Monday.

He however underlined that the head of the office Amin Hassan Omer, was not involved in this "destructive process", saying these officials are staff members of his Office. He further said that the presidency also is not aware until the moment this plot against his group.

"The continuation of such practices is threatening the peace process and will jeopardise the signed peace agreements," Nahar further said.

The group signed a peace deal with the Sudanese government on 6 April 2013 however, its implementation started in November of last year due to the killing of its former leader Mohamed Bashar in clashes with JEM mainstream in May 2013.

Nahar said Dabajo will arrive to Khartoum during the upcoming days to discuss the implementation of the peace agreement stressing that what happens does not encourage the non-signatory groups to join the peace process.

Since the return of the group to Khartoum, different leading members accused Dabajo of tribalism and nepotism saying he surrounded himself with people from his family and ethnic his group, excluding the non-Zaghawa members.

(ST)

April 24, 2014 (JUBA/ADDIS ABABA) – The South Sudanese government said on Thursday it was dropping treason charges against the four senior politicians detained in connection with an alleged coup attempt in mid-December last year.

Former army chief-of-staff Oyay Deng Ajak (far left) with co-accused Pagan Amum Okiech, Majok D'Agot Atem and Ezekiel Lol Gatk listen in court during their trial for treason (Photo: Charlton Doki/VOA)

Justice minister Paulino Wanawilla Unango said the government took the surprise decision against the four detained officials for “the sake of peace and reconciliation”.

“The case was being terminated for the sake of peace. It is not that there was no evidence,” Unango told reporters in the capital, Juba.

Quoting 25 of the Criminal Act, the minister said the move to halt the prosecution of the four officials was a directive from president Salva Kiir.

The four officials include former security minister Oyay Deng Ajak, former secretary-general of South Sudan's ruling party (SPLM) Pagan Amum Okiech, former defence minister Majak D'Agoot and its former US envoy Ezekiel Lol Gatkouth.

The special court was expected to make a preliminary ruling on the case on Wednesday to determine whether the accused have a case to answer or not.

In January, seven co-accused officials were released on bail and sent to neighbouring Kenya for safety.

The cancellation of the prosecution case is expected to be finalised on Friday after the final court session, at the end of which the political detainees, some of whom have expressed a readiness to work with Kiir, will be set free.

REBELS WELCOME RELEASE

Meanwhile, the SPLM-in-Opposition welcomed Juba's decision to drop the charges against the four detainees, who have been in detention for nearly four months.

The four senor SLM officials were arrested after being accused of plotting a coup attempt with former vice-president turned rebel leader Riek Machar. All of those accused have denied the allegations.

The move by the Juba government comes two days after the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the regional bloc mediating peace talks between the two warring factions, decided to adjourn a new round of negotiations, initially scheduled to resume on 23 April, until 27 April.

In statement to Sudan Tribune from Addis Ababa, rebel negotiator Puot Kang Chol urged president Kiir to immediately allow the four officials to join their fellow colleagues, who were released after a peace agreement signed on 23 January.

Chol called on the government to allow the four officials to leave South Sudan so that they could play a role in the ongoing IGAD-led peace process.

With all the 11 political detainees seemingly freed, it remains to be seen whether they will join the rebel movement, the government or remain as a separate third bloc.

IGAD has already suspended the participation of the seven former detainees in the ongoing Addis Ababa peace process. The decision followed calls from the South Sudanese government to restrict talks to the parties directly involved in the conflict.

(ST)

April 24, 2014 (JUBA) – The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said on Thursday that a barge convoy carrying food items and fuel was attacked in the Upper Nile state's Tonga area, leaving four people injured.

The attack occurred at 10:15am (local time) involving rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and small arms, UNMISS said in a press statement.

“The UN Mission in South Sudan condemns in the strongest possible terms this morning's unprovoked attack on a convoy of barges hired by the Mission to deliver urgently needed food and fuel supplies to the UNMISS Upper Nile Base in Malakal,” the statement reads in part.

Over 70,000 civilians have sought shelter at UN bases in many parts of the country fearing attack die their ethnicity due to the civil conflict that began in mid-December between the armed forces and defectors who are fighting alongside armed civilians.

The South Sudanese army (SPLA) and the armed opposition – the SPLM/A in Opposition – have been fighting in various parts of the Upper Nile state but both denied the presence of their forces in Tonga.

Last week, South Sudan's minister of interior, Aleu Ayieny Aleu, said the government was providing protection to the barges on the White Nile river in areas under it control.

Aleu was asked about other barges that are claimed to have triggered tensions upstream in Bor, the capital of Jonglei state, which lies to the south of Upper Nile.

These other barges were delayed in Bor during escalating tensions, which culminated in an attack on a UNMISS camp by local youth who accused the UN of harbouring and arming the White Army – a Nuer civilian militia group fighting alongside South Sudan's former vice-president, Riek Machar, who is leading the armed opposition.

The attack on the UN base in Bor resulted in the death of at least 48 people, although UNMISS is yet to release the exact number of casualties.

The world body is urging both parties to South Sudan's conflict “to comply with the cessation of hostilities agreement” which was signed in January but has been largely ignored.

The UN statement accuses neither the SPLA or rebels of attacking its barges.

The attack occurred on Thursday after the barges left Mangalla in Central Equatoria state on 18 April with 16 crew members and 56 peacekeepers, UNMISS said.

(ST)

April 24, 2014 (JUBA) – South Sudan president's decision to remove the army's chief of staff was “normal” and had nothing to do with the way the military was handling the spiraling rebellion in the different parts of the country, a senior official said.

South Sudanese information minister Michael Makuei Lueth attends a press conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 5 January 2014 (Photo: AP/Elias Asmara)

“The removal of the chief of staff general staff by the president is as a normal release and retirement that usually takes place in the army. It has nothing to do with the performance matters or anything linked to politics,” information minister Michael Makuei Lueth told reporters in Juba on Thursday.

“It is purely a normal practice in any army,” the minister added.

He said it was within the president's constitutional powers to make changes in any institutions of the government when necessary or take actions to benefit of nation.

Rebel spokesperson Brigadier General Lul Koang Ruai said the removal of General Mai and Kuol and their subsequent replacements mark the beginning of an “imminent bloodbath, escalation and regionalisation of the conflict”.

“By removing Generals Hoth and Kuol, Kiir has finally unplugged the last safety valve and glue that had partially kept together his faltering regime in the last four months,” he said in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Thursday.

President Salva Kiir on Wednesday removed Gen. James Hoth Mai and appointed Paul Malong Awan as the new chief of general staff. Also removed, in a separate presidential decree, was the head of military intelligence, Major Gen. Mac Paul Kuol.

The changes within the military, according to minister Lueth, caused unnecessary confusion and misunderstandings among the public in the new nation.

“These are just normal institutional changes and they should not be politicised,” he added. He dismissed claims that the changes were due to military setbacks witnessed in Unity, Upper Nile and Jonglei states where government troops are struggling to contain opposition forces loyal to former vice-president Riek Machar.

President Kiir on Wednesday accused the rebels of failing to honour the cessation of hostilities agreement, which they signed in January, saying the latter vowed to fight on until he stepped down or was removed from power.

(ST)

April 24, 2014 (JUBA) – The sacked general chief of staff of the South Sudanese army said on Thursday he would work to support his replacement, asserting that his removal should not be used to justify the perpetuation of the fourth month conflict that has displaced over one million people.

General James Hoth Mai thanked president Salva Kiir for the trust he had showed in him during his period in office.

“I have done what I could do. People have seen that and they are the ones to judge. I am not a judge of my performance. Our people should judge and say what they know about how I served them,” Mai said.

Paul Malong, a veteran of the civil war that led to South Sudan's independence and the sitting governor of Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, will replace Mai.

“I will support him if he needs my help,” Mai said of his successor.

General Mai said the president has the right to relieve him of his position, adding that Kiir believes in the unity of the South Sudanese people.

“I believe in peace because peace was what our people fought for” during decades of conflict with the Khartoum government.

However, less than three years since independence a split in the former rebels that constitute South Sudan's army (SPLA) and ruling party (SPLM) has plunged the country into a conflict that has seen thousands killed, including many who have been targetted on the basis of their ethnicity.

“Our people died [during the 1983-2005 civil war] because they wanted to live in peace in a free and opened country so that all of us contribute for the nation building in any capacity. But when there is war, there is no peace and development,” the general said.

Mai thanked the South Sudanese people for the support they have given him while serving as the commander of the SPLA, stressing that those who appreciate his service and still need him to serve in any capacity should not use his dismissal as a justification to prolong the war which erupted in December 2013.

“I thank our people and urge them to not use my relief as a reason to prolong the war. I always say war cannot be a solution to anything. Dialogue is always the best option to resolve differences. I have also been calling on our people to always remain united for peace to prevail and to live harmony in our country. This remains my message I want to tell our people,” he said in an exclusive interview with Sudan Tribune.

Mai, who fell short of confirming whether he was consulted before he was removed, was one of the most senior officials remaining in the government and military who are from the Nuer ethnic group.

Many Nuer soldiers defected to join former vice president Riek Machar, a fellow Nuer, when he formed his armed opposition to Kiir's administration following fighting amongst rival sections of the SPLA in Juba in mid-December when Nuer civilians were targetted, according to rights groups.

Machar's forces have also attacked members of Kiir's Dinka ethnic group.

Gordon Buay, the spokesperson of a group of rebel fighters who responded to Kiir's presidential amnesty in 2012 and now fights alongside the government, said the country needs unity not war.

“Our country needs unity and anybody arguing that James Hoth [Mai] should have been replaced by a Nuer or an Equatorian is against the unity of our people. First of all, all the military promotions are done according to military seniority,” he said.

The recently removed general “is not a betrayer like Riek Machar and he is not a man who can betray his country and constitution,” Buay said on Thursday.

South Sudan's minister of information Michael Makuei Lueth, described the removal of the army commander by the presidential order as “a normal release and retirement that usually takes place in the army”.

Lueth denied the change was related to Mai's performance or that it had any political motive.

(ST)

• Kiir fires army's chief of general staff amid military setbacks

By Ijoo Bosco

April 24, 2014 (TORIT) - The Darfurian community in South Sudan's Eastern Equatoria state on Thursday converge together to mourn their colleagues who were brutally killed in Bentiu, the Unity state capital last week.

Muslims praying for peace, Rumbek, Lakes state, April 19, 2012 (ST)

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said more than 200 people died in Bentiu after the strategic Unity state town fell to opposition forces last week. Both the government and rebel forces have denied any involvement.

Speaking at the occasion on behalf of the state governor, youth affairs minister Abdulla Kapello appealed to members of the community in Torit to remain calm in spite of the deadly events that occurred in the oil-rich town.

Hassan Urbano, the chairperson of the Muslim community in Eastern Equatoria state equally called for calm and harmony among his subjects.

"Muslim Islam does not have border and all Muslims are one despite their race", said Hassan.

He further appealed to the Muslim community in the state to embrace peace, unity and love, while urging government to provide conducive security for their businesses.

Siliman Mahamed Ahmed, a Sudanese residing in the state capital, Torit, however, appreciated the state government for providing ample security to people in the region.

He further lauded the state governor for not segregating against anyone in the state and conveyed condolences to the families of those killed in Bentiu last week.

The White House on Tuesday issued a strongly worded statement condemning the killings that occurred in the Unity state capital with calls for sanctions on the country's leaders.

“For the sake of the people of South Sudan, [the] international community must sanction political spoilers and those who target civilians”, said Samantha Power, the US special representative to the UN.

(ST).

April 24, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The Gezira state legislative council on Thursday unanimously accepted the resignation of governor Al-Zubair Bashir Taha in accordance with Article 46/1 of the state's 2005 interim constitution.

Former Gezira state governor Al-Zubair Bashir Taha (SUNA)

At a press conference on Wednesday, Taha announced that he is stepping down on instructions from president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir who wanted to bring changes at the state level. He noted that he grudgingly agreed to assume the post back in 2009.

The ex-governor has seen mutiny within the ranks of his government and the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) after conducting a cabinet reshuffle which was widely rejected and led to a series of resignations from the party in the state.

Taha came under intense pressure from the federal government to step down which he initially resisted according to reports.

Sudan's constitution allows the president to relieve a governor only if he declares a state of emergency in the state.

In his resignation letter, the outgoing governor hailed the state parliament and the people of the state during his term. The legislative assembly for its part praised the performance and achievements of Taha.

(ST)

April 24, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The governor of Khartoum state Abdel-Rahman al-Khidir dismissed reports that he submitted his resignation following the discovery of a major corruption scandal involving his office staff.

Governor of Khartoum state Abdulrahman Al-Khidir (Al-Ahdath newspaper)

The two employees at Khidir's office allegedly forged his signature to transfer ownership of lands worth billions of dollars to bogus owners and sold it later for huge profit.

Sudanese authorities arrested 80 people so far in connection with this case.

Al-Khidir's office said in a statement that the government on the federal and state level approved of measures he undertook to probe this incident and his decision to submit all relevant documents to judicial bodies for prosecution.

The uncovering of the corruption scandal of this magnitude has shocked observers and ordinary citizens alike and reinforced perception that the country faces a serious graft issue which the government refuses to recognise.

Early in 2012, Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir ordered the establishment of an anti-corruption commission to “monitor and follow what is being published in the media about corruption and to coordinate with the presidency of the Republic and other competent authorities in the ministry of justice and the national assembly in order to complete information on what is being raised about corruption on the state level”.

But after more than a year of seemingly zero activity, Bashir sacked the commission head and did not appoint a replacement dealing a major blow to demands by the public for more robust investigation of corruption.

A major economic government-sponsored forum held in Khartoum late last year called for establishing an anti-graft commission as one means of resolving the financial crisis faced by the country.

The global Corruption Perceptions Index for 2013 published by Transparency International (TI) ranks Sudan at 174 out of 175 among the countries surveyed.

(ST)

April 24, 2014 (RHINO CAMP) – Emmanuel Peter Gai, a secondary school student, sits at Rhino camp refugee settlement in Uganda with little hope for further education.

The only bore hole that supplies thousands of South Sudanese refugees at the Ocea cluster in Uganda's Rhino camp (ST)

“Our complaint is we do not have secondary [schools] here. We people of secondary we do not have secondary [school]. We sit without education now,” says Gai.

The camp, located more than 1,000km from Uganda's capital, Kampala currently hosts about 15,000 South Sudanese refugees who fled the violence that hit the new nation in mid-December last year, displacing an estimated over a million people.

David Abili, an assistant camp resettlement officer says only one secondary school existed in Rhino camp, but remains nonoperational after its students were repatriated.

“There is somebody [a private person] who is planning to open that school. Although it is going to private, it needs school fees from our clients but basically the refugees are desperate that they cannot afford to pay school fees,” Abili told Sudan Tribune.

“So we have challenges in secondary education for our clients who are basically refugee students,” he stressed.

The official cited lack of learning facilities as another major setback to education in the camp, but acknowledged that the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) had supplied some tents to act as classrooms.

South Sudanese refugees at the camp earlier complained about water shortage in the same camp and lack of access to education worsens their dire humanitarian situation.

Many of the parents Sudan Tribune interviewed expressed fears that lack of access to education for their children could hamper their chances for successful future life.

Peter Lam Gatluak, a parent, says most of their children were idle due to lack of schools, adding that the existing primary schools even lacked basic learning facilities.

“Most of the children in camp sit idle without going to school. But most of those in senior four and senior six or those who completed primary cannot continue due to lack of secondary schools,” Gatluak said.

“That is why you have seen them rooming around the camp,” he added.

Rhino camp was a home to South Sudanese refugees earlier in the early 90's, but the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended over two decades of the North-South Sudan civil war saw them repatriated back to their country.

(ST)

April 25, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – Peace talks between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) have once again stalled over the failure of the two parties to reach a framework agreement for direct negotiations.

The head of the Sudanese government's negotiating team, Ibrahim Gandour (R), speaks at the opening session of peace talks in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on 13 February 2014. The SPLM's Yasir Arman appears at the extreme left of the table, while the mediators and UN envoy are pictured in the middle (Photo: AUHIP)

The negotiating teams are in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa since 22 April, as the chief mediator, Thabo Mbeki, gave them an amended version of his initial draft framework agreed that he had delivered on 18 February before to suspend the discussions two weeks after.

Since Wednesday evening reports emerging from the venue of the talks said the positions of the two delegations are still quite far apart. The SPLM-N sticks to its demand for a comprehensive process while Khartoum team say there are ready to negotiate a solution for the conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

In a meeting held on Wednesday, Thabo Mbeki proposed that the two delegations form three commissions to discuss the security arrangements, humanitarian assistance, and political issues related to the Two Areas. Besides that he proposed a fourth panel to discuss the national dialogue process.

The mediator seemingly wanted to bring the two parties to limit their discussions within the framework of his mandate as defined by the African Union Peace and Security Council.

The Sudanese delegation renewed its support to the proposals Mbeki made saying iy was in line with its position.

“We immediately accepted the agenda (proposed by the meditaion) because it deals with the three humanitarian, political and security issues in the Two Areas and the national dialogue in Sudan,” said Ibrahim Ghandour, the head of the Sudanese government delegation after the joint meeting.

Ghandour told reporters that they agreed to task the mediation to draft a new paper including the outcome of the meeting and the draft framework agreement of 18 February. He further said they refused a proposal by the SPLM-N to include Darfur region in the agenda of the talks, and that the mediation endorsed their position.

However, in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Wednesday, the SPLM-N spokesperson, Abdel Rahman Ardol, reaffirmed that his group sticks to the comprehensive solution and the “National constitutional dialogue” after agreeing on the conditions creating a conducive environment in the country.

Ardol further pointed out they proposed that the four commissions can only start their meetings after reaching a framework agreement, stressing that "it would be difficult for these commissions to work without reference points included in the framework agreement".

The rebel official went to say they can accept that the political and security commissions engage in negotiations on the basis of the 28 June 2011 agreement, pointing out that Ghandour has accepted this condition.

“The SPLM-N SPLM reitrated that the political commission cannot start its activities without an agreement on the principles and roadmap of the national constitutional dialogue. This deal should also lead to a comprehensive cease-fire from Darfur to the Blue Nile including the South Kordofan,” the rebel spokesperson said.

The rebel group says they want to ensure that the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) will not control the inclusive political process of national dialogue, and that its outcome would lead to a national transitional government not dominated by the ruling party.

Regarding the humanitarian panel, the rebel groups have demanded it take into consideration a ceasefire deal for the the Nuba Mountains struck by the Sudanese government and SPLM-N in 2002.

In accordance with the agreement brokered by Swiss-US mediators and signed in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, on 19 January 2002, the parties committed themselves to a renewable six-month ceasefire. Also the SPLM-N had the right to administrate areas where its troops were after their redeployment in line with the signed deal.

Last March, the head of the African Union (AU) mediation team, Thabo Mbeki, suspended negotiations and referred the matter to the AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) for guidance, saying the SPLM-N, which demands a comprehensive peace, had refused a draft framework agreement aiming to settle the conflict in the Two Areas.

(ST)

April 24, 2014 (NEW YORK) – The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) said on Thursday it was prepared to consider imposing sanctions on South Sudan's warring parties if attacks against civilians continues.

A UNMISS-supplied photo shows peacekeepers extracting civilians in Bentiu, the capital of South Sudan's oil rich Unity state, following the eruption of ethnically motivated violence

The statement follows an ethnically motivated massacre in Bentiu, the capital of oil-rich Unity state in which at least 200 people died and the killing of dozens of internally displaced people (IDPs) who were sheltering at a UN base in Jonglei state capital Bor.

The violence has shattered a January ceasefire deal signed between both parties, aimed at ending hostilities which erupted in mid-December last year amid escalating political tensions between president Salva Kiir and his sacked former deputy Riek Machar.

UN peacekeeping chief Hervé Ladsous and UN assistant secretary-general for human rights Ivan Šimonovic briefed the 15-member council on Wednesday on the situation in South Sudan.

In a press statement issued from New York by UNSC president U. Joy Ogwu of Nigeria following the briefing, members said they were willing “to take additional measures should attacks on civilians and violations of the cessation of hostilities agreement continue”.

“The members of the Security Council strongly reiterated their demand for an immediate end to all human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, and expressed their readiness to consider appropriate measures against those responsible,” the statement adds.

Both the US and EU have already threatened South Sudan with sanctions, while French UN ambassador Gerard Araud has indicated that UNSC member states are likely “ready to go down the road of sanctions”.

US-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) this week also urged the UNSC to “act decisively” by imposing targeted sanctions on South Sudanese figures connected with human rights abuses.

HORROR AND ANGER

Gruesome images and accounts have emerged from Bentiu after reports emerged that civilians hiding in a local mosque, hospital and church were systematically targeted and executed based on their ethnicity and nationality after pro-Machar rebel forces seized control of the town from government troops loyal to Kiir.

The UNSC has expressed “horror and anger” at the mass violence, which occurred between 14 and 16 April, with women and children also among the casualties.

For the first time since the conflict erupted more than four months ago, hate messages were also broadcast on local radio stations to incite rape and violence.

On 17 April attackers stormed the UN base in Bor targeting civilians mostly of Nuer ethnic origin.

Meanwhile, the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said the number of civilians sheltering at its base north of Bentiu had risen from 8,000 to 23,000 following the latest outbreak of violence.

It said its peacekeepers had been involved in extracting hundreds of civilians, who had survived the attacks at the main hospital and the Kali-Ballee Mosque.

CALLS FOR PARTIES TO ACT

The UNSC has reiterated calls for the South Sudanese government to immediately take steps to ensure the safety of all civilians and swiftly investigate the latest incidents.

The members of the UNSC urged South Sudan's political leaders, including both Kiir and Machar, to “demonstrate leadership by publicly stating that any and all attacks on civilians are unacceptable”, as well as bring those responsible for human rights violations to justice.

The UNSC also expressed grave concerns over threats made to oil installations, petroleum companies and their employees, urging all parties to ensure the security of economic infrastructure.

“The members of the Security Council also called on all parties to respect international human rights law and international humanitarian law, to end intimidation and harassment and verbal attacks against UNMISS, to urgently allow UNMISS to fully implement its mandate, and to refrain from any violence or antagonistic rhetoric directed against UNMISS,” UNSC said in its statement.

In light of recent developments, the UNSC has requested that Šimonovic return to South Sudan to undertake an investigation focused on events in Bentiu and report back to the Security Council.

UNMISS this month also released a human rights report on the situation in South Sudan, while the African Union Commission of Inquiry's first mission is currently underway in South Sudan, with a report expected within the next three months.

While the South Sudan crisis is considered primarily political, the violence has increasingly taken on an ethnic dimension, with fighting pitting those of Kiir's Dinka tribe against Machar's Nuer group.

Ongoing peace talks in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, being mediated by the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) have failed to halt violence on the ground.

Aid agencies have issued sustained warnings that the country is facing a humanitarian catastrophe and a possible famine, but have struggled to raise necessary funds amid donor fatigue and dwindling media interest in the crisis.

(ST)

April 25, 2014 (JUBA) – A South Sudanese court has freed four politicians accused of plotting to overthrow president Salva Kiir by military force after the government dropped treason charges.

Former SPLM secretary-general Pagan Amum (L) and former deputy minister of defence Majak Deng Agot (second from left) leave a courthouse in Juba after their release on 25 April 2014 (Photo EPA/Phillip Dhil)

The court order read out a request by the ministry of justice asking it to drop the case against all four officials, explaining the decision was made “in order to promote peace and reconciliation among our people”.

The president of the special court, Judge James Alala Deng, said the court had accepted the government's request to stay the case and release the officials in the interests of the nation.

Former security minister Oyay Deng Ajak, former secretary-general of South Sudan's ruling party (SPLM) Pagan Amum Okiech, former defence minister Majak D'Agoot and former US envoy Ezekiel Lol Gatkouth have been in detention for the past four months after being accused of masterminding the alleged coup plot with a number of other senior officials, including former vice-president turned rebel leader Riek Machar.

“Based on the report and request by the government … the court decided to stay the process and release the officials who were on trial,” Deng announced amid celebrations.

The release comes after justice minister Paulino Wanawilla Unango announced on Thursday that the leadership had decided to drop treason charges in a move aimed at ending conflict, which erupted in mid-December last year following escalating political tensions between Kiir and Machar.

However, the government said it will maintain similar charges against Machar, former Unity State governor Taban Deng Gai and former environment minister Alfred Lado Gore, all of whom have been charged in absentia.

CELEBRATIONS IN COURT

Supporters, relatives and friends and relatives of the accused were in court to hear the decision, with the announcement greeted with jubilation.

Some of the officials were carried on the shoulders of supporters through the crowd, who described the decisions as “an honour to [the country's] justice system”.

Speaking to journalists shortly his release, Amum, said he welcomed the government's decision, expressing hope peace could be restored in the fractured country.

“This decision marks the beginning of a serious work and the search for peace. We will now work with all the parties and the stakeholders to bring peace to this country,” he said.

“We will make necessary contacts with the government and those in the opposition to end this senseless war that is killing our people,” added Amum, who was previously considered a powerful figure within the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).

“We have to return South Sudan to peace and stability as a matter of priority and we must do it now to avoid more death and endless suffering,” he said.

ALLEGATIONS UNPROVEN

Amum maintained that the group had been arrested and imprisoned without valid reasons, while lead defence lawyer Monyluak Alor said the decision vindicated his clients of any wrongdoing.

“Really what happened was legally unbelievable. There was no single legal evidence to prove the allegations,” Alor told journalists outside the court.

“They are innocent. They were witch hunted, but justice has prevailed. We accept their release because peace and reconciliation are paramount now,” he added.

In a separate statement, presidential spokesperson Ateny Wek Ateny said that the decision was a significant step as rebels would no longer be able to use the release of the officials as a precondition for peace talks.

“This is a significant step because the issue of the four suspects of the coup attempt cannot be used by the party as a ploy to stay away from negotiating in good faith,” Ateny told reporters.

It will definitely bridge the gap between the parties at the negotiation table in Addis Ababa when these talk resume,” he added.

The presidential aide added the decision would now reduce international pressure on the government, as well as expedite efforts aimed at ending the conflict.

“The international community has been calling for their release and the government has been studying and evaluating the genuineness of these calls … We want to see if it can give chance for peace to come to South Sudan,” he said.

WEAK CASE

Meanwhile, veteran journalist and editor of the Juba-based Daily Monitor Alfred Taban said the government's case had been weak.

“The release of these people is a significant step. It will encourage peaceful dialogue and promotion of reconciliation. It also means that the government does not want to be embarrassed by the ruling of the court because the government had a weak case,” said Taban, adding that prosecution witnesses had failed to establish the group had participated in the alleged coup.

Charges were also dropped against seven other senior SPLM officials, who were released into the care of neighbouring Kenya in January.

Fighting in South Sudan initially broke out in the capital, Juba, between rival members of the presidential guard.

The fighting rapidly escalated, pitting government troops loyal to Kiir against defectors and ethnic militia aligned with Machar, who was sacked last July.

The UN has threatened to impose targeted sanctions on South Sudan's warring parties amid worsening violence and human right abuses.

(ST)

S. Sudan drops charges against four treason suspects

April 25, 2014 (JUBA) – Heavy gun fire erupted between armed rival fighters in Mapel, a town south-west of South Sudan's Western Bahr state capital, causing panic among the local population, military sources told Sudan Tribune on Friday.

An SPLA soldier walks away from a vehicle while on patrol in Juba on 21 December 2013 (Photo: Reuters)

At least 10 gunmen were reportedly killed, while scores sustained injuries as the two sides attempted to gain control of the area. The clash was one of the heaviest ever witnessed in the area since violence erupted in the country late last year.

Eyewitnesses living near the Mapel area, where the clashes took place, said the battle was fierce, with opposing forces reportedly employing the use of different heavy machine guns, including heavy artillery and powerful rocket-propelled grenades.

It remains unclear what sparked the fighting as no official details have been released.

The spokesperson of pro-government forces said he was yet to obtain information about the Mapel incident, while the office of the state governor said it was still reaching out to the division commander and local command for additional information.

“I have no information of what happened in Mapel. I am not aware,” Philip Aguer told Sudan Tribune on Friday, without elaborating further.

Western Bahr el Ghazal's deputy governor, however, said he had heard about the fierce fighting in Mapel, but was unable to provide more details on the military clashes.

“Yes, I heard there was a fighting this morning in Mapel but there is no official information coming out from the division commander. We are still gathering more details and we will let the public know what happened, hopefully by the end of the day,” Zachariah Garang told Sudan Tribune by phone.

A local administrative officer claimed that a 70-year old man was one of the victims allegedly killed in cold blood by fighters during Friday's military unrest.

MASSIVE DEFECTION

A military officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the outbreak of fighting, claiming that over 150 soldiers broke away from the military barracks and fled into the bush.

“There was tension since yesterday (Thursday) when two colleagues within the military police exchanged unnecessary words. It started at the bus park area in Mapel town when one soldier refused to take orders from his superior, creating [an] unnecessary situation and raised security concern for civilians in the area but it was contained by the command,” the officer disclosed on Friday.

However, he was unable to reveal the number of people killed from both sides or how many sustained injuries during the melee.

A former deputy governor from Mapel confirmed the outbreak of fighting between rival forces, but was also unable to provide any details on the number of casualties suffered by forces.

“I just heard 10 people have been killed but I don't know on which side they belong. Also there are reports of four other people wounded, but again I still do not have information on which side they belong. What I have been told by many people is that there was a fighting between soldiers,” Effesio Kon Uguak told Sudan Tribune by phone.

“It has nothing to do with the civilians. It was purely a misunderstanding within the army and ended there,” he added.

South Sudanese president Salva Kiir on Wednesday accused rebels of failing to honour a cessation of hostilities agreement signed between the two sides on 23 January.

(ST)

April 25, 2014 (JUBA) – The South Sudanese army (SPLA) said on Friday that it has regained control of the strategic town of Mayom in Unity state, claiming that it is only a matter of time before it will exert full control over all rebel-held areas.

Soldiers from the South Sudanese army (SPLA) on guard in Bentiu, the capital of South Sudan's Unity state on 12 January 2014 (Photo: Reuters)

“Yes, our forces are in Mayom. They have captured it from the rebels and it is a matter of time before they take complete control of all the areas,” SPLA spokesperson Colonel Philip Aguer said on Friday.

In an exclusive interview, Aguer told Sudan Tribune that government troops have a “constitutional mandate to provide security and protection to people and their properties”.

Rebels led by former vice-president Riek Machar took control of the Unity state capital, Bentiu, on 15 April. The conflict began in December when large sections of the army and some senior members of the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) defected.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has accused opposition forces of carrying out targeted killings and inciting “vengeful sexual violence” over local radio after regaining control of Bentiu from government troops.

It is alleged that civilians who were hiding inside Bentiu hospital were killed for not joining fellow members of the Nuer ethnic group who had gone onto the streets to celebrate the capture of the town by rebel forces, according to UNMISS.

UNMISS has also accused rebels of carrying out a massacre at a local mosque in which 200 civilians who had taken refuge inside were killed after opposition forces separated individuals on the basis of their nationality and ethnic group.

The SPLA “will definitely go to Bentiu and push those rebels out. It is just a matter of time and all the areas within territorial jurisdiction of the Republic of South Sudan will be secure. We have the mandate to provide protection and to secure safety of our people and their properties,” Aguer said.

The senior officer further added that government forces have also gained control of Ayod – a rebel stronghold in eastern Jonglei state – for the first time since violence erupted in December last year.

Observers say the capture of Ayod if confirmed by independent sources, would raise the morale of government forces and put pressure on rebels fighting to extend their control of strategic areas and key oilfieldsin Upper Nile state

It remains unclear how the government troops managed to cross into Mayom town following reports last week that it destroyed a bridge which links the area with neighbouring Warrap state.

The town borders both Unity and Warrap states, close to the border with Sudan, which South Sudan split from in 2011 as part of a 2005 peace deal.

Rebels from the SPLM in Opposition said they captured Mayom on 21 April. Analysts said that rebels could have used the area as a base to attack Warrap state and areas beyond.

Sudan Tribune was unable to independently verify government claims that it has recaptured the area and neither the rebel military spokesperson nor any of their officials have confirmed or denied the area had fallen under government control.

(ST)

• Machar rebels claim to have recaptured strategic town of Mayom
• S. Sudan army admits Machar forces are in control of Mayom county
• S. Sudan rivals trade accusations over human rights abuses

By Amnesty International

April 25, 2014 - Osman Hummaida who died from a heart attack on 17 April was a vital, exuberant, passionate and dedicated human rights defender, and a central figure in the Sudan human rights movement over the past 20 years. From 2008 until his sudden death he was Executive Director of the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS), a Sudan human rights organization. Osman was a close contact and friend of Amnesty International. He was always ready to help, to find out information, to discuss the situation. His aim was to end impunity and bring torturers and – especially – those who gave the orders, senior officials, ministers, the President – to justice. “We are building up the evidence, we will get him in the end”– he would say about a particularly suspect minister.

A political activist in Sudan in the 1980s, he was arrested in 1990/1 after the military came to power in Khartoum. After his release and escape from Sudan it was human rights which took up all his energies. In exile in London, Osman helped to found several important Sudanese human rights movements. The Sudan Organization against Torture (SOAT) was based in London. Later, by 2000, when there was more space for local non-government organizations in Sudan, he played a part in founding the Khartoum Centre for Human Rights and Environmental Protection (KCHR) and the Amel Centres for Rehabilitation and Treatment of Victims of Torture in Nyala and El Fasher in Darfur. The Amel Centres were later to win many international prizes for their work.

These organizations Osman helped found, developed out of networks of lawyers, journalists and doctors. They recognised the need for careful and accurate documentation of torture and of other human rights violations. Osman organized workshops and training sessions in London and Sudan which initiated many young activists into human rights work. A vital cornerstone of the work of these organisations was strategic litigation to bring perpetrators to justice in Sudan, and when this failed, using regional and international channels such as the African Commission on Human and People's rights, the UN human rights councils and the International Criminal Court to seek justice. One of the cases before the African Commission on Human and People's Rights involves Osman. He and two colleagues were arrested and two of them tortured in Khartoum in November 2008.

Osman, and the organisations he helped found were also heavily involved in advocacy. They published cases, submitted reports to the African Union, UN Human Rights agencies in Geneva and other governments. SOAT and later the ACJPS would hold joint meetings with other NGOs to inform and campaign on human rights issues. In 2003, when the massive displacement and killings in Darfur were growing, Osman brought Darfur lawyers to Geneva to lobby and explain the situation to every African country's delegation and other members of the UN Human Rights Commission. In 2004 SOAT and the KCHR set up the Darfur Consortium, a network of African NGOs who were fundamentally important in carrying the fight against ethnic fighting in Darfur to the African Union, leaving Sudan isolated even among fellow African states. A network of Arab human rights NGOs led a similar campaign.

When the International Criminal Court indictment was issued against President Omar al-Bashir in March 2009, the KCHR and the Amel Centre, along with other Sudanese Human Rights organizations .

were banned. Osman and colleagues left Sudan fearing arrest. However, from Kampala the group founded the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies to continue the struggle for human rights in Sudan, using documentation, training of activists, strategic litigation and, as always, advocacy. In May/June 2014, the ACJPS will celebrate its fifth year, a tribute to the tireless work of Osman Hummaida, its executive director, for human rights in Sudan.

Osman's passing leaves a big void in the Sudan human rights defenders landscape. Amnesty International will greatly miss him.

April 25, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese Electricity Distribution Company (SEDC) has revealed that only 40% of the population has access to electricity compared to 90% in neighbouring countries.

Sudan National Electricity Corporation logo

SEDC's director, Ali Abdel-Rahman, who addressed the opening session of the states' 4th power grid conference in El-Obeid, capital of North Kordofan state on Thursday, underscored that electrical supply will cover the whole country by 2031.

“Despite our efforts, the figures of electricity production and consumption are modest. We are currently working on increasing numbers of beneficiaries from electricity,” he said

He added that in spite of the stability of electrical supply, the percentage of beneficiaries is only 40%.

Abdel-Rahman pointed that SEDC launched the solar power electricity project for houses in order to cover the deficit in electricity production following the successful experience of North Kordofan state.

He said that the thermal power sector is experiencing major difficulty because it consumes large amounts of gasoline to produce thermal electricity, disclosing that the Al-Foula electricity grid would function soon after it has been included in the national grid.

The state's minister at the ministry of electricity, Tabita Butrus Showkai, has called for North Kordofan's solar energy project to be extended to the rest of the country, as well as the electrification of agricultural projects, demanding that solar energy also be introduced to rural areas by 2031.

(ST)

April 25, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan's rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has renewed accusations that foreign minister Ali Karti is the main instigator of the killings of Sudanese civilians in South Sudan.

Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti holds a press conference at Khartoum airport on 13 November 2012 after a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi (Photo: Ebrahim Hamid/AFP/Getty Images)

In a statement issued on 21 April, the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) confirmed that more than 200 civilians had reportedly been killed and over 400 wounded at a Bentiu mosque after the town was captured by rebel forces a week before.

UNMISS has also accused the rebel SPLM-In-Opposition of separating civilians along tribal lines, saying Sudanese Darfuris were specifically targeted and killed at the hospital along with other civilians.

On Wednesday, Sudan's foreign ministry issued a statement accusing Juba of using Sudanese rebel groups in its fight against rebels allied to former vice-president Riek Machar, saying the move constituted a violation of security agreements signed between the countries.

JEM spokesperson Jibril Adam Bilal said that Karti continued to make arbitrary accusations in the knowledge they could potentially cause harm to Sudanese nationals in South Sudan.

He claimed Karti was also behind accusations that JEM had been participating in fighting in Libya during the revolution which led to the killing of thousands of Sudanese civilians, as well as black Africans.

“Statements made by Karti and senior government officials were behind the killing of thousands of Sudanese people,” he said

Bilal said the top diplomat should be more prudent and representative of all Sudanese people, but said he was not surprised by the latest statements given Karti's hardline approach and track record for targeting marginalised citizens.

“He (Karti) is practicing his favourite killing hobby as if he still works for the Popular Defence Forces (PDF),” he said.

Karti was the commander of Sudan's paramilitary PDF forces throughout the 1990s.

(ST)

April 25, 2014 (JUBA) – South Sudanese rebels under the leadership of former vice-president Riek Machar claimed on Friday that its fighters had killed and wounded dozens of Sudanese rebels fighting alongside the government after fresh clashes in Unity state.

Injured civilians are treated at the UNMISS base in Bentiu, the capital of South Sudan's Unity state (Photo: UN/Toby Lanzer)

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune, rebel military spokesperson Brigadier General Lul Ruai Koang said that the Darfur-based Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) had suffered “heavy losses”, with 69 members killed, including senior commanders.

Koang said forces under the command of Col. Keerdol Thong and the 4th division's elite unit under the overall command of Unity state military governor Maj. Gen. James Koang Chuol had emerged victorious following a three-hour battle in Manga village between Parieng county and Unity junction.

He named Maj. Gen. Abdurrahman Juma, JEM's operations commander in Unity state and Brig. Gen. Ahmed Abukalam as the top JEM generals killed in action.

The rebel spokesperson said one intelligence operative was captured and four Toyota land cruisers mounted with machine guns were destroyed during the offensive.

He also said another 14 Toyota land cruisers mounted with different types of artillery pieces and air defence machine guns were captured, while four more were destroyed.

Koang claimed that all vehicles seized bore JEM markings and were painted in the rebel group's colours.

He said the Sudanese rebels had fled in disarray and are being pursued by pro-Machar forces towards Parieng county.

South Sudanese rebels have accused both the Ugandan army (UPDF) and JEM rebels of fighting alongside president Salva Kiir's government. While Uganda admits to deploying forces in the country, JEM has always denied its involvement.

JUBA, JEM DENY CLAIMS

Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the South Sudanese army (SPLA), Colonel Philip Aguer, and JEM spokesperson Gibreel Adam Bilal denied the claims by the SPLM-In-Opposition .

Aguer said he was unaware of any fighting involving Sudanese rebel fighters and denied South Sudan was harbouring Sudanese opposition forces, describing the allegations as “propaganda”.

“This is not true. There are no Sudanese rebels inside the territory of the Republic of South Sudan, let alone fighting alongside our forces,” Aguer told Sudan Tribune on Friday.

“What the rebels of Riek Machar are doing is spreading lies and propaganda, which is part of their strategy in this conflict. All they say lacks [any] basis,” he added.

Bilal has also repeatedly denied the allegations, calling on rebels to deliver JEM fighters to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to prove their claims.

“We want to emphasise that JEM has no leaders, soldiers or members in Unity state in South Sudan. Thus, saying they killed two leading members is [a] manifestly unfounded claim,” he said.

He accused the SPLM-In-Opposition of issuing false statements to divert attention from recent massacres of Sudanese nationals its forces are alleged to have carried out in Bentiu, the capital of oil-rich Unity state.

South Sudanese rebels seized control of Bentiu from government troops loyal to Kiir on 15 April.

The region has been the scene of heavy fighting between rebels and government forces since violence erupted in the country in mid-December last year, with the strategic town changing hands several times at the height of the conflict.

Since the latest rebel offensive, disturbing reports of atrocities have emerged from Bentiu, amid allegations rebel troops carried out targeted killings of civilians from the Dinka tribe, of which Kiir hails, and Sudanese nationals.

The Sudanese government this week issued a statement denouncing the killing of Sudanese citizens, rejecting claims victims were mistakenly killed after Machar's forces thought they belonged to Darfur rebel groups.

Khartoum has accused the Kiir administration of using Sudanese rebel groups in its fight against pro-Machar rebels, saying the move constitutes a violation of the security agreements signed between the two countries.

South Sudanese rebels have dismissed accusations that their fighters carried out targeted killings of Sudanese trader in Bentiu, describing the claims as “lies”.

(ST)

Darfuri traders in Wau stage peaceful protest after Bentiu killings
Sudan condemns Bentiu atrocities, accuses Juba of using Darfur rebels
South Sudan rebels deny killing Darfurian traders in Unity state