May 2, 2014 (RUMBEK) - Lakes state military caretaker Maj-Gen Matur Chut Dhuol has come under heavy criticism from activists and various youth leaders over his call for the state's youth to join the military.

A woman carrying a radio in Rumbek, Lakes state, South Sudan (ST)

On April 26, Dhuol, the caretaker governor Lakes state, urged local youths to join the military in order to protect the country from the instability caused by the four and a half month old conflict, in Mingkaman, the county headquarters of Awerial of Lakes state.

The rally was attended by some of the internally displaced people who are residing in Mingkaman, having fled across the White Nile to escape fighting in Jonglei state to the east.

Over a million people have been forced from their homes and thousands killed since the fighting began following a split in the South Sudanese army (SPLA) and the splintering of the ruling party (SPLM).

In a meeting held by youth members from Rumbek Central county on Friday, activists called upon Dhuol to apologise to South Sudan's president Salva Kiir Mayardit.

The youth leaders said that president Kiir is working for peace and not for war in the country and accused Dhuol of participating in pro-war propaganda.

Mathew Majak, a pastoralists youth representative told Sudan Tribune: "Governor Dhuol should disengage himself in calling for war against the Nuer community." The youth he represents "are not going to attack anybody or any Nuer areas. We have proper self-defence if the Nuer attacks us. We are not afraid."

He added that "the cause of December clashes in Juba is belong to Juba – we are not members of that row", referring to the internal politics of the SPLM and the power struggle between Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar, who is leading the rebellion.

Another activist, Moses Majok, stated that youth in Lakes state stood alongside the elected government but he explained that youth are not ready to attacks any part of the country, adding that the Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups are brothers.

"Nuer community are our brothers" said despite the fact that the engage in cattle raiding among between Dinka groups in Lakes state and Nuer youth in neighbouring states.

He asked why they should fight each other now that South Sudan had achieved independence.

Majok noted that under the harsh leadership of caretaker Governor Dhuol, Lakes state youth have complained of receiving rough treatment at the hands of the security sevices, with some being held at Langcok military prison without any charges brought against them.

The activist claimed that “Dhuol had crushed justice and education in Lakes state.”

Since Dhuol's appointment in 15 months ago, he has banned the selling of alcohol in Lakes state without providing an economic alternative for widows who sell homemade in order to pay school fees and for other essentials.

There are growing calls for South Sudanese president Salva Kiir Mayardit to remove Dhuol, whose policies have been accused of inflaming the same cyclical inter-clan tensions, which he was brought in stop.

Dhuol was appointed after Kiir issued a decree removing his elected predecessor Chol Tong Mayay from office, reportedly over his failure to quell ongoing tribal violence in the region.

Under South Sudan's constitution, an election should be held within 90 days should the president remove a governor. However, this has yet to occur in the country's three states where governors were removed last year.

Some residents in Rumbek town carrying radios with them hoping to hear the news that Dhuol has been removed.

(ST)

• ST - Lakes state governor rallies youths to join military

May 3, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) has announced that 10 illegal migrants died in the desert near the Sudanese-Libyan borders.

FILE PHOTO - Sudanese army spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad (GETTY)

Last week, a joint Sudanese-Libyan force rescued 319 migrants after they became stranded in the desert on the border between the two countries, noting their miserable condition.

A Sudanese foreign ministry official told the state news agency SUNA at the time that human traffickers had abandoned the illrgal migrants in the desert.

SAF's spokesperson, Colonel Al-Sawarmi Khaled Saad, said in a press release on Saturday, that the remaining 309 of the rescued migrants arrived on Saturday afternoon in the North State capital, Dongola.

Eritrean and Ethiopian migrants were among those rescued, he added.

He pointed that the joint Libyan-Sudanese force caught 30 more illegal migrants in the desert, saying they will also be transferred to Dongla.

Sudan and Libya have established in November 2013 a joint force to control the borders between the two countries.

The Sudanese government has continued to warn Sudanese citizens wishing to travel to Libya against illegal immigration and human traffickers, underscoring the enormous risks faced by illegal immigrants, including getting lost in the desert which has resulted in many dying of thirst.

Last June, Libyan guards killed a dozen Sudanese migrants who had illegally crossed the border.

The Egyptian authorities at the Salloum land port on the Mediterranean Sea on Friday announced the arrest of 31 Egyptians and 3 Sudanese nationals while they were trying to sneak into the Libyan territory through the desert routes.

The majority of those illegal migrants use Libya as a transit point to Europe.

(ST)

May 3, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government has accused Uganda of supporting and harbouring the rebel alliance of the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) and says it has continued to interfere in the country's internal affairs since president Yoweri Museveni assumed power.

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni (Reuters)

The ruling National Congress Party (NCP) political secretary, Mustafa Osman Ismail, said in a talk show program on the state-run Sudan TV on Saturday that the Sudanese government has “pampered”” Museveni too much, adding that Sudan no longer has common borders with Uganda and does not support the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) as Kampala claims.

He called for launching international, African and regional lobby attacks on Uganda.

On 23 April, the Ugandan Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi said his country filed a complaint with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) about Sudan's alleged support for LRA.

“We had hoped that we had put all this behind us, but sadly, Sudan has not stopped supporting Joseph Kony and the LRA,” Mbabazi reportedly said.

The strained relationship between Uganda and Sudan deteriorated further with Khartoum recently recalling its ambassador to Kampala Hussein Awad Ali, over long held suspicions that Uganda was harbouring Sudanese rebels.

In a separate issue, Ismail underscored his party's keenness to engage all rebel groups in the national dialogue, disclosing existence of several scenarios for their participation including dispatching delegations of independent national figures to meet with them and listen to their views.

He held the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) responsible for the recent killing of Sudanese nationals in Bentiu, saying it suffered heavy losses including extermination of its troops in Bentiu as a result of its involvement in the ongoing conflict in South Sudan.

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 when the town changed hands the week before.

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

PEACE TALKS

The NCP official called upon the government negotiating team to be cautious in the next round of talks with the rebel Sudanese People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), saying the latter's signing of peace agreements is contingent upon receiving “foreign orders”.

He expressed his government's readiness to allow the SPLM-N to take part in all Sudan's issues following an end the war and resolving the issue of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

Ismail further disclosed that several attempts were made to transfer the issue of the Two Areas to the UN Security Council (UNSC), saying the Sudanese diplomacy managed to abort them.

The African Union's (AU) mediation team suspended the stalled peace process aimed at ending the conflict in the Two Areas on Wednesday, as the government and SPLM-N delegations once again failed to conclude a framework agreement.

Last March, the AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) asked the head of the AU High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP), Thabo Mbeki, to broker the talks in order to reach an agreement by 30 April 2014.

The AU mediators are expected to report to the AUPSC for further guidance.

(ST)

May 3, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The National Umma Party (NUP) voted on Friday to appoint the head of the party's Political Secretariat, Sara Nugdalla, as its next secretary-general.

Sara Nugdalla (ST)

This followed a proposal by the party chief Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi during the Central Commission meeting which started on Thursday to relieve Ibrahim al-Amin in light of his “failure” to create a consensual secretariat among other reasons.

Al-Mahdi tabled three names including Nugdulla but offered special praise to her. The other two eventually withdrew their nomination. This is the first time the party has picked a female figure for the position.

Observers say the former Prime Minister has been uneasy with the election of Al-Amin in 2012 over his predecessor Sideeg Ismail who is viewed suspiciously by the NUP base as being close to the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) but is strongly backed by Al-Mahdi.

Al-Mahdi afterward appointed Ismail as his vice-president in a move that was viewed as a challenge to his ouster from the secretary-general post.

Al-Amin accused Al-Mahdi subtly at first then publicly of interfering in his work and seeking to force him to appoint certain figures to the secretariat.

He also suggested that the NUP's current challenge is between those who want rapprochement with NCP and those who oppose it like himself.

Al-Amin has boycotted the meetings amid reports that he refuses to recognise any move to oust him given that the current term of the Central Commission has expired a year ago and therefore he argues that it is an interim one with no mandate except to prepare for the party's general convention, which is tasked with electing members of the NUP to various bodies.

(ST)

May 3, 2014 (JUBA) – The UN has expressed grave concerns for the welfare of children across South Sudan among credible reports 9,000 have been recruited by armed groups, while others have been raped and killed during indiscriminate attacks by both sides as the nation plunges further into crisis.

Children wait to receive a measles vaccine at the UNMISS camp in Bor, the capital of South Sudan's Jonglei state (Photo: UNICEF)

The UN high commissioner for human Rights Navi Pillay said 32 schools have been taken over by military forces and there have been more than 20 attacks on clinics and health centres across the country.

The chaotic nature of the conflict has severely interrupted the education of children in the country, with many also becoming separated from their families due to the fighting, which erupted in mid-December last year after political tensions turned violent.

The conflict has pitted government forces loyal to Kiir, a Dinka, against rebels aligned with Machar, South Sudan's former vice-president, who hails from the Nuer tribe.

Women and children remain among the most vulnerable sections of society, with many subject to brutal sexual violence, including gang rape, says Pillay.

Pillay and UN special advisor on the prevention of genocide Adama Dieng recently held talks with president Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar during a three-day visit to the country.

Pillay has expressed dismay that both leaders seemed more concerned with advancing their own political interests rather than stemming violence in the new nation, which is on the brink of a catastrophe and a looming famine.

“The prospect of widespread hunger and malnutrition being inflicted on hundreds of thousands of their people, because of their personal failure to resolve their differences peacefully did not appear to concern them very much,” she said following the visit, adding that the conflict was now “reaching boiling point”.

The visit by the senior UN officials comes in the wake of mass killings last month in Unity state capital Bentiu and Jonglei capital Bor, which appear to be ethnically motivated, sparking international condemnation.

The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has alleged that more than 200 civilians were killed while sheltering at a mosque in Bentiu after pro-Machar rebel forces retook the town from government troops.

UNMISS said people were rounded up and killed based on their ethnicity and nationality, while hate messages were reportedly broadcast on local radio inciting violence and rape.

Two days later, the UNMISS base in Bor, where thousands of civilians are sheltering, was breached by an armed mob, with dozens killed in the attack.

The escalation in ethnic tensions led US secretary of state, John Kerry, who is currently visiting the region, to warn that the country is facing a possible genocide.

Dieng for his part says the attacks in the two towns seemed to have “changed the trajectory” of the conflict and that recent categorised as risk factors of genocide and other atrocity crimes.

US Republican congressman Frank Wolfe this week criticised the Obama's administration's foreign policy on South Sudan, saying the country was at risk of becoming the next Rwanda, the scene of a brutal ethnic genocide 20 years ago.

Meanwhile, at a press briefing in Geneva on Friday, Christophe Boulierac of the UN children's fund (UNICEF) provided an update on the situation facing children in South Sudan.

He said while UNICEF is unable to verify the number of children recruited by armed groups, it says the information received was from reliable sources and is based on eyewitness accounts.

He said access to water at the UN base in Bentiu had improved in the past 10 days from two litres per person to 7.5 litres per person after a second well was dug to cope with the influx of internally displaced persons following the recent surge in violence in the region.

The average number of persons sharing a single latrine in the camp is 129 persons, down from 317, although Boulierac concedes this figure is still too high.

The first phase of the immunisation campaign against polio and measles, along with a supplement of vitamin A, also got underway on 23 April in cooperation with the ministry of health, UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) in seven states.

The program aims to vaccinate 2.4 million children in South Sudan.

(ST)

May 3, 2014 (JUBA)- South Sudanese cleric on Saturday welcomed the visit of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, pointing out it shows the level to which the conflict had reached adding it was time for the warring parties to swiftly reach a peaceful settlement.

“We would like to clearly state once again commitment of the faith based groups that it is always imperative the leaders should take a look at peaceful resolution to difficulties. War has never solved any difference. We believe war always widen differences and prolong the efforts,” said the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and Sudan's Akot diocese, Bishop Isaac Dhieu.

Dhieu said the church has dedicated prayers for peace in the country and that they would like people know about the role the faith based groups are playing.

He explained that the religious leaders from different denominations have spoken forcefully in the past months through sermons and in the social calling to end the nearly five-month conflict.

“Our hearts are deeply broken and wounded in particular by what is happening in this country. The people of God are living in pain and anguish. They are suffering and weeping profusely," he said.

He also called on the different religious groups around the world to support their efforts to end this political conflict which is now taking more and more ethnic character.

South Sudan religious “need assistance from the people of God across the whole world. We also call on our leaders to stop the war and come together to bring an end to this conflict,” he further said.

Positive Beginning
Bishop Dhieu who spoke to Sudan Tribune on Saturday described the visit of the US top diplomat as “a positive beginning” in the international search for peace in the new nation.

“We thank the almighty God for opening the widows of intervention to the suffering of our people. The visit of the secretary of state of the United States is a positive beginning in the international search for peace to come to this country and we indeed pray that peace come to this country. Our people have suffered a lot and they must suffer again. They have had enough suffering,” the Bishop said.

(ST)

By Deng Majok Chol

May 3, 2014 - To each of You---of all the 64 ethnic communities that are the inhabitants of South Sudan—who have, in the violence, lost loves ones, family members, dear friends, colleagues, heroes, mentors, or a mentees, I say, with deepest sympathy, condolences to you.

To each of all the women—from the 64 ethnic communities—who are experiencing the evils sides (physical abuses, emotional, psychological, and social effects) of the violence, I say, with deepest embarrassment, be strong and speak up against the evil acts.

We “THE SEEDS OF THE NATION” GENERATION, can at least---yes---at the very least… intervene in the current violence in South Sudan by providing hope to the society.

There is no better time than now to offer hope.

The situation can only get worse.

Could we take moments of reflection to search our souls, and our spirits of resilience with the conscious decision to demonstrate capacity to absorb personal losses and condemn all acts of atrocities and crimes against humanity?

And---

Have the courage and reasonableness to hold all factions involved accountable?

Could we collectively pressurize both factions of the violence by categorically and indiscriminately condemning specific abuses of human rights and episodes of ethnic cleansing?

Could we develop the capacity to de-personalize (this is not easy to do) ourselves as stakeholders in the violence, and offer hope by condemning these acts of evils regardless of which faction committed them?

An evil act is an evil act, regardless of the identity of the parties committing them.

Could this be our song? Instead of the song of tribal loyalty that blinds our sights and blurs our judgments, and questions the values of all the privileges our generation has been blessed with? Could we zoom out (broaden) our senses of the current violence to the analysis of the systemic level of the entire 64 ethnic groups? Because, obviously all of them are directly affected by the violence.

Could we get out of the dichotomy box of Nuer- Dinka? The other 62 tribes make up about 50% of the entire population, and they too, must count.

As a generation, we have been oriented as THE SEEDS OF NATION by the adversities of life and prophecies of societal elders and authorities of all our tribes.

We, as a generation, are seeds of nation, the youngest on Earth. But how long ago were these seeds planted?

30 years ago!

A child born in 1987, a time we first heard this inspirational prophecy, is 27 yrs old now. That child is a fully-grown adult, and, now, a part of THE SEEDS OF NATION.

So, are we still seeds of the nation? Indeed, we are not only seeds; we have germinated into the harvests.

The real question is, what kinds of harvests are we?

I recognize any divergence on this question. Some would say the question has to do with a choice. Others, like me, see it as a duty.

The question is, will we choose to be tribal harvests? Or, national harvests?

This is a grand distinction. One that I invite you to reflect on it as you engage with self.

But, how could harvests, planted by a SOCIETY as SEEDS OF NATION, and became harvests by the GRACE OF GOD, turn into sectarian/tribal/clan politics so easily? How could the goods in each of us—our generation----turn to divisiveness so quick? Where did the loyalty we have cultivated and developed among ourselves go? Did we not survive together? For decades as brothers and sisters? Regardless of our tribal/clan identity? Did we not study, and lived as colleagues for decades?

Then…

A 4-month-old violence robbed us of congeniality as family from diverse tribe? And seemed to have re-converted us, instead, to seeds of clans and tribes?

This is a puzzle I take to bed, and wake up with everyday since December 15th, 2013 when the violence erupted

This violence is our own making as a country, and we should realize that it requires a solution of our own making.

Albert Einstein once observed, “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.”

Einstein could be speaking to South Sudan citizens. At the eve of the violence, the story of what caused the violence was power struggle, and now, that story is still power struggle. But thousands have lost their lives. Hundred of thousands individuals have been displaced; Thousands of children are starving to death; Thousands of women are facing physical abuses. And the story is still power struggle. The level of thinking has not changed; if it has, it must be for the worse.

Why is a country so obsessed with whether there was a coup or not? Whether it is power struggle or not? Thousands individuals have disappeared from the face of the earth in this violence. Hundreds of thousands have been uprooted from their homes? Should this not be what needs to concern a country?

New babies are dying before they barely see the light of the world. The shedding of innocent blood is the worst act of humanity. Should this not be the chief concern of the SEEDS OF NATION GENERATION?. Should this not be what needs to concern a country? Should this not be what needs to concern a country?

The authorities in charge of both factions need to think out of the box. They need to think deeper, and at a different level of thinking for political solutions to be realized. As the SEEDS OF NATION GENERATION, could we not utilize our energy and time to indict the politics of war instead of each other?
The tribal politics of wars, fought over the Internet among our generation, will, I predict, have much more far-reaching societal damages than will the battlefields have.

His brothers who wanted him dead sold one humble person, the Biblical Joseph, to Egypt.

Like Joseph, our generation was sent to exile by forces that wanted us dead.

We know, reading through Genesis, that his own brothers for no good reason hated Joseph. They plotted to kill him, but God in His sovereignty rescued him from death in order to carry out His plan and purpose. He was taken to a different country. He was in 2 different locations for approximately 13 to 14 years (Potiphar's household and an Egyptian jail). It was seven years before Joseph was able to re-unite with his family.

Approximately 20 years from 1987, this story sound familiar to many of us.

When we were small children we were hated. There was a plot to kill us for no fault of our own. But we were rescued and fled to different countries. We were in two locations for approximately 13 to 14 years, Ethiopia and Kenya, before some of us got resettled abroad. While we were away, our homeland suffered. After approximately 20 years, many of us saw our remaining family again and were reunited. (It wouldn't surprise me if the distance from Joseph's home in Canaan to his location in Egypt were similar to the distances between our homes and the refugee camps) From the eye, they look fairly close.

Why is Joseph story so relevant to us: Because Joseph resisted evils.

(Genesis 39:6-10)“Now Joseph was well built and handsome (out of curiosity, I would ask each of you to compare photos of you in refugee camps, and now), and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he refused, “ How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, Joseph stood firm upholding his values. Joseph was put into prison, where he interpreted dreams for Pharaoh's Servants and in turn for Pharaoh; and in God's divine sovereignty, was put in charge of all of Egypt.

Brothers and sisters, our obedience to the commands of the teachings of God has armed us with wisdom, understanding, knowledge and discernment. A man and woman not committed to obeying His commands are promised nothing of worth. No promises of wisdom. No promises of understanding. No promises of knowledge or discernment.

Just as Joseph has developed the capacity to counsel the Pharaoh, we should develop the capacity to counsel the authorities in charge of the warring factions; we should develop the capacity to exercise leadership. Should we not at least help stop the needless death?

In Exiles-Ethiopia, Kenya, Australia, Uganda, North America, Europe-THE SEEDS OF NATION GENERATION has been privileged with three important gifts 1) relationship with God 2) Education, and 3) Relationship with ourselves and citizens of the World.

Unfortunately, these three gifts began to dissipate on the eve of the violence. Was our foundation laid in the rocky ground or on weak sand? How could these values: the enlightenment of education, the fear and knowledge of God, and our 30- year- relationship evaporate so soon?

Could the power of clan/tribe be so powerful that it trumps over our consciences of what is right and what is wrong, 30 years of our relationship and friendship, our education, and our knowledge of God?

This is a puzzle I take to bed, and wake up with everyday.

Have we done the best we can with these gifts. How sad would the history read. That we utilize these gifts as tools to perpetuate the violence?

Does the tribal politics of war worth our 30 years of relationship and collegiality?

What can we tell of them--- those dear fellows SEEDS OF NATIONS who perished, and whose eyes may be watching us? Don't we have obligation to them?

I do ask myself, what is my obligation to them

The destruction of our society is happening on our watch. It is sad to know that the destruction is made worse by the tribal politics of war that we are fighting over the Internet. The damages we are creating will take a long time to fix in the aftermath. If we don't change our course of actions, the identity -South Sudanese- will be a time horizon to be realized; it will be beyond our generation.

The lasting effects that the SEEDS OF NATION GENERATION must engage are the fundamental work at the center: deeper reconciliation and nation building.

Why do we make the work of future generations near impossible, simply by what we write or say today to one another? Can we doubt ourselves for a moment-in case we may be trapped in pride and self-righteousness-and question the value of what we write before we write it?

Could the prophecy of THE SEEDS OF NATION GENERATION be fulfilled?

First, on July 9th, 2011, the nation was born, and secondly, we are now harvests. The choice is ours. We can behave and act like we are harvests that can benefit a whole 64 ethnic based-nation state. We can choose to overcome the tribal/clan loyalties.

“To whom much is given, much is expected.”

Brothers and sisters, I write this to you to remind us that evil is deceitful. We must be on guard and prepared. As you all know, death is a daily affair in our country. Also, corruption is part and parcel of institutional and political culture.

Killings and corruption are evils. Corruption is oppressive and murderous.

While we may find it very difficult to change others, we can change ourselves. We can hold strong and fight the good fight.

We have to have capacity to collectively thrive through this darkest moment in our country.
1) As harvests of the nation, we can cease immediately from tribal/clans politics of wars; we can cease, more specifically from, antagonistic messages that widen wounds of violence, and perpetuates conflicts in ways we may not imagine. We can choose to continue to be agents of changes, to be agents of reconciliation and nation building. Let us not be agents of division. This would be a direct contradiction of values or it would simply be a double standard. This contradictory posture cannot only damage our credibility as a generation of change, but it can also make the work of our great grand children way too difficult.
2) As harvests of the nation, we can utilize our human capital to condemn in strongest terms the actions of all factions of all atrocities, and crimes against humanity: killing of women, children, elderly and physical abuses of women. Let's us not condemn these atrocities selectively; that would not be a right posture of agents of changes.
3) Think of us (a generation from all tribes) as faces and voices of peace. Let us collectively call for immediate stop of violence.
4) We can choose to demonstrate courage in rebuking our authorities in hope that they begin to think at a different level. That they may value human suffering, and to deleverage their pride and power ego.
5) In all our continent and countries of residences, members of all 64 ethnic group should initiate talks, and reach out to fellows South Sudanese to openly discuss steps needed to end the violence and to work hard to maintain trust, confidence, and spirit of national family.
6) As we engage with one another, we should exhibit respect, and demonstrate recognition of our collegial relationship that we have built for years. As we engage with the politics of wars, we should show respect to the obligation of nation building vested in us by the society, and circumstances. There is a great value in debate, but Let's us have respectful and objective debates, by listening to divergent views, and recognizing the shared experiences of mutually assured survival as a generation.
7) At the very least, we can offer hope to our suffering society by acting as agents of change.
8) We can cease from making social media as place we perpetuate tribal hatred and conflict. We should be consciously aware that our messages are real, and are read virtually everywhere. We should, and actually, need to be more responsible for the effects of our messages.

What is the purpose of our intervention at this time?

Let's me share with you a story of a man called Natan Sharansky.

Natan was a Jew who was imprisoned for no good reason and was facing a death sentence. The tactics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) were exceptionally persuasive. They used deceit, lies, half-truths, false promises, anything they could to control you. They also deceived the outside world by appearing white as snow.

Natan decided very early that he would not lie, he would not keep any secrets, and he would not cooperate with anyone who was corrupt. He would not compromise an inch, no matter what they threatened him with and no matter how much they promised him. He saw them and their motives for who they were. In his book, “ Fear No Evil” he mentions frequently how free he was in his mind because he was living by truth. He was also in a severe battle and he knew truth was the key to victory.

At several points, the KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti-Committee for State Security) offered him early release if he would only recant what he said. He was promised that he could return to his wife, his family and be free to pursue any more human rights agendas he had. He could be free if he just recanted what he said.

Sharansky never wavered because he saw them as evil and evil never carries with it any good promises, no matter what it looks like or sounds like.

In his words, asking the authorities to show humanity means acknowledging that they represent a legitimate force that administers justice (page 354). He would not recognize their legitimacy in his life.

What is the cost of non-intervention, by the HARVESTS OF NATION GENERATON?

1) Failure to collectively and categorically condemn atrocities by all parties will almost always lead to non-stop revenge and counter revenge. In the end, the society would be creating a desolation of the land.
2) If we continue the sentiment of sectarian sanctuaries, and tribal/clan allegiance, the likelihood of stopping this violence will continue to diminish, and the death toll will increase. Then, we would be failing in our obligation and duty.
3) The after math societal reconciliation and national building will be more difficult, almost near impossible, if we don't act now to collectively pressurize the warring factions.
4) If we don't change gears, the little trust left among the HARVESTS OF NATION GENERATION may all be eroded.
5) Finally, if we don't intervene now in meaningful ways, we would be failing to give the least we could give to a suffering society: hope. Hope is free, and easy to give. All we need is to offer hope. Our messages carry weight.

If each of us pauses and focuses on what is at stake in the violence. You will come to a conclusion, as I am, that the whole nation is at stake. The country is at the verge of collapsing.

Thousands South Sudanese citizens are starving to death before our eyes. New babies born at night die because of our actions before they could saw the dawn. New babies born during the day die before they could see the dusk. Their eyes are watching us. Little kids are starving to death in hides in the bushes.

Don't we have the obligation to avert the starvation of this kids?

The future of the nation, history will judge us, is starving to death right before our eyes.

About 30 years ago, we were forced to exiles and became seeds of the nations. Today, we are harvests of the nation.

And today---

The (new ) seeds of nations are being killed by our own authorities. I think we must have the obligation to rescues these children so that they may have tomorrow.

We as a society need to do some hard thinking.

The beginning of wisdom is the realization that this violence will have no military end. The outcome of the violence cannot be a zero sum game. Occupations of towns are not a solution to the fundamental problems the country faces. Revenges and counter revenges are creating big wounds and bitter pains that will make a peaceful and political solution near impossible.

My friends, let us rejoin hands above tribal politics and become an army without weapons. We can be agents of reconciliation. A family of tens of thousands who puts our nation's best interests before our own interests and those of our tribes.

Millions of individuals gave up their own lives during the war with Sudan, so that we shall have our tomorrow. Because of their sacrifices, we were the survivors of the 1983-2005 war. Many of our family members gave their lives for our country. Without them, we would not be the youngest nation of Earth. Without them, most of us would never have received the education we received over the past 20 years. They may be watching us today. Should we allow tribal politics to pull us apart, and contribute to what could be the demise of our 3 years-old nation?

No, we must not let them down. Let us begin today to…

1) Cease tribal/clan hatred messages on social media and websites, and then collectively and consistently condemn the atrocities committed by both parties; and start to behave and act as South Sudanese-divorced of tribal/clan hatred.
2) Call for immediate stop of violence; we may save lives of thousands of individuals who will get killed, and could help avert the violence from turning regional.
3) Collectively send an unequivocal message to Kiir and Riek to stop the killings and violence.
4) Let's us make use of media coverage: The group in Australia needs to organize (members of all tribes) and collectively issue their statement urging both parties to stop violence. This needs to pressurize Australia government to prioritize South Sudan to talk the two warring parties to stop the violence. The group in the U.S needs to engage both White House, and Capitol Hill to prioriize South Sudan. So, should the group in Canada; Europe ( particularly the U.K, and Norway). The Group in East Africa should organize and do the same. There is going to be a grand strategy that expands to China, India, and Malaysia—parts of the Oil Consortia in South Sudan---- to help pressurize both warring parties to stop violence, and prioritize a peaceful and political settlement.

It is not only the responsibility of the authorities of the warring factions alone to end this violence. It is the responsibility of the society (all 64 plus ethnic group) as a whole.

We need to seek our hearts of what is ethnically, morally, politically and practically wrong with our country and our society.

The solution may need to come from us as a society.

As Benjamin Franklin observed, pen is more powerful than gun. Indeed, the pen can change the nation.

So, let's us raise our voices.

The writer is a graduate student. Harvard Kennedy School, USA. He can be reached at deng_chol@hks15.Harvard.edu

May 3, 14 (JUBA) – Rising tensions have rocked Jonglei state capital Bor following organised violence by some armed youth elements who opposed a recent reshuffle of the state cabinet, in which the former minister of finance Aquila Maluth Mama lost his position.

Civilians make their way to the UN base in Jonglei capital Bor following the outbreak of violence in the country (Photo: UNMISS)

The so-called “Bor youth” said they were angered by Mama's removal and were preparing to storm the town and block roads on Sunday morning, said a source, who did not rule out the use of force.

Mama, along with several other state ministers, was not reappointed in the new government which was announced on local radio in Bor on Saturday.

Bor youths are accused of killing internally displaced people, mainly of Nuer origin, after launching an attack on the capital's UN camp, in which more than 50 people lost their lives.

Governor John Kong said an investigation would be carried out into the incident to bring the culprits to justice.

Bor county commissioner Agot Alier told Sudan Tribune by phone from Bor that the youth of Bor county were not a part of elements opposed to the government reshuffling, saying “the criminals who took advantage of the situation would be dealt with militarily”.

“I am sure there are some agitators who are fuelling this, but the Bor Youth Association leaders said they did not have knowledge about those [who] organised any sort of violence,” he said.

“They are using the name of Bor in a wrong way. Police will crush them by force. Police will continue patrolling the town till morning,” he added.

Mama's successor is said to be from the Anuak community in eastern Jonglei.

State health minister Jehan Michek Deng and minister for local government Diing Akol Diing were also among those replaced in the reshuffle.

According to Alier, Mama was aware his would not appear in the new cabinet lineup and had welcomed the changes.

It is not known whether he attempted to reach out to the youth in question to calm the situation.

A number of new faces from the Dinka Bor appeared in the new government, including Wal Athiu Madol, Lith Aluong, Dr Anok Kuol Tir all from Bor County, as well as Amuor Kuol Ageer from Twic East county.

It is not immediately clear which ministries the new appointees will be representing.

Sudan Tribune was unable to reach Mama for comment or the youth organisers of the protest action.

Ministers, who were retained in their positions, included the state minister of agriculture and forestry, Mayan Nor Atom of Duck county, Gay Riam for parliamentary affairs of Uror county, Anok Omot for gender, child and social welfare of Pochalla county.

Jonglei state was the scene of some of the worst violence since conflict erupted in the country in mid-December last year, with loyalties splitting along tribal lines between forces loyal to president Salva Kiir, a Dinka, and rebels aligned with former vice-president Riek Machar, who hails from the Nuer ethnic group.

The recent attack on the UN base was reportedly triggered after armed Dinka youths were angered after hearing residents inside celebrating the fall of Unity state capital Bentiu, which was recaptured from government forces last month.

(ST)

May 3, 2014 (JUBA) – South Sudan's parliamentary speaker, Magok Rundial, has rejected claims South Sudan is at risk of becoming a failed state, saying there are no indications that the country could disintegrate into smaller, tribal-based administration units.

Civilians recover in Unity state capital Bentiu after a recent surge in ethnic violence after the strategic town was recaptured by rebel forces from government troops

The comments come despite growing international concerns that the country is descending into full-scale civil war amid a looming humanitarian catastrophe.

However, Rundial maintains the conflict, which erupted in mid-December last year, is open to different interpretations and claims South Sudan is a failed state are politically motivated.

“Some people have talked of [a] failed state, others have talked of disintegration and others are now expressing fears of genocide. I want to tell you this, and this is exactly the meaning of all these interpretations, the people who are talking about this have their own hidden political agenda to cover,” he told Sudan Tribune on Saturday.

“I want to tell you that any suggestion that South Sudan is, or is at risk of becoming, a failed state is either ignorant of the resilience of our people or offensive and inappropriate,” he added.

Rundial described the new nation as democracy that “protects the rights of minorities regardless of ethnicity or religion”, saying the use of the term such as “failed state” undermined efforts to achieve peace and social harmony in the country.

He also urged South Sudan's youth not to become embroiled in tribal politics and tensions.

“I would like to tell our young people – the youth to whom the future of this country belongs to – not [to] emotionally accept to be loaded with historically inaccurate tribal narratives about other tribes or region,” he added.

“You must reject any double standard claim by any leader wanting to use you as a ladder for leadership position,” he added.

The speaker made the remarks at a meeting with youth leaders from greater Unity state on Saturday.

Thousands of people have been killed and more than a million displaced in the conflict, which is now entering its fifth month.

South Sudan has come increased international scrutiny in recent weeks following a fresh wave of ethnic violence in Unity and Jonglei states in which civilians were targeted.

In the strongest comments yet on South Sudan both US state secretary and John Kerry and senior UN officials have warned the country is facing a possible genocide.

(ST)

May 1, 2014 (RUMBEK) – Three people sustained gunshot wounds in Lakes state's Rumbek Central county on Thursday after an attack by unknown gunman.

According to Lakes state officials, the attack occurred after a house in Malual-Akan shooting was attacked while its occupants were sleeping.

The state's Criminal Investigation Department said they have yet to identify any suspects in the shooting.

The victims, two students from Comboni Primary School and a pastoralist, believed to be a relative visiting at the time, suffered critical injuries after the gunman entered the room where they were sleeping and opened fire.

“There were two students and one pastoralist who were sleeping in a room, both of them sustained gunshot wounds, but we did not arrest anybody suspected in the assault,” an officer who spoke on condition of anonymity told Sudan Tribune.

Police insist the wider public refuse to share information with them, blaming the poor relationship between the administration and the people of Lakes state.

Requests for information from the local community on the latest shooting incident was also denied.

“They refuse to share information with us and they daily told us to get information from [the] caretaker governor,” he said.

“We ask people to track the person who carry out [this] shooting but people told us ‘let [the] governor help you track the person,'” the officer said.

There are growing calls for military caretaker governor Maj-Gen Matur Chut Dhuol to resign, amid concerns the Lakes state government is becoming increasingly isolated.

There are reports the attack may have been related to inter-clan clashes between the Nyan and Joth sections.

The officer told Sudan Tribune he suspects members of the Nyan section may have been responsible, an accusation they deny.

Lakes state has been the scene of ongoing tribal tensions and revenge attacks, with a group of Lakes state lawmakers making little headway in reconciling rival clans.
Critics of Dhuol accuse the governor of inflaming the cycle of revenge attacks in the state.

Lakes communities have also demanded the state government do more to hold those accused of tribal killings and inciting violence accountable.

Dhuol was among 35 top military officers who were removed from active military service and put on a reserve list for reassignment in a presidential decree on 21 January 2013.

His appointment drew mixed reactions in Lakes state, with critics fearing the new governor would rule with “an iron fist”.

Frustration is growing among Lakes state's youth, intellectuals and traditional authorities, over president Salva Kiir's refusal to remove Dhuol.

Kiir recently appointed Northern Bahr el Ghazal state governor General Paul Malong Awan as the South Sudan army's (SPLA) new chief-of-staff, replacing General James Hoth Mai.

General Marial Nuor Jok was also appointed head of military intelligent, replacing Mac Paul.

A group of students destroyed a television after Kiir's decree ended without an announcement on Dhuol's removal.

(ST)

May 4, 2014 (JUBA/KAMPALA) - South Sudanese army captured Nasir a rebel stronghold town in Upper Nile state and Bentiu, the capital of Unity State, the government and rebels confirmed to Sudan Tribune on Sunday.

A South Sudanese government soldier stands in front of a vehicle in South Sudan's Unity State on 12 January 2014 (AP)

The SPLA spokesperson Colonel Philip Aguer on Sunday told Sudan Tribune that Nasir which is on the north side of the Sobat River, 30 kilometres from the Ethiopian border,. is since this morning in the hands of the government forces.

He further said the SPLA troops recaptured Bentiu, capital of the oil rich Unity state .

Aguer further said the army has retaken Nasir from the rebels in response to rebel constant attacks.

"It was used by rebels as a base to attack Malakal," he said.

"We have a constitutional duty to protect the country. we are not violating cessation of hostilities agreement, " Aguer stressed.

A rebel official from Nasir confirmed to Sudan Tribune their tactical withdrawal from the town adding "It's just a matter of time. Our forces will soon flush them out of the area".

The attacks on rebel positions in the two towns started Saturday night according to the rebels who accused the Sudanese rebel groups of taking part in the two operations.

South Sudan rebel commander in Unity state Maj.Gen. James Koang Chuol has confirmed the recapture of Bentiu town and accused the Sudanese rebel groups of JEM and SPLA-N of participating in the attack besides the South Sudanese army.

The Sudanese rebel groups deny involving their fighters in the South Sudanese conflict.

Chuol vowed that his troops will soon re-seize Bentiu adding “We will kick them out soon, it will not take us some days or hours”.

(ST)

By David De Dau

May 3, 2014 - On 9th July 2011, Jubilation and hope filled the hearts of many. South Sudan, the world's youngest nation, was born after decades of fighting with the then Khartoum Islamic and Arab regimes: desolations, annihilation, despair and loss were the order of the day. It was the birth of a nation and the promise of a fresh start as the nation took its first steps in what many perceived to have been the lasting peace beyond their life time.

There was high expectation for growth and many believed they would not see another violent conflict in the country they fought so hard and so long for. Unfortunately, they were wrong. The road to prosperity took a sharp bypass on 15th December 2013 when fighting broke out in Juba and quickly spread to many parts of South Sudan. More than 1,000,000 people fled their homes; some to within South Sudan and others to neighboring countries such as Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya.

As a result, a lot of attention has been paid to the negative side of South Sudan's ethnic groups and diverse cultures. While we wait for international community to investigate and make public all violations of human rights that are happening, we also need to shed light on South Sudan's peace prospect and possible scenarios. In this analytical article, we need to put-on the eye glasses of common people of South Sudan. Looking out from the grassroots into and through the torn political fabric of this nascent nation, may foster a sense of nationalism and a peaceful prospect for South Sudan.

To bring South Sudanese into the reality of the matter, there is need to in all conscience accept the fact that a violent conflict that deviated from a political dimension to an ethnic one is real and serious. One of the major factors contributing to the conflict is that the elites of our communities, nations and especially the politicians took a grave gravitating advantage over their ignorant ethnic communities to hide their political aspirations. These ignorant communities were mobilized to make the whole political saga looks like ethnic. Because of high level of illiteracy, lack of understanding on national issues and lack of responsible political vision on the side of political leaders; the political war of transforming SPLM into a democratic, transparent and formidable political party turned into an ethnic one. But wait a minute; was there something positive despite all these negatively voiced issues on ethnicity? Many may answer ‘NO' but I would say ‘YES'. During the period of the commonly regarded as ethnic killing in Juba, Bor, Malakal and Bentiu, there were exceptional men and women that rose above and beyond their tribal boundaries and went extra miles to save the lives of those that do not come from their own ethnic group. Unlike the Kenyan after poles violent, South Sudanese never killed their own family members. No man has killed his wife because she comes from the other ethnic group and no woman has killed her husband because of ethnic division. These are positive signs that South Sudan's social fabrics are not torn and are intact. Peace and reconciliation could possibly begin from here. The recently release of four political detainees: Majak d'Agoot Atem, Oyai Deng Ajak, Ambassador Lul and Pagan Amum Okiech was another positive move towards peace in the country.

The president like some ordinary South Sudanese who risk their own lives to save the lives of those men and women who do not come from their tribes, should go an extra mile to acquit those of Ladu Gore, Taban Deng Gai and Dr. Riek Machar. This later move would open a way for a quick and lasting peace to be signed. Dr. Machar, Taban and Gore would be reluctant to sign an agreement if they still know that they would be held hostage and probably executed for treason charges. Not acquitting the three would delay and possibly hinder peace process. This issue of Justice and accountability is equally very essential but should be left to the International community to investigate and possibly called on those leaders that have committed atrocities and crime against humanity to answer those charges either at the African Union Court or at The Hague. These court trials should be conducted by non-partisan non South Sudanese and outside South Sudan.

On the other hand, what are the possible scenarios of the peace agreement being brokered by IGAD in Addis Ababa? Does power sharing brings a lasting peace or does it act as a pain killer for a specific period of time and then war resumes once again? Are South Sudanese willing to take up arms against each other again? What does power sharing means to the ordinary South Sudanese?

There are debates and discussions on the prospect of power sharing both at the national and at the international level. Power sharing between Dr. Riek Machar and President Kiir has both negative and positive outcomes from the perspectives of a common person. The positive part of it is that it would yield to a currently desperately needed peace. But for how long will this peace last?

Let's assume of a power sharing agreement between former Vice President Dr. Machar and President Kiir. Since the whole issue has taken an ethnic dimension, it would give an expression of Dinka – Nuer power sharing. Then what would the other more than 60 tribes of South Sudan do? In order to be part of governance, there would be a possibility for them to take up arms at different levels. Should Dr. Machar become the Vice President of the new transitional government, then what would James Wani Igga do? He may possibly organize some Barri boys against the “Jenge” and kill many innocent women and children so that he could sign an Agreement that might take him to be 1st or 2nd Vice President of the Republic. I would correctly call this scenario as a Somalia-one scenario.

In my view, the second Somalia scenario in South Sudan would be if the power sharing agreement is signed and implemented would result into the two parties re-arming their factions for a preparation for another possible war within. Learning from the past history of the Sudan and South Sudan would help us discern issues that may take this country to another civil war within itself. After the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) with Khartoum in 2005, no one new that there was a possibility of an accident that would claim the life of a founding father of SPLM; Dr. John Garang de Mabior. With this forthcoming agreement, this should be carefully thought of and dealt with. The greatest fear would be if power sharing agreement between president Kiir and Dr. Machar is reached. Dr. Machar may be the vice president according the agreement. Any possibility of any accident to either of the two and God forbid would be attributed to the other party and this may further complicate the deteriorating situation all together. If anything happens to Dr. Machar, the Nuer would not hesitate to say it's the Dinka and if anything happens to President Kiir, the Dinka would not falter to say it's the Nuer. To the interest of public peace and avoiding such incidences, the following recommendations would make sense for a lasting peace and for a democratic South Sudan.

A shared transitional government between Dr. Machar and President Kiir would once again put South Sudan into another possible future war within itself and possibly on a larger ethnic ground. There could be even worst more killings than what was recently experienced in Central, Jonglei, Upper Nile and Unity States. Dr. Riek Machar is a former Vice President who was relieved from his duties like many other South Sudanese political leaders who were once ministers and were relieved. Dr. Machar in one of his statements after his relieve acknowledged the move by the president and pointed out that any political differences were to be ironed out democratically and within the SPLM context. I believe arming and killing the citizens of South Sudan was not part and parcel of what Dr. Machar meant. However, it has evidently and undeniably happened before our eyes!

In my view, the animosity and hostility is still very high and fresh in the hearts and minds of many in South Sudan. A power sharing transitional government would only be long lasting if two things are done: A transitional government where Kiir Mayar-dit remains the president of the Republic and Dr. Riek Machar becomes a Contesting president. This means that Dr. Machar should form his political party but would nominate some of his senior members to be in the cabinet while preparing for the forthcoming internationally observed and monitored elections in South Sudan.

Security arrangement is very significant in the forthcoming peace talks in Addis Ababa. Once the agreement is reached, the safest way is to reintegrate those SPLA-in-Opposition soldiers into the SPLA. Only those that were on the government payroll to be re-integrated while those that the government had mobilized for national defense together with those recruited by SPLA –in – Opposition get disarmed and re-integrated into their communities. The National Legislative Assembly should create a national defense bill that transforms the SPLA into a national army of South Sudan with equal regional representation based on population census of 2008. On the security arrangement, there should be a major and serious screening of those to be in the army based on international standard of military rules and regulations. The same must apply to all organize forces within the country.

In conclusion, the Principle of establishing South Sudan government of National Unity (GoNU-SS) would be a possibility to reaching lasting peace in the country. All the other registered political parties must be represented in the cabinet. This government should have a mandate to re-establish a transparent and democratic system before elections are held. Only through consensus building that will refocus South Sudan on the road to peace, development and prosperity.

The writer is the executive director of the Agency for independent media, Juba. He can be reached at daviddedau@gmail.com

By Ijoo Bosco

May 4, 2014 (TORIT) - The commissioner of Torit county, German Charles Ojok, said on Sunday that revenge attacks between the Bari and Omorwo of Lowudo sub-district boma have resulted in the death of seven people.

Several others sustained injuries and were brought to the state hospital in Torit, commissioner Ojok said after visiting the area.

Over sixteen houses were burned down, he said, describing the "terrible revenge killing" on 1 May as the most unfortunate to occur under his administration.

Of the seven people killed from the the Bari community; were three men and four women.

Commissioner Ojok reiterated that, they have deployed a sizable police force into the two villages to restore peace and security and arrest the suspects of the criminals who carried out the killing and burning of the village.

He called on the Omorowo youth to come out of hiding in the bush and handover the criminals who carried out the attack to the government for justice to take its course.

Commissioner Ojok condemned the incident and said that a temporary sizable police force has been deployed to the village which had arrested nine suspects. An investigation is still ongoing about the violence between the two villages, he said.

Instead of killing children, people should be thinking of development in terms of building schools, hospitals and to maintaining their roads, he said.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

May 4, 2014 (ADDIS ABABA) – Internally displaced people from the Nuer ethnic group who are currently sheltering at United Nations camps in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, have demanded to be relocated to refugee camps in neighbouring countries.

People gather at a makeshift IDP camp at the UN compound in Juba on December 22, 2013 where South Sudanese continue to flock as fears of a resumption of fighting in the capital fester. (AFP/Tony KARUMBA)

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Saturday, some members of the Nuer community in Juba argued that the South Sudanese government considers them as members of the rebel group led by former vice president Riek Machar and should be resettled to neighbouring countries to ensure absolute protection.

The internally displaced people said, however, that they did not want to be relocated to neighbouring Uganda, whose army is in direct combat against the rebel group, fighting alongside the South Sudanese army (SPLA).

The call from some members of the Nuer tribe comes as United States' Secretary of State, John Kerry, makes a week-long tour to three African countries including to Ethiopia where he thoroughly discussed South Sudan crises with regional foreign ministers and Africa Union officials.

The statement, which also was presented to John Kerry and to the head of United Nations Mission in South Sudan, said there is a developing threat against their community.

Nuer "lives are at great risk in Juba at the hand of government troops" the statement says, adding that "it is highly possible that if this government becomes more increasingly besieged by opposition forces with its foreseeable fall, the president and his troops will tragically resort to massacring the Nuer IDPs at UNMISS compounds in Juba before fleeing."

They further urged on the US government, UN, European Union and the rest of the international community at large to put pressure on President Salva Kiir's government to facilitate a speedy and safe relocation of the refugees to neighbouring countries.

"Or if not then there is a need for more UNMISS troops around IDPs' sites in anticipation for this threat", the statement said.

Thousands have been killed and over a million forced to flee their homes since mid-December when conflict erupted following a dispute within the ruling party differences between senior members of the ruling party.

The conflict quickly spread to other parts of the country especially in areas inhabited by the Nuer ethnic group of Riek Machar the former vice president who is now leading the rebellion, which is known as the SPLM/A in Opposition.

Much of the violence has seen members of the Nuer ethnic group targetted, while civilians from the Dinka tribe of President Salva Kiir, have also been attacked.

Recently 147 Internally Displaced People were killed and over 200 wounded in an attack by Dinka youths on a UN camp, where members Nuer community are sheltering.

PROBE AND SANCTIONS

The Nuer community stressed that the many human rights violations committed during the conflict need to be investigated and those responsible brought to justice.

"Our situation in Juba calls for action. Our fellow tribesmen are killed in cold blood in their residential areas daily as shooting continues in the vicinity of UN camps by government forces”.

They called up on the US government and the UN to seriously probe the abuses carried out against the Nuer community.

While urging the international community to press the two warring factions form a transitional government, they suggested the UN and the US consider imposing sanctions including freezing the oil revenues being used for "killing civilians".

FOREIGN TROOPS

The statement from the Nuer community in Juba suggested that all foreign troops leave the country, as this would help quell the violence.

As well as the Ugandan People's Defence Force (UPDF), Sudanese rebels are also alleged to have fought on the side of the South Sudanese government.

The Nuer community statement also opposed the plan to deploy regional East African forces in South Sudan - as proposed by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). They argued IGAD - through Uganda's intervention - was part of the conflict and deploying its troops would only fuel the conflict.

(ST)

May 4, 2014 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese parliament expressed readiness to provide all the necessary support to achieve a national dialogue process in the neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR) where lawmakers are expected to adopt a new constitution this month.

CAR Women carry their belongings as they disembark from trucks carrying refugees Muslims, after travelling in convoy escorted by the African Union troops on a 4-day journey from Bangui, to Chad border town of Sido, April 30, 2014. (Photo Reuters/Siegfried Modola)

The following the adoption of the new constitution in CAR, the legislators plan to hold national forums across the troubled country for public feedback and will call for national reconciliation ahead of general elections scheduled for February 2015.

In a joint press conference held with the visiting speaker of Central African Republic's National Transition Council (CNT), Alexander Ferdinand Nguendet, the head of the National Assembly Fatih Izz Al-Deen, said Sudan is willing to support national reconciliation and stability in the CAR.

"The Sudanese parliament will devote all its means to support and assist the Central African Republic to get out of this crisis" Izz Al-Deen told reporters, adding that they will arrange meetings between the visiting CAR delegation and humanitarian and civil society groups.

Nguendet said they expect that Sudan can support their efforts to conduct national dialogue and requested Khartoum help in this consultation aiming to achieve a lasting peace and promote economic development.

The CAR is witnessing a cycle of revenge attacks by the Christian militias against the Muslim minority after the seizure of power by Seleka rebels a year ago. Rights groups and international institutions denounced atrocities committed by anti-balaka groups.

The African Union deployed some 5,000 peacekeepers and France dispatched 2,000 soldiers but they failed to stop the bloodshed. An European force of 800-1000 troops started to arrive in the country and expected to be fully deployed in June.

The speaker of the Sudanese parliament said only dialogue can end the ongoing violence in CAR and stressed that African conflicts should be handed by African institutions.

Last week, Sudanese MPs discussed the situation in the CAR and demanded the government to reconcile between the Christians and Muslim Central Africans . they also called to amend relations between Bangui and Ndjamena which is accused of supporting the Seleka rebels.

Khartoum is also keen to see the tripartite CAR - Chadian - Sudanese force resumes its activities and monitor the border between the three countries.

(ST)

May 4, 2014 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's permanent mission to the United Nations managed to abort attempts to issue a presidential statement from the UN Security Council (UNSC) condemning the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF), said diplomatic sources in the Sudanese capital.

The United Nations Security Council (Reuters)

The RSF militia, which is widely known as the Janjaweed militias, were originally mobilised by the Sudanese government to quell the insurgency that broke out in Sudan's western region of Darfur in 2003.

The militia was activated and restructured again in August last year under the command of the National Intelligence and security Services (NISS) to fight rebel groups in Darfur region, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states following joint attacks by Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) rebels in North and South Kordofan in April 2013.

The SRF is widely accused of committing acts of killings, looting, and burning of villages in South Kordofan and Blue Nile leading to displacement of thousands of civilians.

Last week, NISS announced that it is deploying additional RSF troops to South Kordofan in order to end rebellion in the state.

According to diplomatic sources, United States and the United Kingdom and their allies in the UNSC including France sought to issue a presidential statement holding the SRF responsible for burning of villages and armed robbery in Darfur and South Kordofan.

The same sources said that Sudan's friends including Russia, China, Nigeria, and Chad demanded the presidential statement be balanced and called for changing it with another one demanding cancelling Sudan's foreign debts, lifting US sanctions, and supporting the national dialogue initiative.

The diplomatic sources underscored that differences among UNSC member states led to cancellation of the presidential statement, saying the Sudanese mission made intensive contacts among friendly countries emphasising that SRF is a regular force aimed for rapid intervention to respond to attacks by the alliance of rebel groups.

In a separate issue, the same diplomatic sources pointed that joint efforts made by Sudan's foreign ministry, Sudan's permanent diplomatic mission to the UN, and the UN Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Haile Menkerios, managed to press South Sudan's army to back away 10 kilometres south of Abyei area in accordance with the UNSC resolution.

(ST)

May 5, 2014 (KHARTOUM) - The governor of North Darfur state, Osman Mohamed Youssef Kibir, has directed the state's police and traffic department to activate previous decisions on banning of vehicles and motorcycles driving around without license plates.

The governor directive doesn't exclude government and regular forces vehicles.

Kibir, who addressed the celebration of the Arab traffic week on Sunday, granted the police full powers to carry out those directives, saying the police have the right to stop all vehicles and motorcycles which don't carry license plate even if it was the governor's car.

He said that vehicles which run without license plates played negative role in the Darfur crisis, pointing they were used by perpetrators to blur their crimes.

North Darfur state had recently witnessed a series of tribal violence committed by unidentified groups which are thought to be former government militias that turned into looting and kidnapping gangs throughout the state.

Tribal clashes in the state coincided with attacks carried out by the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement-Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM). The violence displaced over 215,000 civilians in the state.

Last March, the head of Darfur Regional Authority (DRA), Tijani El-Sissi warned against the rapidly deteriorating security situation in North and South Darfur states and criticised government for failing to restore security in the region, which has witnessed rebellion since 2003.

(ST)

May 4, 2014 (KHARTOUM) - A Sudanese court ordered the 600 people who attempted recently to migrate illegally to Libya to pay a fine or serve several months in jail after being rescued by the army last week.

The total amount of fines sentenced by the North Sudan's Dongola tribunal reached 40,000 Sudanese pound ($4,800). The courts also ordered to repatriate the foreigners, mostly Eritreans and Ethiopians to their respective countries.

A joint Sudanese Libyan border force rescued last week over six hundreds illegal migrants and transported them to Dongola , capital of North state.

The Sudanese authorities said traffickers had abandoned them in the desert in miserable conditions.

Police authorities in Dongla said a significant number of the victims are Eritrean and Ethiopian.

Sudanese, and East African nationals used in the past to go to Israel or apply for asylum in Western countries from Egypt.

However, Libya become recently a favourite destination for immigrants who want to reach Europe by boats through the Mediterranean Sea.

Last June, Libyan guards killed a dozen migrants who had illegally crossed the border from Sudan.

(ST)

May 4, 2014 (JUBA)- South Sudanese defence minister announced Sunday the recapture of Nasir town, one of the stronghold areas hosting rebel fighters under the leadership of the former vice president turned rebel, Riek Machar.

SPLA soldiers sit in a pick-up in the key north oil city of Bentiu after capturing it from rebels on January 12, 2014 (Photo AFP/Simon Maina)

outh Sudan's former rebel army the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) soldiers sit in a pick-up in the key north oil city of Bentiu after capturing it from rebels on January 12, 2014 (AFP Photo/Simon Maina)

The South Sudanese army also claimed to have taken Bentiu, capital of the strategic Unity state.

South Sudanese defence Minister, Kuol Manyang Juuk, told Sudan Tribune Sunday that government troops were reacting “in self defence” to attacks by the rebel fighters on the positions of the latter

“There has been a fighting in Upper Nile and Unity states. The rebels of Riek Machar have been attacking positions of our forces for the last few days even after the talks have resumed,” said minister Juuk in an interview conducted on Sunday.

“They continued to carry out these attacks in clear violation of the cessation of hostilities agreement,” he stressed.

The Sudan People's Liberation Army spokesperson (SPLA), Philip Aguer, also confirmed the captures of Nasir, adding that a separate major assault on Bentiu has been launched.

“Nasir is now under complete control of our forces and it is just a matter of time before the SPLA take complete control of the security situation, Aguer said in an interview with Sudan Tribune on Sunday.

The military officer said the rebel fighters fled the town into disarray and the government troops were still pursuing them.

Nasir which is located on the north side of the Sobat River, is at 30 kilometres from the Ethiopian border.

The town was under the control of the rebel SPLM-In-Opposition since the start of the conflict and Riek Machar met there with many foreign diplomats and journalists.

Aguer also said the SPLA troops have retaken Bentiu from the rebels who had recaptured it for the second time on 15 April.

“Our forces also launched similar operations in Unity state and there were heavy fighting too. They (the rebels) tried to resist but our forces have made significant progress. They are already inside Bentiu town, trying to clear it of rebel remnants,” said the military spokesperson.

South Sudan rebel commander in Unity state Maj.Gen. James Koang Chuol confirmed the recapture of Bentiu town and accused the Sudanese rebel groups of JEM and SPLA-N of participating in the attack besides the South Sudanese army.

The rebel general who was speaking to Sudan Tribune through a satellite telephone however warned they would recapture the capital of the oil rich state.
"We will kick them out soon, it will not take us some days or hours,” Choul said.

Multiple UN sources reported seeing a long line of government troops moving in convoy of heavily armed opened vehicles and tanks moving Bentiu town on Sunday.

“A huge force moving slowly passed near our office this morning. It was heading toward the Bentiu town. They were moving in heavily armoured Personnel Carriers. They were not shooting but we have heard sound of heavy firing before they came”, a UN source told Sudan Tribune on Sunday in an e-mail message.

The warring parties resumed peace talks in Addis Ababa amid strong international pressures to stop the fighting and allow humanitarian access to civilians and IDPs camps.

Also, Washington called on president Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar to meet as soon as possible and recommit themselves to the ceasefire agreement and strike a political deal.

Sudan Tribune has learnt that the fighting broke out on Sunday in the far north of Upper Nile state, as the rebels are now heading to Renk town after controlling Gerger and Jalhak areas.

(ST)

May 5, 2014 (ADDIS ABABA) – The opposition forces led by the former vice president, Riek Machar, have claimed to have regained full control of the strategic Unity state capital, Bentiu, in less than 24 hours after its recapture by the government on Sunday.

SPLA soldier stands next to a machine gun mounted on a truck in Malakal town, on December 30, 2013 (Photo Reuters/James Akena)

“Our forces this morning [Monday] at around 9am have regained full control of Bentiu town,". Machar's spokesperson James Gatdet Dak told Sudan Tribune on Monday.

“The pro-Salva Kiir soldiers and their foreign allies suffered heavy casualties and are being pursued northwards,” he added.

The South Sudanese rebels accuse the Sudanese rebel Justice and Equality Movement of taking part in the offensive. But, JEM spokesperson Gibreel Adam Bilal once again in a statement extended Sunday to Sudan Tribune denied these “fallacious allegations”.

The strategic town has exchanged hands several times. If confirmed this would be the third recapture by the rebels.

Dak said in Nasir town, a previous stronghold of the rebels, the opposition forces were engaging the government troops and surrounding them, adding that “it was a matter of time before they were equally flushed out”.

He further saidd that the rebels were carrying out a counter-attack in Renk county and were closing in towards the town after claiming to have captured Gerger and Jalhak military posts near the town.

He accused the government of violating the cessation of hostilities agreement as peace talks was resuming in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

On Sunday, South Sudan defence minister Kuol Manyang Juuk, said that SPLA forces were reacting “in self defence” to attacks by the rebel fighters on their positions.

(ST)

S. Sudan defence minister confirms recapture of key rebel towns