June 23, 2014 (KAMPALA) - The commander of Uganda's elite military force in charge of protecting President Yoweri Museveni, has rebelled against the government allegedly to join a new rebellion seeking to topple the latter.

Lt. Alfred Ntare, the commander of Uganda's elite military force (PPU/File photo)

Lieutenant Alfred Ntare RO reportedly fled with 16 other officers who deserted their posts last week and moved to unknown locations in Uganda.

Uganda's shadow minister of defence and security, Hassan Kaps Funngaroo, also confirmed to Press TV the defection of the presidential guard's elite commander, but downplayed the impact of the move.

Funngaroo, however, acknowledged serious issues haunting the Ugandan forces, saying the undocumented countless deaths of Ugandan troops serving on the front lines in South Sudan and other places has triggered growing discontent within the military.

A number of Ugandan MPs have recently called for withdrawal of the Ugandan People's Defence Forces (UPDF) from South Sudan, saying “countless” and unknown number of soldiers are unaccounted for and were believed to have been killed in the war against the rebels battling president Salva Kiir's government for the last six months.

Uganda has deployed thousands of troops backed by tanks and helicopter gunships to help protect Juba's leadership from possible takeover by the rebels led by the former vice president, Riek Machar.

The Ugandan shadow security minister said that low pay in salaries and poor systems of promotion have also resulted in to the growing indiscipline among the UPDF forces inside the country.

Funngaroo, however, said a military police force was being deployed to hunt down the defected officers in the country.

There are fears that the presidential unit commander may have joined the emerging rebel group, the Freedom and Unity Front, which is said to have established a base in the west of the country, demanding a change in government and a balanced distribution of resources to all regions of the country.

Meanwhile, the Ugandan embassy in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, has warned its citizens in South Sudan not to travel along the Juba-Yei and Juba-Yambio roads, saying its intelligence sources had indicated imminent security threats in these areas.

Sources, however, said the new development was not directly connected to the defection of the senior Ugandan army officer.

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June 23, 2014 (JUBA) – South Sudan's minister of defence, Kuol Manyang Juuk, has denied media reports he had resigned, describing the claims as an attempt to “create instability in the government”.

South Sudan's defence minister, Kuol Manyang Juuk, pictured following a cabinet meeting in Juba on 17 January 2014 (Photo: Reuters/Andreea Campeanu)

“Reports that I have resigned are not correct,” he told reporters at the army's headquarters in the capital, Juba, on Monday. “I am still holding my position.”

He maintained there were no rift between himself and the new chief of staff, General Paul Malong, whom he explained has the overall control of army operations.

“General Paul Malong Awan is the one who controls the army for operation. My role as a minister is to provide support and guidance”, explained minister Juuk at a news conference on Monday in Juba.

Juuk's comments come after a week of public speculation about his role amid reports president Salva Kiir had refused to accept his resignation.

Some observers interpreted his public comments as formal acceptance of Kiir's decision to reject his resignation.

Sources close to the minister said he had felt undermined by Awan's monopoly over security issues.

There have also been claims Awan reportedly blamed Juuk for the two-month delay in making salary payments to government troops fighting rebels in the Greater Upper Nile region.

However, Juuk claims the reports were circulated in a bid to create political instability and uncertainty within the ruling SPLM.

“I have not submitted any resignation and I don't know where they (news outlets) picked up this story,” said Juuk.

“I think it is a creation by those who want to create instability in the government and it is not the first time,” he added.

Undisclosed sources told news outlets last week that Juuk was quitting his position after relations soured with Awan, the former governor of Jonglei state, who along with Juuk is considered a close personal ally of the president.

Juuk said the reports targeting him and others members of the government have surged since armed conflict erupted in the country more than six months ago.

“Four months ago, it was alleged that I revealed that the government is paying the Ugandan army which was totally false. Of course, we know these are people who want to undermine or embarrass the government,” he said.

During Monday's press conference the minister conceded there had been delays in the payment of salaries for government soldiers deployed in Jonglei, Upper Nile and Unity states, where the national army (SPLA) is struggling to contain a spiralling rebellion under the leadership of former vice-president Riek Machar Teny.

“Yes, there is a delay in paying salaries, but we are working to address this,” Juuk told reporters without providing further details on the reasons for the delay.

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South Sudan's Kiir rejects his defence minister's resignation

June 23, 2014 (RUMBEK) – Police in Lakes state capital Rumbek say thousands of youth have deserted their cattle camps and headed for the bush where they are threatening to launch an offensive against the state government if military caretaker governor Maj-Gen Matur Chut Dhuol goes ahead with a disarmament initiative.

A senior officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said pastoralists had become increasingly frustrated at the state administration's inability to quell ongoing inter-clan clashes and revenge killings.

“They (pastoralist youths) have deserted counties headquarters and cattle camps and now youth are camping in [the] jungle with threats that if disarmament is declared they will launch attacks [against the] state administration” the high profile officer said.

Meanwhile, thousands of students have been forced to drop out of their studies after the government restricted the payment of school fees for those sponsored under the previous administration of former elected governor Chol Tong Mayay.

The officer said there was now growing calls for Dhuol to be removed, although president Salva Kiir has so far overlooked the calls.

“There is high isolation of [the] state administration by both traditional leaders, students and activists,” he said.

Pastoralist youths who spoke to Sudan Tribune from their hideout in Lakes state have confirmed they had deserted their counties and were camping in the bush amid rumours that Dhuol was set to launch a disarmament campaign.

Many of those in hiding lost friends or relatives in revenge killings, while others were victims of the notoriously secretive Langcok military prison, which has now been shut down.

Aguot Majak said he had lost his 24-year-old brother, Matur Kedit Mamer, who was allegedly killed by a military guard at Langcok.

Family members and security sources spoken to separately by Sudan Tribune said that military guards had buried Mamer before sending a letter to the executive chief informing him of the death.

Majak says he has taken part in tribal clashes and five highway attacks in a bid to avenge his brother's killing.

Having already lost family members during South Sudan's protracted civil war with the north, he says he has nothing left to lose.

“I am here like nothing, I am like nobody, I have nothing [to] care [for] – my brother died with [the] legacy of [my] family and I am left [an] orphan,” he said.

“Today Matur Chut with his soldiers under Kiir kill[ed] my brother without reason. I choose to die with more people,” he added.

Lakes state politics were thrown in to turmoil last January after Kiir removed Mayay and appointed Dhuol in his place to reform security in the region.

However, Dhuol's measures have been repeatedly criticised for being overly harsh and doing little to stem tribal unrest across the state.

The measures introduced by Dhuol include:

• The creation of a military prison at Langcok in the north of Rumbek Central county.

• Denying those arrested on suspicion of involvement in cattle raiding and inter-communal violence of access to legal representation.

• Warning the commissioners of all eight counties that they will be sacked if they fail to confront cattle raiders and bring them to justice.

• Threatening to close Lakes state's legislative assembly if politicians continue to debate political issues.

• Banning the sale of alcohol except at six specific hotels.

• Requiring that all firearms in the state be registered.

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June 25, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – A Sudanese Christian woman who was released from death row on Monday was rearrested on Tuesday at Khartoum airport while attempting to leave the country, according to international media reports.

Meriam Ibrahim pictured with her husband Daniel Wani (L), children and legal team following her release from prison on 24 June 2014 in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum (AFP)

Meriam Yehya Ibrahim was last month sentenced to death by hanging for refusing to renounce her religion and return to Islam, but a court of appeal subsequently overturned the ruling.

Ibrahim, as well as her husband, Daniel Wani, and two children were detained by a group of security agents.

Undersecretary of the foreign ministry, Abdallah Al-Azraq, told reporters Tuesday that Ibrahim who is a Sudanese national was prevented from travelling because she did not presented the required documents.

According to the Sudanese diplomat she was in possession of a travel document issued by the Republic of South Sudan with an entry visa for the United States of America.

A female diplomat from the US embassy in Khartoum who was accompanying the family failed to persuade the security authorities to allow their departure.

Ibrahim's conviction on charges of apostasy and adultery sparked international condemnation, with an Amnesty International petition calling for her release attracting more than a million signatures.

The 27-year-old, who was arrested last December, was initially held on adultery charges despite being married after a relative reported her to authorities.

Under Sudan's Islamic Shari'a law Ibrahim's marriage to a Christian man is considered invalid and therefore adulterous. The charge of apostasy – the act of renouncing one's religion – was later added after she asserted that she was not a Muslim.

Ibrahim, who has been incarcerated with her 20-month-old son, Martin, since her arrest, recently gave birth to a baby daughter while in prison.

Ibrahim's husband is a South Sudanese-born US citizen and as such her children would automatically be entitled to citizenship.

Meanwhile, a man identifying himself as Ibrahim's brother said the case had tarnished the family's honour and called for retribution against Christians.

Ibrahim maintains that she was raised according to her Ethiopian mother's Christian faith as her father – a Sudanese Muslim – was largely absent from her childhood.

Following her conviction for apostasy, the court gave Ibrahim three days to renounce her faith, but she refused and the death sentence was upheld. She was also sentenced to 100 lashes on the adultery charge.

The ruling drew condemnation word-wide, with foreign governments and top diplomats appealing for clemency.

US secretary of state John Kerry urged Sudan to repeal its laws criminalising conversion from Islam, while the UK's minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds, described the sentencing as “barbaric”.

There were also calls by US senators for Kerry to personally intervene in the case and offer Ibrahim asylum.

(ST)

Sudan frees Christian woman sentenced to death for apostasy
Khartoum appeal court cancels death sentence against Meriam Ibrahim
Sudanese woman sentenced to death for religious beliefs gives birth in prison
Pregnant Sudanese Christian woman sentenced to death

June 24, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The United States on Tuesday disputed reports that a Sudanese Christian woman sentenced to death for allegedly recanting her Islamic faith has been re-arrested with her family at the airport as she was trying to fly out and said that Khartoum assured her that she will be allowed safe passage.

Meriam Yahya Ibrahim Ishag, pictured with her husband Daniel Wani on their wedding day

“[T]he State Department has been informed by the Sudanese Government that the family was temporarily detained at the airport for several hours by the government for questioning over issues related to their travel and I think travel documents. They have not been arrested,” US State department deputy speaker Marie Harf told reporters today.

“The government has assured us of their safety. The Embassy has been and will remain highly involved in working with the family and the government. We are engaging directly with Sudanese officials to secure their safe and swift departure from Sudan, and of course, we'll provide more information as we get it,” she added.

Earlier today Mrs. Ibrahim was reportedly taken into custody by National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) officers at Khartoum airport on Tuesday along with her husband and two children.

She was on her way to a neighbouring country en-route to the US but was informed by NISS at the airport that she was banned from travelling abroad in accordance with a public ban letter, Sudan Tribune was told.

A US embassy diplomat who was escorting Ibrahim failed to convince authorities to allow her to leave the country.

The head of Ibrahim's defence team, Eman Hassan, stressed that NISS apprehended her client at the airport, saying she is not aware of the real reason behind her detention.

She denied that NISS detained Ibrahim and banned her from travelling abroad due to her apostasy case, underscoring that a travel ban must be issued by a court order or an order from a legal authority which does not apply to Ibrahim.

The 27-year old woman was sentenced to death last month for renouncing Islam and but was released on Monday after what the government said was "unprecedented" international pressure. An appeals court found Ibrahim not guilty on two charges of apostasy and adultery and overturned the lower tribunal's verdict.

Her sentence has sparked international outrage, with some US senators calling on Kerry to personally intervene in the case and offer her asylum.

The NISS page on Facebook said that Ibrahim was arrested by airport immigration officers after presenting temporary travel documents issued by South Sudan embassy in Khartoum and that had a US visa stamp on it.

“This was viewed by Sudanese authorities as a criminal violation and a disregard upon which the foreign ministry summoned the US and South Sudanese envoys”.

“On the other hand a senior official Sudanese Foreign Ministry official explained that temporary travel documents are granted by states to their citizens after ensuring that the citizen has no criminal or security problem and has the seal of the interior [ministry] in the domicile of the citizen” the NISS Facebook post said.

“It is also valid only for one use, and the person would be travelling to his homeland only, but in the case of citizen Abrar [Ibrahim's Muslim name] the document was issued by the Embassy of the state of South Sudan though she is not southerner and heading to America and it is not her homeland”.

Ibrahim's husband is a national of South Sudan but it is not clear if immigration laws in the world's newest country would confer citizenship upon her.

Meanwhile, legal experts and officials at Sudan's National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) expressed to Sudan Tribune fears from the reaction of the accused woman's family towards the court decision to free her.

According to CNN, al-Samani al-Hadi, who claims to be Ibrahim's brother spoke Tuesday of seeking retribution, saying that Christians had tarnished his Islamic family's honour through the case.

"The family is unconvinced by the court's decision. We were not informed by the court that she was to be released; this came as a surprise to us," Al-Hadi said. "The law has failed to uphold our rights.

"This is now an issue of honour. The Christians have tarnished our honour, and we will know how to avenge it."

The European Union (EU) ambassador to Sudan, Tomas Ulicny, who met on Tuesday with presidential assistant, Ibrahim Ghandour, praised the decision to release Ibrahim, saying it was a victory for human rights and religious freedom advocates in Sudan and worldwide.

He said in press statements following the meeting that the EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso welcomed the court decision, saying the EU calls upon Sudan to adhere to the constitution and international treaties.

Ulicny added the EU calls upon Sudanese government and other nations to cancel any legal provisions which punish individuals for changing their religion or beliefs, noting that governments must be committed to protect rights and safety of those individuals besides promoting coexistence and religious tolerance.

(ST)

Related story

Sudanese Christian woman rearrested while attempting to leave country

June 24, 2014 (KHAROTUM) - Six people have been killed and twelve others injured on Sunday and Monday in renewed clashes between rival Arab Rizeigat (Aballa branch) and Beni Hussein tribes in Um Katira area in North Darfur state.

A tribal leader named Abdel-Hamid Khalil told Sudan Tribune that an armed group belonging to Beni Hussein on Sunday mistakenly attacked Rizeigat in an area west of Saraf Omra, 240km northwest of El Fasher, while they were chasing cattle robbers leading to fire exchange between the two groups.

Khalil said that four tribesmen from both sides died instantly and four others wounded, adding that clashes were renewed on Monday morning leading to the death of two people and eight injuries from the two sides.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Darfurian Arab Mahameed clan, Musa Hilal, accused the government of North Darfur state of fomenting sedition between the two tribes.

A source close to Hilal named, Hassan Ahmed Haroun, conveyed a statement from him to Sudan Tribune saying that supporters of North Darfur governor, Osman Kibir, who were driven out of the western localities by his militias sought to wreaking havoc and fomenting tribal feuds in order to gain a toehold in the area.

Violent clashes which took place between the two tribes last year in Jebel Amer area claimed the lives of 839 people and injured thousands others. Inter-tribal clashes erupted in January 2013 between members of the two tribes, fighting for control of the region's gold mines.

The UN estimates that some 150,000 people have been displaced following a spate of attacks by armed Aballa militias, elements of which include the notorious Janjaweed forces, which hit the headlines 10 years ago for brutal atrocities allegedly committed at the behest of the Sudanese government.

Earlier this year, Hilal's troops seized control of western localities in North Darfur state including Saraf Omra, Kutum, Kabkabiya, Al-Seraif, and El Waha.

The tribal chief announced establishment of administrations in these localities naming his forces the “Awakening Revolutionary Council”.

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 criticized government for failing to restore security in the region, which has witnessed rebellion since 2003.

Sissi further said that the insecurity in North and South Darfur hampers the implementation of development projects. "What happens there will not be a catalyst to start in any reconstruction effort in those areas," he added.

The leader of the former rebel Liberation and Equality Movement (LJM) urged the federal government to take the necessary measures to contain the attacks carried by the rebel groups emphasizing that the continuation of the current situation without decisive riposte or (political) solution will negatively impact the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), peace in Darfur and the country in general.

Denied the faith that the security authorities have arrested "Mary" or prevented from leaving because of the issue that Htabtha Court of Appeal said that in the case of the arrest of any person who prevented him from leaving the ban either by court order or legal entity which is not now available on "Mary."

(ST)

June 24, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese presidential assistant Ibrahim Ghandour stepped up his rhetoric against opposition forces and accused them of spying for foreign and European countries.

In this Monday, Jan. 27, 2014 photo, Sudanese President Omer Hassan al-Bashir, right, flanked by presidential assistant, Ibrahim Ghandour, gives a speech in Khartoum, Sudan (AP Photo/Abd Raouf)

Ghandour, who was addressing a conference by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in the twin capital city of Omdurman, noted that opposition parties asked the international community to impose a no-fly zone in Darfur and South Kordofan.

Arnaud Lodi, a spokesman for the Sudan People Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N), previously told the London-based Al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper that Sudanese people have consistently repeated their demands to the international community to impose a no-fly zone in war zones.

“The international community should abandon its negativity through taking serious and practical steps by imposing a flight ban that targets civilians, civilian institutions and places of worship,” Lodi said.

Officials in Darfur's Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) echoed the same call.

Ghandour expressed outrage at opposition forces over their “daily insults” but stressed that they exercise restraint not out of weakness.

He pledged to respond to “inciters” adding that “we will not do that unless forced”.

The Sudanese official scoffed at the opposition forces' statements on seeking to topple the regime saying that these forces do not have the tools to carry out these threats.

He slammed parties that refused to participate in the national dialogue saying that the only other option available is elections.

Ghandour emphasized that opposition's refusal to participate in the elections is a sign of their weakness and inability to present intellectual and political theses. He rejected accusations that the NCP uses state resources to fund the ruling party.

"We do not know any funding from the state to our party," he said.

The government in the past said 2015 general elections will proceed as planned irrespective of the national dialogue process.

But later Sudanese official said that the elections could be postponed if an agreement on that is reached by all sides at the national dialogue.

Last January, Bashir called on political parties and armed groups to engage in a national dialogue to discuss four issues, including ending the civil war, allowing political freedoms, fighting against poverty and revitalizing national identity.

He also held a political roundtable in Khartoum last April with the participation of 83 political parties.

The opposition alliance of the National Consensus Forces (NCF) boycotted the political roundtable, saying the government did not respond to its conditions.

Both the Reform Now Party (RNP) and the National Umma Party (NUP) suspended their participation in national dialogue citing government crackdown on media and political freedoms.

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June 24, 2014 (JUBA) – The South Sudanese presidency has issued an appeal cautioning proponents and advocates to cease the ongoing debate on federalism, saying the need to achieve peace and social harmony were the country's first priorities.

South Sudan's presidential spokesperson speaking during a press conference in Khartoum March 2, 2014 (Ebrahim Hamid/AFP)

Presidential spokesperson, Ateny Wek Ateny, told Sudan Tribune Tuesday that the country's leadership under President Salva Kiir, seeks support from the proponents and opponents of federalism prioritising peace as first thing to be achieved.

He however said the president was not opposed to federalism as a system, but simply never wanted attention of people from Equatoria region to be diverted over demand for the proposed idea, which he said was being advanced by the country's former vice-president, Riek Machar.

"President Kiir appeals to the people of Equatoria to suspend the demand for federalism and focus on peaceful settlement of the current crisis first. The issue of federalism should be allowed to South Sudanese from all diverse tribes to decide in a referendum the type of governance system they want afterward”, observed Ateny.

He [Kiir] remains committed to forming a transitional government of national unity within sixty days as per the 10 June, 2014 agreement with the rebel leader, added the presidential aide.

The government, Ateny said, was still awaiting the outcome of the petition it recently filed over what was described as the "inappropriate" comments allegedly uttered by a member of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) towards president Kiir and Machar.

“The government delegation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is still waiting for IGAD's apology for which one of its executive secretaries used inappropriate words, calling leader of one of IGAD's member state stupid, was totally out of context and unacceptable”, said Ateny.

EQUATORIANS CRITICISED

Last week, the South Sudanese leader directly criticised the people of Greater Equatoria region over their growing demands for a federal system of governance, alleging that they were “set up” by rebels loyal to his former deputy-turned rebel leader Machar.

In his speech to the country's national assembly members, president Kiir said the people of Greater Equatoria were speaking aloud on the rebels' demand for federalism as if they were the first and only southerners to demand for the system from north Sudan in 1947.

He claimed rebel leader Machar introduced federalism as a strategy to split the position of the government.

(ST)

June 24, 2014 (JUBA) – A group of former South Sudanese political detainees have protested against the adjournment of peace talks, describing the decision as unpatriotic.

South Sudan's president, Salva Kiir, and rebel leader Riek Machar signed a peace deal in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on 9 May 2014 aimed at resolving conflict in the country peacefully (Photo: Reuters)

In a release extended to Sudan Tribune on Tuesday the former detainees – all of whom were senior members of the governing Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) – accused the rival parties to the country's armed conflict of exhibiting a lack of seriousness.

They said the government's decision to join a boycott of the peace talks on the grounds that they could not continue the talks without the participation of the main rival faction was illogical.

The decision dashes hopes for peace in the fractured country and condemns South Sudanese people to ongoing suffering, the group said.

“The lack of seriousness in the face of the immense suffering facing their people as a result of the ongoing conflict will result in increased suffering, feelings of hopelessness and total despair,” the group said in the statement.

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the East African regional bloc mediating negotiations, announced in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on Monday that talks would be indefinitely adjourned to allow for further consultations.

Talks opened prematurely on Friday without the participation of the rebel faction led by former vice-president Riek Machar, who boycotted the talks, claiming the selection process for other stakeholders, including civil society organisations and faith-based groups, was unfair and lacked transparency.

The former detainees said they had been extremely disheartened by the position taken by the two rival parties.

“The fact that they would choose to ignore the yearning of our people for peace and abuse the good will and desire of the region and the international community to take their country out of the conflict and suffering is deplorable and unpatriotic,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, the rebel SPLM in Opposition has criticised IGAD's decision to adjourn talks, saying direct talks between the two parties could have continued while the matters around the stakeholder selection process were addressed.

Conflict has raged in South Sudan since mid-December last year amid escalating political tensions within the ruling SPLM.

The former senior SPLM officials were detained in connection to an alleged coup plot to overthrow the government, which the government claimed sparked the violence.

Seven detainees were subsequently released and travelled to Kenya to take part in the stalled peace process, while the remaining four were later freed in April after the government dropped treason charges against them.

The violence has pitted government troops loyal to president Kiir against rebel forces aligned with Machar, comprising largely of dissident soldiers and ethnic militia.

Peace talks have been marred by slow progress and ongoing setbacks, with a ceasefire agreement signed between the rival sides failing to halt violence on the ground.

(ST)

South Sudanese peace talks adjourned over inclusivity crisis

June 24, 2014 (JUBA) – A special envoy for the United Nations, Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on Tuesday described as unacceptable reports that about 9,000 child soldiers were recently recruited and used in South Sudan's ongoing conflict.

A crowd gathers outside a UN IDP camp in Juba to welcome US actor and UNESCO special envoy Forest Whitaker on 23 June 2014 (AP)

“We cannot accept the use of child soldiers,” said Forest Whitaker.

“Children are essential to building a peaceful future, but they cannot do so if they are subject to the physical and psychological abuse of being used in conflict", he added.

The acclaimed actor urged the international community to speak out against this atrocity both in South Sudan and globally, and to pressure leaders to commit to protecting children and banning their use in conflict.

South Sudan government and its army (SPLA) formally renewed on Tuesday its commitment to the action plan signed in 2012 with the United Nations to end the recruitment and use of children in Government armed forces and other grave violations against children.

YOUTH PEACE PROGRAM

Whitaker also announced the expansion of the Youth Peacemaker Network (YPN) in the Equatoria regions.

This peace-building program was reportedly developed by the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI) in partnership with UNESCO, Ericsson and Zain Group.

“I have always believed that when given the right tools, youth have the power to create ripples of change through their communities that will ultimately lead to lasting peace”, Whitaker told reporters in the capital, Juba.

“This belief was reinforced during this trip to South Sudan, where the youth I met with are determined to build a better future,” he added.

The UNESCO envoy, however, expressed optimism for possible return of peace in South Sudan. He was accompanied by Irina Bokova, the director-general of UNESCO, Leila Zerrougui, the special representatives of the UN secretary-general for children and armed conflict, among others.

In 2012, WPDI initiated a peace-building and life-skills training program for young women and men from 11 counties and multiple ethnic tribes in the Jonglei state. As such, the program's expansion to Equatoria is seen as a continuation of the initiative's five-year commitment to the region.

The program, officials said, will initially focus on Eastern Equatoria, six months after South Sudan witnessed the worst outbreak of conflict in its post-independence era. It widely believed that the program will directly impact on hundreds of youth in the region and their local communities through a series of programs including peace-building, conflict resolution, life-skills, technology and vocational skills trainings.

“Education is the most powerful tool to give young people a voice and the skills to be active change-makers,” said Bokova, adding “I fully support this innovative initiative by UNESCO Special Envoy Forest Whitaker. I believe it is of crucial importance to South Sudan. It is also a message of hope for Africa's youth”.

BETTER PROSPECTS

Meanwhile, Zain South Sudan's chief executive officer, Basel Manasrah said the partnership with WPDI, UNESCO and Ericsson aims to enhance the prospects of young people in the country by bringing them together and motivating them to become agents of positive change.

“Through telecommunications, we are all jointly focused on narrowing the digital divide, capacity building and empowering the South Sudanese youth with the necessary skills to develop a more productive future”, he said.

Elaine Weidman-Grunewald, Ericsson's vice-president of sustainability and corporate responsibility, said the telecom company advocates using technology as a force for good and remains committed to empowering the YPN through mobile technology.

“By enabling the youth from South Sudan to be connected to each other and to the world around them, we hope to further their peace-building efforts,” she said.

(ST)

June 25, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – Increased attacks on civilian areas in Sudan's South Kordofan by government forces, may constitute a war crime, Amnesty International said in a new briefing on Tuesday.

Children in South Kordofan's town of Kauda take cover from a passing Antonov in a makeshift bomb shelter in 2012 (Photo: Peter Moszynski)

The armed conflict – which began three years ago – has continued to intensify following the launch of a new military operation by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on 14 April.

In its 16-page report, Civilians Under Attack in Southern Kordofan, Amnesty says that satellite images secured since the launch of the offensive point to a sustained campaign of aerial bombardments and the targeting of homes, markets, hospitals and schools.

AERIAL ATTACKS

The aerial bombardments have coincided with the recent escalation in fighting between SAF and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N).

Human rights monitors documented over 200 bombs dropped over Tangal, in Um Dorein county between 15 and 22 May, while 33 bombs were reportedly dropped on the rebel-controlled town of Kauda on 26 and 28 May, damaging homes and other buildings, including the office of a local NGO.

Amnesty says the Sudanese military's use of unguided munitions in aerial attacks, dropped from aircraft at high altitudes, has resulted in extensive and widespread damage.

Analysis of satellite images of Kauda taken between 20 and 31 May shows craters and burn scars measuring up to 20 metres in diameter. In the most populous southern area of Kauda, 17 such craters were created over the 11-day observation period.

“The evidence captured in these images taken over a sustained period in May corresponds to numerous reports of attacks on civilian areas that are not only a clear violation of international humanitarian law, but may also constitute a war crime,” said Michelle Kagari, Amnesty's deputy regional director for Eastern Africa.

South Kordofan has been the scene of a violent armed struggle between SAF and rebel forces since June 2011, with tensions spilling over into neighbouring Blue Nile state in September of the same year.

DEVASTATING IMPACT

Map showing Sudan's conflict-affected South Kordofan and Blue Nile states

The conflict has had a devastating impact on the local population, and has resulted in the deaths of scores of civilians, as well as widespread destruction to homes and major infrastructure.

Ongoing conflict has severely disrupted education and agricultural activities, while the Sudanese government's ongoing refusal to allow humanitarian assistance to opposition-held areas continues to compound the already precarious situation faced by civilians.

“Since the start of the conflict, civilian populations in South Kordofan have been living in desperate conditions, fleeing from the bombs and seeking refuge inside foxholes and caves, with limited access to food and water, and no access to medical care,” the Amnesty report said.

The Sudanese government's “Decisive Summer” military operation was launched to quell rebellion in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur and includes the deployment of the feared Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to support SAF.

PLANTING SEASON TARGETED

The intensified attacks coincide with the key planting season in South Kordofan between May to August.

Amnesty says the bombings are severely hindering people's ability to cultivate their fields and are contributing to acute food shortages across the region.

Amnesty International says it has documented a pattern of attacks during the key months of the planting and harvesting season, suggestive of “a deliberate use of starvation as a method of warfare, which constitutes a war crime”.

“Amnesty International believes that the Sudanese authorities are aware of the planting season; therefore the intensification of bombings reported in the last two months may indicate that SAF are intentionally attempting to disrupt planting season,” the report said.

According to figures cited from OCHA, 13,400 civilians from rebel areas of South Kordofan arrived in government-controlled areas in May, while the SPLM-N reported that 90,000 people had been displaced within South Kordofan due to the recent upsurge of violence during the month of May. The figures are in addition to the reported 800,000 people displaced or otherwise affected by the conflict in rebel-held areas since the start of the conflict.

SUFFERING ON “MASSIVE SCALE”

With negotiations to end the conflict between the government and the SPLM-N currently at an impasse, Amnesty says it remains “deeply concerned” by the relentless and indiscriminate nature of military attacks against civilian targets, which it says has led to human suffering “on a massive scale”.

“All available information indicates that there were no military targets at or near the sites of these attacks,” the report said. “Even had these attacks been aimed at military targets, the repeated use of indiscriminate weapons in civilian areas over the last three years, without differentiation or precautions to prevent civilian casualties, has meant that civilians were unlawfully killed or injured, and civilian objects needlessly destroyed or damaged,” it adds.

Amnesty International is calling on the Sudanese to immediately cease indiscriminate ground attacks and aerial bombardments in civilian areas and to grant access to humanitarian organisations.

It has also urged the international community to ensure Sudan upholds its obligations under humanitarian law, particularly those requiring parties to any conflict to “distinguish between civilians and combatants” at all times.

(ST)

June 24, 2014 (Warrap) – More than 100 prison officers graduated in Warrap state capital Kuacjok on Tuesday in a ceremony attended by state senior government and prison officials.

Paul Dhel Gum, the minister of information and telecommunication in Warrap state, said that the graduation is part of efforts to improve the overall security situation for South Sudanese people and provide protection to those farming during the rainy session.

The new graduates will work alongside police forces to maintain law and order.

South Sudan has witnessed ongoing unrest since an armed rebellion broke out in the country in mid-December last year.

The event was the first official graduation ceremony to be held in Warrap since the start of the conflict.

The group of 103 non-commissioned officers included 53 women and 50 men.

“Human resource development is also key in transforming law reinforcement agencies and builds their skills to cope with new challenges facing the country,” said Gum.

Warrap state's acting governor, Akec Tong Aleu, assured graduating officers of his continued support in promoting the rule of law and imposing justice as required according to the country's constitution.

“I promise my full support will go to you, the prison service”, in providing protection across the state's six counties, said Aleu

Warrap state is currently hosting about 6,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) who were forced to flee their homes in Unity state.

They are being hosted in Manangui and are receiving assistance from humanitarian organisations.

(ST)

June 24, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – UN independent expert urged the Sudanese authorities to release political detainees in the country and disclosed that the security service refused his demand to meet a rights activist rearrested since last May.

UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Sudan, Mashood Adebayo Baderin, gives a press conference on June 24, 2014 in Khartoum (Photo AFP/Ebrahim Hamid)

Mashood Adebayo Baderin, Tuesday, wrapped up his fifth visit to the Sudan where he met with government officials in Khartoum and visited North Darfur capital El-Fasher and Blue Nile state capital Ed-Damazine.

During his 10-day visit, Baderin discussed the arrest of the political opponents and activists, the case of Meriam Ibrahim, press censorship, protection of civilians and humanitarian situation in the Two Areas and Darfur and technical assistance and capacity building in the field of human rights.

The expert before to leave the country held a press conference in Khartoum where he and praised the government for the release of the leader of the opposition National Umma Party Sadiq al-Mahdi last week, adding that officials had informed him about his release before it takes place.

“I also urge the Government to order the release of Mr. Ibrahim Al-Sheikh, and all other political detainees to further demonstrate its good faith and genuine commitment to the national dialogue it has proposed,” he added.

Al-Sheikh, leader of the Sudanese Congress Party (SCP), was arrested in June 2014 for criticising the role of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a government paramilitary force affiliated to the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS). The militia is accused of committing war crimes and atrocities in Darfur region, South Kordofan state.

The government said the SCP leader is still in jail because he refuses to publically apologise and withdraw his criticism.

The independent expert further said that he discussed with the NISS officials the detention of three youth activists, namely Mohamed Salah, Taj Elsir Jaafar and Muammar Musa Mohamed.

“Based on reports I have received, I am concerned about the condition of these detained youths and was disappointed by NISS's refusal of my request to visit Mohamed Salah to enable me to verify his condition of health,” he said.

He urged the Sudanese authorities to “either bring these youth detainees to trial before a competent court of law if there is evidence of any offence against them, or release them forthwith if there is none”.

Salah was detained several times in the past by the NISS. He had been arrested for 50 days in June-July 2012 and for three weeks in March and April of this year. In both detentions he was tortured.

On 12 May, after one month of his release, Salah was arrested for the third time.

Following a short visit in Kober prison on 14 June, his family said that he was tortured and his legs were wrapped. They noticed that he can't walk properly as he informed them that he had lost his ability to walk for many days.

The family which calls for international pressures to secure his release said there were clear signs of injuries in his forehead and all over his face and the unveiled parts of his hands.

They also noticed that he was not wearing his permanent eye glasses and his eyes were bloody red. Salah told his family that he had lost sight of his right eye for weeks, and he can now feel the light through but still cannot see.

(ST)

June 25, 2014 (WASHINGTON) – Efforts to address trafficking in Sudan have had a measurable impact, according to the US state department's annual report, earning rare praise from UN agencies and advocacy groups.

Young Eritrean refugees in Sudan who have fled persecution in their homeland (Photo: UNHCR)

The US embassy in Khartoum said that Sudan had worked “diligently” over the past year to combat trafficking, adding that it looks forward to working with the government to build on its recent advancements to address the issue.

The report released on 20 June said international agencies had noted the county's unprecedented efforts to the point they were now able to work jointly with the government on preventative measures.

Numerous government agencies had also expressed a willingness to engage in dialogue and acknowledged their need for capacity building and training.

“The government demonstrated increased efforts to prevent trafficking. It ceased its public denial of the existence of human trafficking in Sudan and acknowledged the scope and extent of the country's human trafficking problem,” the report said.

The efforts are in stark contrast to the Sudanese government's previous public denials of the severity of Sudan's trafficking problems.

TRANSIT HUB

Eastern Sudan in particular is considered a transit hub for migrants, mostly from Eritrea, who are seeking to reach Europe, Israel or other countries with the help of human smugglers.

Hundreds and possibly thousands of refugees have been kidnapped in eastern Sudan and sold to traffickers in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, where they are held and tortured to exhort ransom payments from relatives.

Rights groups have accused Sudan and Egypt of turning a blind eye to this violent trade in men, women and children and in come cases colluding with traffickers.

In March, the Sudanese government announced that it had received financial assistance from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) to be allocated among the police and other regular forces to combat human trafficking in eastern Sudan.

Sudan also revealed it was implementing measures for controlling refugee camps, disclosing it was cooperating with Ethiopia, and Eritrea to fight against human trafficking.

The report found while the police had investigated and reportedly referred cases of suspected trafficking for prosecution at the federal level during the reporting period, the number of investigations or prosecutions remained unclear.

WOMEN, GIRLS VULNERABLE

Sudanese women and girls, particularly those from rural areas or who are internally displaced due to poverty and conflict, are vulnerable to forced labour as child street beggars and domestic workers in homes throughout the country.

There have been numerous documented cases of Ethiopian and Eritrean women, including undocumented migrants and refugees – and a smaller number of Filipina women – subject to domestic servitude in Sudanese homes, where they experience beatings, sexual abuse, inadequate accommodations, long working hours, confinement and non-payment of wages.

Sudanese women are also vulnerable to similar exploitation as domestic workers in neighbouring Middle Eastern and Gulf countries.

Sudanese girls engage in prostitution within the country, including in restaurants and brothels, at times with the assistance of third parties.

Ethiopian, Eritrean, Somali and possibly Thai women are subjected to forced prostitution in Sudan, with agents luring young women from Ethiopia's Oromia region with promises of high-paying employment as domestic workers, only to force them into prostitution on arrival in Khartoum.

MORE TO DO

Despite promising new efforts, the government still lacks an inter-ministerial anti-trafficking committee and action plan to coordinate its national efforts, with cooperation among government ministries on trafficking issues also remaining poor.

The report found the government lacked measures for proactively identifying trafficking victims among vulnerable populations or a system of referral to relevant organisations.

The ministry of labour's national committee for labour markets, tasked with overseeing the work of employment agencies that recruit Sudanese migrants for work abroad, as well as bring foreign workers into the country, provided no information on alleged forced labour violations.

Although it has the authority to revoke agencies' licences for violations of the labor code and refer cases to criminal courts, it made no efforts to do so during 2013, the report found.

The government's draft joint action plan with the UN to prevent and end the recruitment and use of children by government forces also remained unsigned at the close of the reporting period after several years of review, while the government's taskforce on children and armed conflict remained dormant throughout the year.

The annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report aims to encourage governmental action and create partnerships around the world in the fight against forms of modern-day slavery.

By Luka B. Deng Kuol

June 26, 2014 — The International Crisis Group (ICG) came with a comprehensive report in April 2012 about a new China's courtship in South Sudan in the wake of the independence of South Sudan in 2011. However, since the eruption of conflict in South Sudan in December 2013, the situation has changed drastically and that puts South Sudan in rather awkward diplomatic challenges that change the direction of diplomatic courtship.

Within the four months of the crisis, more than one million of citizens of South Sudan got displaced, a quarter of million took refuge in the neighbouring countries, 32 percent of the population are in “emergency” category of food insecurity with 37 percent population whose survival is in question, 60,000 children may perish because of lack of food and thousands of innocent people have been killed in brutal way that is so alien to values and customs of people of South Sudan. Above all, mistrust between and among various communities deepened, social fabric weakened, pride and dignity of our great people as well as the image of the new nation have been tarnished.

This devastating development shocked the world and international community that unanimously welcomed the newest country to the UN family with optimism and high hopes of contributing to global peace and stability. Within a very short period of time, South Sudan lost its good relations with international community, particularly United Nations and its closest friends such as USA. US President Obama, whose origin is traceable to Nilotic ethnic group in South Sudan, issued an executive order to impose sanctions on individuals involved in obstructing the peace process or gross human rights abuses. UN Security Council threatens to impose similar sanctions. One Sudanese diplomat was jokingly telling me that you (South) have outperformed, in a very short period of time, the NCP in antagonizing international community and getting sanctions from USA.

With the deteriorating humanitarian situation, the initial mandate of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to support peace-building, state-building and capacity development has been changed to refocus on protection of civilians, aiding the delivery of humanitarian assistance, monitoring human rights and preventing renewed violence. In other words, the UN assistance for strengthening the capacities of government is no longer part of the new mandate. Hilde Johnson, the head of UNMISS and a friend to the people of South Sudan who came to contribute towards building the new nations, decided not to continue heading UNMISS with its new mandate.

The recent donors conference in Oslo on South Sudan clearly indicated the shift of international community's focus from state-building support to humanitarian assistance. Many long-standing friends of South Sudan are disappointed to seeing such a nation that they attached high hopes has degenerated again to humanitarian situation rather than building a new nation to fulfill the aspirations and selfless sacrifices of its people.

In the light of such deteriorating relations with international community, South Sudan started to look for new friends such as China and Russia. The Minister of Foreign Affairs paid special visit to Moscow to forge new relations with Russia and to convince it to support the government of South Sudan in the UN Security Council over issues related to South Sudan. The invitation extended to President Putin to visit South Sudan shows the diplomatic desperation of Juba to get support from Russia. Although Russia does not have a vested interest in the affairs of the South, it has huge investment potentials, particularly in the oil sector and infrastructure development.

On the other hand, China has huge economic and diplomatic leverage and potentials to assist Juba during this difficult period. Given the enormous challenges facing Juba, South Sudan has to forge a new courtship in China. As part of its new diplomatic outreach, the Vice President will visit China towards the end of this month. As this visit has been cautiously arranged by Chinese Communist Party rather than by the Government of China, Juba will have an uphill task to be successful with its new courtship in China.

This visit will come by the time South Sudan faces a serious conflict that is threatening not only lives and livelihoods of people but also investment opportunities, particularly in the oil sector. Also the IGAD peace talks on South Sudan have been adjourned indefinitely because of lack of political will by the warring parties. Also IGAD is currently making serious consultations with African Union Peace and Security Council and UN Security Council of possibility of imposing punitive measures and sanctions against the warring parties. Even in the upcoming 23rd Ordinary Session of the African Union summit in Equatorial Guinea, where the status of peace and security in Africa will be discussed, South Sudan conflict will be on the agenda and possible punitive measures and sanctions as may be recommended by IGAD may be considered.

In fact this visit will come at rather awkward time when China will be discussing with other members of the UN Security Council the possibility of imposing sanctions on the warring parties in the light of stalled peace talks in Addis, Ethiopia. As such we may not expect the visit to achieve much. It is likely that the Vice President may not meet with his counterpart in the government but probably his counterpart in the Chinese Communist Party.

Despite the challenges facing this visit, the Vice President may need to exert considerable efforts to convince Beijing to listen to him. On the top of the issues that Beijing will be interested in is a credible commitment by Juba to peace process as well as implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement. China as member of UN Security has detailed and full report of the violations committed by the two parties of the cessation of hostilities agreement. Also China will be interested to know whether South Sudan has a credible investment strategy with a clear set of priority projects thoroughly assessed and duly approved by the relevant institutions. Importantly, China may like to know the thinking of Juba of how to protect the oil installations and other foreign investments and the role it can play.

If Juba could provide credible assurances to the concerns of Beijing, it is likely that a loan package from Chinese Export-Import (Exim) Bank may be concluded during this visit. With the conclusion of such loan, the Vice President may have opportunity to request Beijing to ensure the Chinese companies operating in South Sudan to adhere and abide by good business practices such as transparency and cost-efficiency through competitive bidding process, corporate responsibility, social, environmental and quality standards, partnership with local companies, training and employment of South Sudanese nationals and quality delivery.

As mentioned by Francis Deng that foreign policy is an extension of domestic policy with its success and effectiveness depending on a positive domestic “commodity to sell” in promoting international cooperation. It is apparent that the Vice President during his visit to Beijing is in shortage of positive domestic commodity to sell to China to make his diplomatic courtship effective. Rather than looking for new partners, South Sudan should put first its house in order with a positive domestic policy on which to base its foreign policy outreach. When our house is in order, South Sudan will not only consolidate and strengthen its relations with traditional partners and friends but it can create new partnership with new partners such as China and Russia.

The author is Associate Professor at University of Juba, Global Fellow at Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), and Associate Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School.

June 25, 2014 (JUBA) - The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) , a regional bloc mediating South Sudan peace talks aimed at ending six month old conflict, may seek United Nations Security Council approval of sanctions on the main SPLM rival factions to the conflict.

African leaders at the IGAD heads of state and government meeting held in Nairobi, Kenya on Friday, December 27, 2013 (Photo: Larco Lomayat)

“It is clear that the two parties are the ones trying to prolong the conflict, by boycotting the talks on issues which could have been addressed while deliberations continue,” John Luk Jok”, South Sudanese former minister of justice, told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday.

The former detained SPLM leader said that “issues like the inclusivity can be raised as talks continue. Also the demand limiting the talk to the two parties contravene the two agreements, the May and the June agreements which provides participation of the other stakeholders in the roundtable negotiation”.

Jok said he and his group had a meeting Wednesday with the head of the IGAD mediation committee, Seyoum Mesfin, to register their readiness to participate in the talk as per the June agreement without any condition.

He revealed that the head of the mediation team will travel to New York in coming days to submit a report to the UN Security Council on the progress of the negotiations.

“We had a good meeting with the mediation team to clarify our position. We told them our readiness to participate in the talks without any condition in accordance with the May and June agreements. We stressed to them the need to expedite the peace process so that it ends the suffering of our people,” Jok said.

Last Monday the mediators announced the indefinite adjournment of the peace talks following the boycott of the talks by SPLM/A In Opposition; to protest the exclusion of civil society organizations and faith-based groups who fled the country. They also said the selected groups are dominated by the pro-government societies.

But the mediation slammed the move and decided to postpone the talks.

“This is in contradiction to the 9 May 2014 Agreement as well as the 10 June 2014 Communiqué which provides for the inclusion and participation of other stakeholders in the negotiations for a new political dispensation in South Sudan,” said the mediation on 23 June.

The mediators also explicitly stated that they would undertake consultations with the African Union and the United Nations Security Council and other friends and partners of South Sudan.

The mediation earlier this month gave a deadline of 60 days to the parties to finalize talks on the formation of a transitional government, or else face penalties for impeding the peace process.

Jok underlined there is a high possibility that sanctions will be imposed on parties to the conflict, depending on the recommendation of the mediators.

According to the former justice minister, the imposition of sanctions will depend on the report to be submitted by the chief mediator Seyoum Mesfin to the UN Security Council.

However, Jok did not express his thoughts on who could be targeted by these sanctions.

On Friday 20 June the ruling SPLM faction and the group of the former detainees threatened to boycott the talks over the representation of the civil society groups. While the SPLM-in opposition accepted to resume discussions saying they have similar reservations.

However, later on it appeared that the two camps changed their positions and it appeared the talks were boycotted by the faction of Riek Machar.
The ex-minister is one of the SPLM-former detainees who were held in Juba for more than a month over accusations of taking part in an alleged coup d'état against president Kiir.

Last month the United States unilaterally imposed asset freezes against the commander of Salva Kiir's Presidential Guard Marial Chanuong and the top rebel General Peter Gadet Yaak. The American government stated that it would attempt to seize any of their assets that came under control of the US banking system, and it also described the designation of those two leaders as only a ‘first step.'

In late April and May, French and US diplomats at the UN Security Council were reported to be considering a resolution to impose sanctions on South Sudanese leaders.

The SPLM in-Opposition criticized as “unnecessary” the decision by IGAD to adjourn the peace talks, saying instead the mediators should have responded to their concerns about the selection process of other stakeholders.

The opposition delegation boycotted the talks last Friday and Saturday over concerns that the non-governmental ‘stakeholders' at the talks – clergy, civil society and other political parties – were not representative of the country overall.

After the suspension of the talks on Monday, the deputy spokesman of SPLM-IO Mabior Garang de Mabior accused the IGAD of ‘backtracking' from the agreed agenda and framework for the talks. He said the opposition “fears that the mediation undermined inclusivity by presenting government-sponsored institutions as credible South Sudanese civil society organisations.”

(ST)

June 25, 2014 (ADDIS ABABA) – South Sudanese leader of the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM in Opposition), Riek Machar, has written a letter to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, explaining his position in the stalled IGAD-mediated peace talks with Salva Kiir's government, a rebels spokesperson has revealed.

Riek Machar, South Sudanese rebel leader gives a press conference in Addis Ababa on May 12, 2014 (Photo AFP/Zacharias Abubeker)

IGAD mediators on Monday in Addis Ababa announced they adjourned the peace talks indefinitely over inclusivity crisis of the other stakeholders who were to join the negotiations.

The mediation team would also travel to New York to recommend to the UN Security Council an action to take against the two parties, possibly targeted sanctions.

The rebels however described the adjournment of the talks as unnecessary; saying their readiness for direct talks with the government delegation was previously stated clearly to the mediators which they have also reiterated in the letter to the UN chief, dated 23 June 2014.

“The Chairman and Commander-in-Chief of SPLM/SPLA, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, has written a letter to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, in which he reiterated our commitment and readiness for direct talks with the government,” Machar's spokesperson, James Gatdet Dak, told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday.

Dak explained that direct talks between the two main rivals would have continued, adding that the matter over inclusivity or selection process of the other stakeholders such as civil society organizations and faith-based groups would be fairly and transparently reviewed and prepare them for a consultative role.

The rebels boycotted a premature opening of the 4th round of talks on Friday and Saturday in protest over what they said was unfair selection process of the other stakeholders who were dominated by pro-government civil societies. They also preferred direct talks with the government delegation in order to beat the dateline of two months imposed by the mediation.

“These other stakeholders would participate in a consultative manner. This is because we want the two warring parties to directly negotiate in order to expeditiously reach to a political settlement within the sixty (60) days timeframe,” Dak further stressed.

“It was unnecessary for the talks to adjourn. The two parties should have engaged in direct negotiations while the other stakeholders are reserved for a consultative role. On our part we are ready for talks with the government to end the crisis,” he said.

The other stakeholders included but not limited to the civil society organizations, faith-based groups and former SPLM detainees, sometimes known as the third bloc.

The rebel leader's spokesperson added that in the letter to the UN chief, Machar expressed his gratitude for the passing of the UN Security Council Resolution 2155 (2014) which expands the mandate of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

The new mandate covers the protection of monitoring of verification teams charged with monitoring of the cessation of hostilities agreement signed by the two parties on 23 January 2014.

(ST)

By Eric Reeves

June 25, 2014 - Nothing on the ground has changed since Khartoum's warplanes struck the hospital of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Frandala, South Kordofan last week. We don't know the fate of the three people "severely injured," according to the June 17 MSF press release (altogether five were reported injured in and around the hospital). But we do know that damage was considerable, indeed that MSF declared the hospital was "partially destroyed." It remains the case that Khartoum's Military Intelligence knows precisely where the hospital is located, as it did before the attack—something stressed in the MSF press release. MSF evidently believed that apprising Khartoum of their coordinates would deter attack. Both recent and more distant events call into serious question the wisdom of such an assumption.

MSF is silent on the question of what sort of military aircraft were involved in the attack, but there is an obvious inference: while Antonov aircraft may have been involved, it is certainly the case that at least one more advanced, true military aircraft—with sophisticated targeting equipment—was used. The MSF press release states: "As bombs struck the village of Farandalla [more commonly Frandala] on June 16, two hit the MSF hospital there." The chances of an Antonov dropping multiple bombs in such a tight radius are vanishingly small; nor is the damage as reported by a non-MSF source consistent with the barrel bombs used by Antonovs (their explosive impact is relatively low, although they are deadly by virtue of the hail of shrapnel they throw out). Together, these two features of the attack—the extent of the damage caused by bomb explosions in a substantial compound, and the closeness of the bombs landing within the hospital and surrounding village—indicate that it was carried out by a plane such the Sukhoi-24 air-to-ground attack aircraft used in Khartoum's attack last month on the Mother of Mercy Hospital in Gidel, near Kauda.

It is worth recalling the details of this attack, since Dr. Tom Catena, the surgeon at Mother of Mercy Hospital and an eyewitness, provided such a detailed account of this entirely deliberate attack (see my full analysis of the event, Sudan Tribune, 6 May 2014):

The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) attempted to kill Dr. Tom Catena, an American citizen, in Mother of Mercy hospital in Gidel (Catholic Diocese of el-Obeid). Dr. Catena is sure that he was specifically targeted in the May 1, 2014 attack by virtue of a number of compelling facts:

[1] He is the only surgeon performing life-saving operations on civilians wounded during Khartoum's relentless aerial assault on the people of the Nuba Mountains; the Mother of Mercy hospital is the only one in the Nuba mountains, and treats some 150,000 civilians per year; the unmistakable intent on the part of the regime is to block all humanitarian assistance to the people of the Nuba, even if it means attacking a civilian hospital marked with a red cross and far from any active fighting;

[2] Dr. Catena saw an observation drone over the hospital in the days before the attack;

[3] The bombing was carried out by a Sukhoi-24 air-to-ground attack aircraft; it is a sophisticated weapon from the arsenal of the former Soviet Union and has a good deal of advanced targeting equipment; and indeed one bomb caused major damage to the facility;

[4] The following day (May 2, 2014) an Antonov aircraft again attacked Dr. Catena and the Mother of Mercy Hospital; many patients, even seriously injured ones, have fled to the hills, as have many staff, thus diminishing the capacity of the hospital significantly; one person was seriously injured.

(All information here comes by way of an email received from Tom Catena, May 2, 2014; see also, however, the highly detailed account of the attack by Nuba Reports: http://nubareports.org/sudan-targets-only-hospital-in-nuba-mountains)

There can be no real doubt that the bombing of the MSF hospital, also in South Kordofan, followed the same pattern, given the evidence at hand. Moreover, if we needed any reminder of the inconsequential nature of mere words of "condemnation" or "outrage," declarations that such attacks are "unacceptable" or "deeply disturbing" or "appalling," this bombing surely provides it. For the same language accompanied the bombing of the Mother of Mercy Hospital on May 1—as it has countless other bombings of hospitals, humanitarian operations, schools, and refugee camps. Khartoum has become utterly inured to such moral flatulence as proceeds from the European Union, the UN, the AU, and indeed the U.S.

For Khartoum knows that none of these actors takes such bombing attacks seriously enough to work hard enough to halt them; and knowing of this refusal to act, Khartoum's bombings have continued relentlessly. Recent attacks on civilians and hospitals in South Kordofan (as well as Blue Nile) are a direct reflection of the impunity conferred by previous statements that have been without meaning or specification of consequences for further attacks; unsurprisingly, these attacks are again accelerating (see recent dispatches from Nuba Reports on the intensity of aerial attacks on civilians). Khartoum simply doesn't take seriously the various international words of condemnation or expressions of perturbation; indeed, the attack on MSF's hospital, an egregious war crime in itself, had been preceded (by four days) by what seemed a distinctly more robust U.S. statement on attacks that had preceded the bombing of MSF's hospital:

The US ambassador to the United Nations accused Sudan Thursday [12 June 2014] of intensifying attacks on civilians in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, and of deliberately bombing schools and hospitals. Samantha Power condemned "in the strongest possible terms" attacks she said were being carried out by the Sudanese government and its rapid support forces against ordinary people. Ground and air attacks have increased since April, with hundreds of barrel bombs and other ordnance dropped on towns and villages, deliberately targeting hospitals and schools, she said. (Agence France-Presse [UN/New York], 13 June 2014) (all emphases in quotations are added unless otherwise indicated)

It is difficult to know whether the attack on the MSF hospital was simply another brutal step in Khartoum's war against the African peoples of South Kordofan and Blue Nile—or an act of extraordinary contempt for any U.S. response, which in the event was little more than a regurgitation of points made in Ambassador Power's UN statement. In either event, however, the stakes and consequences are high, as the MSF statement stresses:

“Damage to the Farandalla hospital is significant, but MSF will continue to work there,” Moller said. The MSF facility, with both outpatient and inpatient wards, began operating in 2012. Nearly 65,000 consultations have been carried out since then, along with close to 2,300 admissions. MSF is one of the few health care providers in South Kordofan. In addition to running the Farandalla facility, MSF supports five health centers in the area.

This was the target Khartoum chose to attack.

A more forthright MSF

The knock-on effect of international acquiescence is that humanitarian organizations everywhere in the Sudans feel themselves in greater danger, and at distinct risk of being attacked from the air. This did not, however, prevent MSF itself (MSF-Switzerland, or MSF-Sw) from publishing in 2000—fourteen years ago—an account of repeated bombings of the organization's hospital in Kajo Keji (now Central Equatoria). Responding to the appalling number of hospital bombings throughout Equatoria, where the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) had been largely confined by Khartoum's superior military firepower, MSF-Sw published in February 2000 a remarkable if almost completely unread study: Living under aerial bombardments: Report of an investigation in the Province of Equatoria, Southern Sudan. The findings of the report should be sobering to those who think that expressions of moral outrage are sufficient to halt the Khartoum regime in its attacks against civilians, schools, hospitals, and any other target that might the support lives of African civilians in South Kordofan and Blue Nile:

Since the beginning of the year 1999 until this very moment, we [MSF-Sw] have been experiencing and witnessing direct aerial bombings of the hospital, while full of patients, and of the living compound of our medical team (10 bombings in 1999, a total of 66 bombs dropped, with 13 hitting the hospital premises) [emphasis in original]. Facing the sharp increase of aerial bombardments in this region during 1999, frequently aimed at civilian structures such as hospitals, in November 1999, we requested an investigation of these events and their consequences for the civilian population in the area.

The elements of this investigation, included in the report herewith, tend to demonstrate that the strategy used by the Sudanese Air Force in this region, is deliberately aimed at targeting civilian structures, causing indiscriminate deaths and injuries, and contributes to a climate of terror among the civilian population.

MSF-Sw also reported:

MSF is particularly worried about the use or alleged use of prohibited weapons (such as cluster bombs and chemical bombs) that have indiscriminate effect. The allegations regarding the use of chemical bombs started on 23 July 1999, when the villages of Lainya and Loka (Yei County) were bombed with chemical products. In a reaction to this event, a group of non-governmental organizations had taken samples on the 30th of July, and on the 7th of August; the United Nations did the same.

Although the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is competent and empowered to carry out such an "investigation of alleged use," it needs an official request made by another State Party. To date, we deplore that OPCW has not received any official request from any State Party to investigate, and that since the UN samples taking, no public statement has been made concerning these samples nor the results of the laboratory tests.

MSF offers several eyewitness accounts of chemical weapons in bombs, including a grim narrative of events in Yei County (now Central Equatoria):

The increase of the bombings on the civilian population and civilian targets in 1999 was accompanied by the use of cluster bombs and weapons containing chemical products. On 23 July 1999, the towns of Lainya and Loka (Yei County) were bombed with chemical products. At the time of this bombing, the usual subsequent results (i.e. shrapnel, destruction to the immediate environment, impact, etc.) did not take place. [Rather], the aftermath of this bombing resulted in a nauseating, thick cloud of smoke, and later symptoms such as children and adults vomiting blood and pregnant women having miscarriages were reported.

These symptoms of the victims leave no doubt as to the nature of the weapons used. Two field staff of the World Food Program (WFP) who went back to Lainya, three days after the bombing, had to be evacuated on the 27th of July. They were suffering of nausea, vomiting, eye and skin burns, loss of balance and headaches.

After this incident, the WFP interrupted its operations in the area, and most of the humanitarian organizations that are members of the Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) had to suspend their activities after the UN had declared the area to be dangerous for its personnel.

There have been repeated reports of chemical weapons use after 1999; not one has been investigated by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons—certainly not at the behest of the United States, which under the Bush administration professed such profound concern for chemical weapons in the hands of Saddam Hussein.

In the body of the report, MSF—which had been working in eastern Equatoria since 1997—finds that their teams have:

…several times been victims and witnesses of these bombings that are only aimed at the civilian population and civilian targets. Hospitals and schools in particular, are deliberately chosen as targets.

The hospital in Yei town—run by the nongovernmental Norwegian People's Aid and marked with a large and conspicuous red cross on its roof—was also a particular target of Antonov bombing attacks in 1999. Yei was bombed on 15 different occasions during the year, and a total of 138 bombs were dropped. Ten people were known to have been killed, more were wounded, a number of civilian houses were destroyed, the hospital infrastructure was seriously damaged, and the facilities of two other humanitarian organizations were destroyed or damaged (the UN water facility was targeted in one of these attacks). A measure of the inaccuracy of the Antonov bombing is the fact that more than half the attacks did not cause casualties or damage, the bombs fell so wide of their targets. Again, such inaccuracy strongly suggests that the tight bombing radius for the bombing of the MSF hospital in Frandala was created by jet attack aircraft such as the Sukhoi-24, already implicated in the Mother of Mercy Hospital in Gidel.

Although little considered, the data for these attacks are in many cases available. I provide below links to specific sections of my monograph analyzing aerial attacks throughout greater Sudan ("They Bombed Everything that Moved": Aerial Military Attacks on Civilians and Humanitarians in Sudan, 1999 – 2014 | www.sudanbombing.org):

[a] Introduction and overview, including language from the Rome Statute making abundantly clear that these aerial attacks, in aggregate, constitute crimes against humanity: http://wp.me/p45rOG-1lh

[b] Year-by-year synoptic history of aerial attacks throughout greater Sudan, including South Sudan, Darfur, South Kordofan, Blue Nile, and eastern Sudan. A number of the bombing attacks on South Sudan occurred after Khartoum had signed the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement: http://wp.me/p45rOG-1lj

[c] Lengthy bibliography (30pp.) of news wire reports of individual incidents that define the history of this grim military strategy: http://wp.me/p45rOG-1lib

For those interested in the data spreadsheet and updates recording more than 2,000 confirmed aerial attacks on civilians and humanitarians, see the complete report at: www.sudanbombing.org.

When will there be an appropriate response to these continuing war crimes, in aggregate crimes against humanity?

I began writing about the bombing of civilians and humanitarians in South Sudan in 1999; several early publications could not have been more explicit about the very same realities we are witnessing now, fifteen years later. It is the continuity of such savagery that gives Khartoum's bombing campaigns their unique status.

•“An Ultimatum to Sudan on the Bombing of Civilian Hospitals,” The Ottawa Citizen, October 7, 1999

•“Ending Schoolyard Violence—In Sudan,” The Catholic New Times (Toronto), April 30, 2000

•“A UN Seat for Genocide,” The Washington Post, August 15, 2000

The latter piece, read by people with a great deal of power in shaping U.S. foreign policy, included the following summary account:

Nominally Khartoum is the “government” of Sudan. What Khartoum really governs are the country's military resources—and the choices of civilian targets. Their favorites are undefended villages, schools, hospitals, herds of cattle, refugee centers and emergency feeding stations. One attack on a school in the Nuba region killed 14 young children as they began their English lesson book, “Read With Us."

This air war is without question the cruelest and most destructive military effort by a recognized government anywhere in the world. In this case, not only is the government recognized, it is set to take a seat on the U.N. Security Council this fall. The same body that should even now be issuing the harshest condemnation of Khartoum's actions will instead be welcoming Sudan's envoy.

It is important to recognize the terrible ambitions this envoy will represent. For what makes the government's air war on civilians so destructive is not just the number of people killed and maimed by the shrapnel-loaded bombs. The larger effect of these attacks is terror, and a dispersal of the civilian population. The consequence is much less efficient agricultural production in a land continually stalked by famine.

This is all quite deliberate on Khartoum's part. Civilian destruction and dispersal are the means of ensuring that the opposition military forces in the south are denied food, or the aid of a cohesive society. It is a crude but terribly effective “weapon of mass destruction.”

To make sure of the genocidal efficacy of the bombing campaign, the Khartoum regime has also escalated its assaults on humanitarian efforts. It is attacking, with much greater frequency, the medical and food relief programs of those trying heroically to save the people of the south from disease and starvation. Many of the hospitals and clinics that have been targeted are run by the world's finest humanitarian organizations.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is but one example. Its clinic at Chelkou, in one of the most distressed regions of southern Sudan, was deliberately bombed on July 14. Reliable sources confirm that there was no military presence near Chelkou. Moreover, as part of its standard protocol, the ICRC had fully apprised the Khartoum regime of its presence in Chelkou and had secured permission. It was bombed anyway.

On July 25, some 200 miles to the southeast in the village of Billing, the Khartoum regime again bombed the Red Cross. Pilots on the ground, who had an approved flight plan from Khartoum, heard the bombers coming and desperately spread out a large Red Cross flag on the ground. It did no good. The bombs fell anyway.

This is the government that will soon be represented on the U.N. Security Council. It is a disgrace that it has not been criticized in the most direct and forceful way for its barbarous cruelty. It is beyond disgrace and moral conception that it will smugly take its place at the table of the world's governing body.

Rumbek. Malakon. Akwem. Lui. Kauda. Names that for the most part don't show up even on detailed maps of Sudan. But all have become targets for a campaign of aerial terror that has as its clear goal creating dislocation and famine among the African populations of the south. The regime in Khartoum, which looks to the Arabic and Muslim world for political and cultural identity—as well as support—is conducting a war that is animated by viciously destructive racism. Its ultimate goal is to destroy as many people as possible who might constitute an obstacle to its domination of vast oil resources inconveniently located in the south.

In the event, outrage at the time was great enough to deny Khartoum a seat on the UN Security Council. The regime has, however, suffered no serious consequences since this defeat, even for countless attacks as brutal and barbaric as that on the MSF hospital in Frandala, South Kordofan. All it has to fear are the tepid words that seem to flow so easily from the lips of those with the power—but without the inclination—to bring real pressure to bear on Khartoum to halt these atrocity crimes.

Eric Reeves' new book-length study of greater Sudan (Compromising With Evil: An archival history of greater Sudan, 2007 - 2012; www.CompromisingWithEvil.org)

Strengthen Peacekeeping Mission's Rights Reporting, Civilian Protection

(New York, June 25, 2014) – The United Nations secretary-general should investigate alleged cover-ups and manipulation of human rights reporting by the African Union/UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID), Human Rights Watch said today. On June 17, 2014, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), in her report to the UN Security Council, called for a “thorough, independent and public inquiry” into the alleged reporting problems.

In April, Foreign Policy published allegations based on internal reports leaked by the peacekeeping operation's former spokeswoman, Aicha al Basri, that the mission's leadership – reluctant to cast blame on the Sudanese government – had failed to accurately report on crimes committed by government forces. These included indiscriminate aerial bombing that killed civilians, and attacks on peacekeepers, such as the attack at Muhajeriya in South Darfur in April 2013 that killed a peacekeeper and injured two others.

“Civilians in Darfur are being killed, and the allegations that peacekeepers looked the other way are devastating,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The peacekeepers are under a lot of pressure and in a dangerous situation in Darfur, but the Security Council should conduct an independent inquiry into whether rights reports about Darfur have been suppressed or manipulated, and take appropriate action.”

The Security Council, when it renews the operation's mandate for a seventh year in August 2014, should require the peacekeeping mission to regularly and publicly release its human rights reports, Human Rights Watch said.

The Darfur conflict, now in its 11th year, has intensified over the last year-and-a-half for various reasons, including widening conflict between government and rebel groups across the country, and economic drivers. There have been repeated government attacks on villages resulting in civilian deaths and injuries, large-scale destruction of civilian property, looting of livestock, and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.

The government has been bombing populated areas, as recently as June 9 based on media reports, and has deployed the so-called Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a pro-government paramilitary force, to attack dozens of villages since February this year. Government authorities have also failed to stop large-scale inter-communal conflict in which government forces clearly participated to support one side.

Among the allegations by al Basri are that the peacekeeping unit failed to report a government bombing campaign in North Darfur in March 2013 to the UN security council, or make clear the government's role in inter-communal conflicts, including the 2012-2013 conflict at a gold mine at Jebel Amer in which hundreds were killed and more than one hundred thousand people were forced to flee their home.

Fatou Bensouda, the prosecutor of the ICC, which in 2005 opened an investigation into crimes committed in Darfur, supported an independent investigation into the former spokeswomen's allegations. Several Security Council members have endorsed the call.

These allegations followed an African Union and UN review of the peacekeeping operation that noted the need to increase the mission's effectiveness in the context of the ongoing conflict in Darfur. The review established new priorities for the mission focusing on mediation between the government and rebels, protection of civilians and delivery of humanitarian aid, and resolving inter-communal disputes. The review did not, however, call for any improvements in human rights reporting, or make recommendations to improve accountability for attacks on civilians and peacekeepers, Human Rights Watch said.

The peacekeeping force has long been criticized for failing to protect civilians or report publicly on violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Darfur by parties to the conflict, including the government of Sudan. Human Rights Watch and others have documented numerous instances in which peacekeepers did not reach locations where attacks occurred, either because of government restrictions or failing to press hard enough, undermining not just the mission's ability to protect civilians, but also to report accurately on abuses.

The Sudanese government's restrictions and chronic security threats to the peacekeepers have hampered the mission's effectiveness. Attacks on UNAMID forces have killed 58 peacekeepers since 2008, one of the highest fatality rates in UN history, while government restrictions on travel have blocked many planned missions. Despite these restrictions, the peacekeepers have unparalleled access to current, accurate information on developments in Darfur, Human Rights Watch said.

However, public reporting about human rights abuses against civilians, a central aspect of UN work in Darfur since 2004, has all but ceased. The last public human rights division report on Darfur, by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, was issued in January 2009. The periodic reports by the peacekeeping force to the UN secretary-general provide an overview of the situation. However, they usually contain only a few paragraphs on human rights cases, even though the peacekeepers have more than 50 human rights officers on the ground.

“The UN secretary-general has pledged to place ‘Rights up Front,' and the Darfur mission is now a test case for that approach,” Bekele said. “The conflict and abuses are intensifying in Darfur, making accurate, timely public reporting on human rights abuses more important than ever.”

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Sudan, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/africa/sudan

For more information, please contact:
In New York, Philippe Bolopion (French, English): +1-212-216-1276; or +1-917-734-3201 (mobile); or bolopion@hrw.org. Follow on Twitter @Bolopion
In Nairobi, Jehanne Henry (English, French): +254-731-516-866; or henryj@hrw.org. Follow on Twitter @JehanneHenry

June 25, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan's foreign ministry has summoned the ambassadors of the United States and South Sudan following an attempt by a Christian woman formerly accused of apostasy to fly out to using travel documents issued by the embassy of South Sudan in Khartoum.

An image taken from an undated video provided on 5 June 2014 by Al Fajer, a Sudanese NGO, shows Meriam Ibrahim breastfeeding her newborn baby girl that she gave birth to in jail in May (Photo: AP/Al Fajer)

The 27-year old, Meriam Ibrahim, was sentenced to death last month for renouncing Islam but was released on Monday after what the government said was "unprecedented" international pressure. An appeals court found Ibrahim not guilty on two charges of apostasy and adultery and overturned the lower tribunal's verdict.

Ibrahim was taken into custody by National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) officers at Khartoum airport on Tuesday along with her husband and two children for trying to use documents issued by the embassy of South Sudan to fly out of Khartoum.

Senior diplomatic sources told Sudan Tribune that South Sudan's deputy ambassador to Khartoum, Kowner Mageer, acknowledged at a meeting with the foreign ministry's deputy head of the department of bilateral relations, Mahmoud Hassan al-Amin, that his embassy issued the travel document used by Ibrahim in order to facilitate her departure.

He underscored that the move does not reflect any escalation from Juba towards Khartoum particularly as Ibrahim's husband is from South Sudanese origins.

According to the sources, al-Amin told Mageer that his embassy's intervention in this incident was inconsistent with the positive developments in relationship between the two countries and the spirit of cooperation between them.

The same sources also said that Al-Amin expressed to the US charge d'affaires in Khartoum, Jerry Lanier, Khartoum's outrage and condemnation of Washington's attempt to facilitate departure of Ibrahim, considering the move a violation to the Sudanese immigration regulations and a sign of contempt to Sudanese laws.

The foreign ministry spokesperson, Abu Bakr al-Sideeg, said in press statements that his ministry informed the US diplomat that Ibrahim enjoys the full freedom to leave the country as long as she follows the required legal procedures and holds the proper identification papers.

He said the foreign ministry conveyed to the South Sudanese deputy ambassador Khartoum's protest against issuing a temporary travel document for Ibrahim, underscoring that Ibrahim is not a citizen of South Sudan.

Al-Sideeg further added that temporary travel documents are only issued for citizens of a specific country who are present abroad in order to return to that country, saying this criterion doesn't apply to Ibrahim.

He said the deputy ambassador promised to convey Khartoum's protest to Juba.

The United States on Tuesday disputed reports that Ibrahim has been re-arrested and said that Khartoum assured her that she will be allowed safe passage.

“[T]he State Department has been informed by the Sudanese Government that the family was temporarily detained at the airport for several hours by the government for questioning over issues related to their travel and I think travel documents. They have not been arrested,” US State department deputy speaker Marie Harf told reporters.

“The government has assured us of their safety. The Embassy has been and will remain highly involved in working with the family and the government. We are engaging directly with Sudanese officials to secure their safe and swift departure from Sudan, and of course, we'll provide more information as we get it,” she added.

Today the US acknowledged that Ibrahim was now detained over charges related to her travel documents. Harf said their diplomat in Khartoum “reaffirmed our concern that the family should be allowed to depart swiftly from Sudan, that we would work on that with them”.

Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) page on Facebook said that Ibrahim was arrested by airport immigration officers after presenting temporary travel documents issued by South Sudan embassy in Khartoum and that had a US visa stamp on it.

“This was viewed by Sudanese authorities as a criminal violation and a disregard upon which the foreign ministry summoned the US and South Sudanese envoys”.

“On the other hand a senior official Sudanese Foreign Ministry official explained that temporary travel documents are granted by states to their citizens after ensuring that the citizen has no criminal or security problem and has the seal of the interior [ministry] in the domicile of the citizen” the NISS Facebook post said.

“It is also valid only for one use, and the person would be travelling to his homeland only, but in the case of citizen Abrar [Ibrahim's Muslim name] the document was issued by the Embassy of the state of South Sudan though she is not southerner and heading to America and it is not her homeland”.

(ST)