January 7, 2015 (WAU) – The police force in South Sudan's Western Bahr el Ghazal state have received nine horses from neighbouring Sudan for security purposes.

“The nine horses, including others still on the way would be trained on how to peruse and arrest criminals within and outside the town,” the state police commissioner, Abraham Manyuat told reporters on Wednesday.

“The horses will cover the market and night patrol, including crowded places and handled by well trained experts,” he added.

The move, Manyuat stressed, would curb increasing crime cases in the state.

“There are many policemen who had been working with the Sudan government and have more knowledge about using these horses, having got advance training on how to uses the animals,” he said.

This is, however, the first time horses are being used by police to track criminals.

(ST)

January 7, 2015 (JUBA)- The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which mediates South Sudan's peace talks, said Wednesday it would hold heads of state consultative conference on the one-year conflict.

Face to face talks between the South Sudanese government and rebels in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, resumed on 13 January 2014, with a secured a ceasefire agreement signed later that month (Photo: AFP/Carl De Souza)

The summit will be the seventh undertaking since the conflict broke out in December 2013.

It remains unclear whether the new one would come out with practical plans to implement recommendations made from the previous meetings.

Speaking to reporters in Juba on Wednesday, Ethiopian foreign affairs minister, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the summit would take place on 18 January, adding he met with President Salva Kiir to extend him an invitation to attend it.

“I had a very fruitful discussion with his Excellency president Salva Kiir Mayardit. We had two issues: one is the upcoming IGAD summit in Addis Ababa in January 18, which he will be attending. The other issue which we discussed was the progress of the peace talks and also the preparations for the upcoming IGAD summit, Ethiopian foreign minister,” Ghebreyesus told reporters .

He expressed hope that the upcoming meeting would build on the progress made in the previous summits and break the deadlock on a number of outstanding issues the two sides are to resolve.

The Ethiopian minister said that during the last summit there was agreement on most of the issues and there were very few sticky issues after which a recess was given to the two parties who agreed to resume discussions on remaining issues after consulting with their constituencies.

“So we will start by listening to the report from their consultations, but as I said before, since there was agreement on most of the issues, we will build on the issues which were agreed previously,” he added.

South Sudanese foreign affairs and international cooperation minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin who attended the meeting with the president commended Kiir for extending warm discussion with the visiting Ethiopian foreign minister.

Benjamin stressed on the existing bilateral relations between the two countries and announced that joint ministerial commission will be held in February.

"There are some agreement(s) being drafted and we hope the next joint ministerial commission that will be held in Addis Ababa will take our bilateral relations to even higher level," the minister said.

China and IGAD are also organizing a separate conference to be hosted by the Sudanese government in Khartoum on 12 January before the IGAD summit.

Sources told Sudan Tribune that Khartoum meeting was important in trying to forge an understanding as it will involve a country like China which has influence on president Kiir's government, given that Beijing is the biggest oil dealer which provides 95% of the overall revenues to the young country.

Beijing also gives loans to president Kiir and provided him weaponry in June last year.

The oil also passes through the only pipeline in Sudan to the international market.

The Sudanese government also accuses Juba of harbouring and supporting its rebel groups as well as involving them in the war against opposition forces led by former vice-president, Riek Machar.

Juba also accuses Khartoum of training and arming Machar's opposition forces.

South Sudanese rebels have been calling on Ugandan troops allied to president Kiir to withdraw from war and territory of the young country.

Analysts, however, say the upcoming IGAD summit would decide whether it should be the last chance to break the deadlock in the negotiations in which warring factions and their backers are more strained than ever, and proposing a reasonable compromise, under the threat of economic sanctions, could compel them finally to prioritise peace.

But many observers are skeptical and doubt of the two sides strike a deal to end the conflict. They point to the recent consultations the government held in Juba and the armed opposition under the leadership of the former vice president, Riek Machar, held in Pagak, saying it widened and hardened gaps instead of narrowing them.

(ST)

January 7, 2015 (KAMPALA) - South Sudan's Phow and Gawaar communities in Uganda have welcomed the recent appointment by the armed opposition of chiefs of general staffs, their deputies as well as the recent formation of 21 states in the conflict-hit nation.

South Sudan's former vice-president turned rebel leader, Riek Machar (Photo: Philip Dhil/EPA)

Stephen Waat Bipal, the chairman of the Phow community in Uganda told Sudan Tribune that members of this community and South Sudanese believe the recent structures created by the Machar were the peoples' ideals.

"We believe and honour the SPLM/SPLA chairman and commander- in-chief, Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon on his aspiration on giving several keys positions to South Sudanese militarily leaders in various areas," he said.

In an order issued on 22 December 2014, the armed opposition leader dissolved the current 10 states in South Sudan and created 21 federal states mainly on the basis of the former old districts, which were created by the British colonial administration.

These are 1) Fashoda state, 2) Adar (North East Upper Nile) state, 3) Sobat state, 4) Lich state, 5) Jonglei state, 6) Bieh state, 7) Phow state, 8) Pibor state, 9) Kapoeta state, 10) Imatong state, 11) Central Equatoria state, 12) Yei River state, 13) Mid-West Equatoria state, 14) Western Equatoria state, 15) Warrap (Tonj) state, 16) Lol state, 17) Lakes state, 18) Rumbek state, 19) Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, 20) Wau state and 21) Western Bhar el Ghazal (Raga) state.

In the new administrative units, Upper Nile state is divided into three separate states, while Jonglei state is itself divided into four.

Eastern, Central and Western Equatoria states are each divided into two states. Also split into two is Warrap state.

Lakes and Western Bhar el Ghazal states divided into two states each, while Northern Bhar el Ghazal and Unity states remain undivided, with the latter's name changed to Lich state.

As former greater regions, Greater Bahr el Ghazal is divided into seven new states, instead of four; Greater Upper Nile into eight states, instead of three; and Greater Equatoria divided into six states, instead of three.

The new states are officially the administrative units for the opposition faction with rebel sources hinting that provisional military governors will as well be appointed.

The new development comes amid unconfirmed reports that the armed opposition group might be receiving sophisticated weapons to face president Kiir's government.

Both Gatdin Ngundeng, a former chairperson of Phow community in Uganda equally welcomed the oppositions' federal states proposal.

Jal Duop Yang, a community elder, said creation of 21 states will "end years of suffering".

"Creation of 21 states will soon eradicate the suffering of people and bring rapid development in the Federal Republic of South Sudan because many counties will soon come out,” he added.

(ST)

January 7, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - The Liberation and Equality Movement (LJM) secretary general, Bahr Idriss Abu Garda, once again criticised the group's mismanagement by its chairman, Tijani al-Sissi, a move that may widening the gaps between the two men and threatening its group unity.

Bahr Idriss Abu Garda (AFP)

Recently, Abu Garada was accused by al-Sissi's partisans of delaying the implementation of the security arrangements and obstructing the registration of the former rebel group as political party ahead of April general elections.

From his side, LJM secretary general blamed al-Sissi for weakness in his relation with the ruling National Congress Party (NCP). Also, his friend and minister of reconstruction, and Infrastructure in Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) Tadjadine Bechir Niam, denounced the failure of the authority to carry out its mandate and alluded to corruption in the implementation of recovery projects.

On Wednesday, Abu Garda criticised the DRA of creating confusion in the management of the security arrangements, adding he had sent a letter to register the group as a political party without the knowledge of the LJM leadership members.

He further accused al Sissi of dispatching elements that are not members to the group to the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) camps.

This move was a “bad experience”, because it pushed the “real forces to refuse entry to the camps,” he added.

However, he said the LJM forces will join the DDR camps next week and pointd to the visits he had conducted last week to inspect the fighters who did not yet join the security arrangements implementation process in different states.

Abu Garda had led a splinter group from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) before to create the LJM with other breakaway factions in Darfur.

He and the leaders of other groups sought al-Sissi to lead the movement, thinking that they can keep playing effective role in the new body as the former UN official had no combatants.

Abu Garada went to link between the insecurity in Darfur and the “weak performance” of the DRA, stressing that “the central government to prove its good will” put the security committee in the five states of the region under the authority of al-Sissi.

The DRA chairman avoided up to now to attack his secretary general or to mention his name. Nevertheless, on Tuesday he denied being involved in the management of the reconstruction or the development funds. He said the only money he receives is related to the function of the regional authority.

Qatar, UN agencies and other donors implement directly the projects they committed themselves to establish in the region.

The head of peace office Amin Hassan Omer said these tensions among the former rebels will not impact on the implementation of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD).

Speaking in a press conference held with the DRA chairman, Omer said the former rebel groups have no armed fighters in Darfur, adding that all their combatants are currently inside the (DDR) camps.

He added these groups work now to transform themselves into political parties.

The state minister also minimised divisions within the rebel groups saying even within the NCP they experienced dissidences and defections.

(ST)

January 8, 2015 (JUBA) – The United States Department of State warned its citizens against travelling to South Sudan due to the instability that persists across the country.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the US said “citizens traveling to South Sudan despite this warning should develop contingency plans prior to arrival to ensure their safety and security.”

“The South Sudanese government is currently engaged in an armed conflict with opposition forces led by the former vice-president Riek Machar," partly reads the statement.

“Although the conflict is primarily concentrated in Unity, Jonglei, and Upper Nile states, other areas of the country have experienced periodic fighting. Instability also persists across the country due to retaliatory attacks, inter-communal violence, and cattle raiding,” it add.

The US embassy scaled down staffs in Juba in the aftermath of 2013 outbreak of violence. Visas for US citizens in South Sudan are processed in Kenya or Uganda.

Washington also described South Sudan's health care as “extremely limited and poor.”

“US citizens with medical conditions should not travel to South Sudan, and all travelers should ensure their travel to the country is covered by overseas medical insurance, including medical evacuation. Medical evacuation from South Sudan is very expensive, often costing tens of thousands of dollars or more,” the statement stressed.

“The government of South Sudan has limited capacity to deter crime or provide security to travelers, particularly outside of Juba,” it added, citing high risk of violent crimes.

Meanwhile, the US embassy in Juba has imposed curfew from 10:00PM-6:00AM (local time) and implemented other measures to protect their personnel living and working in South Sudan. These include requiring personnel to travel in armored government vehicles and coordinating with the host government for travels outside Juba.

(ST)

January 8, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Mohamed Osman al-Mirghani has endorsed president Omer Hassan al-Bashir bid for a new term, a senior party official announced today.

FILE PHOTO - President Al-Bashir (L) shakes hands with DUP leader Mohammed Osman Al-Mirghani

The DUP, which has joined the government dominated by the National Congress Party (NCP) in 2011, has yet to formally declare whether it will participate in the elections scheduled for next April.

Some local newspapers in Khartoum spoke of two secret meetings between Bashir and one of al-Mirghani's sons to discuss the DUP's position on the elections.

Yesterday, the presidential assistant and NCP deputy chairman Ibrahim Ghandour, disclosed that the DUP has notified his party of its participation in the elections.

Today the cabinet affairs minister Ahmed Sa'ad Omer, who is a DUP official, said that al-Mirghani gave his blessings for Bashir who has led the country since the 1989 military coup he led.

Omer made the revelation during a meeting for the national committee for Bashir's nomination in Khartoum today that was attended by representatives from political parties, Sufi groups, local leaders along with student, women, youth, sports, media, veterans and artistic figures.

Ghandour said that Bashir's nomination was endorsed by 23,000 voters while the National Elections Commission (NEC) stipulates that presidential nominees must be endorsed by a minimum of 15,000 voters.

Major opposition parties such as the National Umma Party (NUP) and the Popular Congress Party (PCP) said they will not participate in the elections asserting that the NCP holds absolute control over power and refuses to make any compromise to end the civil war and allow public liberties.

Last month, the chairman of Just Peace Forum (JPF) al-Tayeb Mustafa said that senior NCP officials privately disapprove of plans to hold the elections.

Mustafa, who is Bashir's maternal uncle, said in his daily column in al-Saiha newspaper he owns, that the NCP is in need of someone to convince it that it is “fighting” a lost battle thus isolating itself even from its own self by insisting on going forward with a lost elections by all standards”.

“I do not mean the financial loss incurred by the people and the nation of 80 billion pounds of which it is in need against starvation and poverty, but I mean the other political loss that is the mostly deadly to its future that its fraught with dangers of devastating catastrophe,” he said.

The JPF head said that he sensed from what he heard from the “heart” of the NCP and some unnamed members of the committee tasked with amending the constitution that they object to the elections being held on time because it conflicts with article 224 of the interim constitution.

But Bashir warned yesterday that the next national government will be formed only from political parties participating in the elections.

He described the justifications provided by the political forces which decided to boycott the upcoming elections as “weak”, noting that the same political forces participated in preparation of the elections law and formation of the electoral commission.

He announced that the NCP will not run in 30% of the electoral constituencies in order to allow other political forces to be represented in the parliament.

(ST)

January 8, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudan chapter of the Islamist Hizb al-Tahrir party said that security forces briefly detained nine of its members in Khartoum and other states, after distributing leaflets denouncing the recent constitutional amendments.

Sudanese lawmakers on Sunday approved three controversial constitutional amendments introduced by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) despite protests of PCP MPs who did not take part in the vote.

The first bill allows the president to appoint governors who will no longer be elected through universal suffrage. The second transforms the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) into regular force to legitimize the creation of its militia the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Finally the third reform is the inclusion of Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) in the constitution.

A statement from Hizb al-Tahrir party spokesman Abu-Khalil said that that Sudanese security filed complaints against their members and later released them. However they were asked to report to security office later.

It added that Hizb al-Tahrir seeks to carry out its vision through intellectual and political struggle and excludes "material" acts in compliance with Prophet Muhammad's ways in state creation.

The party accused the United States of seeking to divide Sudan through Sudanese political forces in the next phase after the adoption of a new constitution and agreeing on a voluntary unity which it considered a prelude to the division of Sudan.

The parent organization of Hizb al-Tahrir was founded in 1953 in Jerusalem by Taqiuddin al-Nabhani that calls for unifying all Muslims under an Islamic caliphate.

They refuse to resort to violence as a method of achieving their goals.

(ST)

January 8, 2015 (JUBA) – Hundreds of civilians were killed when South Sudan's armed opposition forces retook control of the Unity state capital in April last year, a new United Nations report says.

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

The report, released by the human rights division of the UN Mission in South Sudan documents killings of dozens of people by a mob of armed men who attacked protection-of-civilians site outside Jonglei state capital of Bor, two days later.

Speaking at Thursday's launch of the report, the head of the UN mission in the country, Ellen Margrethe Loej strongly condemned the violence in Unity and Jonglei states.

“UNMISS strongly condemns the continued killing and displacement of civilians on the basis of their ethnic identity nearly nine months after the events of April 2014,” said Loej.

“This risks an even greater polarisation of the country along ethnic lines with potentially serious repercussions for the state of human rights and the prospects for reconciliation,” she stressed.

Loej, also the special representative of the UN secretary general, further urged the two warring parties to end the violence and undertake comprehensive and credible investigations into alleged violations in order to hold perpetrators to account.

The 33-page report, the UN said, was based on the collection and analysis of physical evidence and interviews with 142 sources, concluding there are reasonable grounds to believe at least 353 civilians were murdered and another 250 wounded in both attacks.

For instance, the report reportedly found that in both Bentiu and Bor, victims were deliberately targeted on the basis of their ethnicity, nationality or perceived support for one of the parties to the conflict.

According to the report, at least 287 civilians were killed at a mosque in the Kalibalek area of Bentiu by opposition forces after they regained control of the Unity State capital on the morning of 15 April.

Many of them, it says, were Sudanese traders and their families who were targeted on the basis of their Darfuri origins. At least 19 civilians were reportedly killed at Bentiu Civil Hospital in April.

However, almost nine months after the attacks took place, no perpetrator has been held accountable by either South Sudanese government or its armed opposition leadership, says the new report.

“On the morning of 17 April, a mob of mostly men between the ages of 20 and 40 marched to the UNMISS compound outside Bor to demand the expulsion of youths of Nuer ethnicity from the Mission's protection-of-civilians site. The mob forcibly entered the protection site and went on a rampage of killing, looting and abductions of internally displaced persons (IDPs). At least 47 IDPs died in the attack, and their names appear in the report,” it stated.

“There are reasonable grounds to believe that the attack was planned in advance".

As part of its recommendations, however, the UN human right report further called on all parties to the South Sudan crisis to immediately end all fighting, halt abuses and gross violations of human rights and respect the inviolability of United Nations personnel and premises.

Neither the government nor armed opposition has officially reacted to the UN report.

Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed and nearly two million displaced since violence erupted in the country over a year ago. To-date, over 100,000 civilians still live within the UN protection camps amidst fears of renewed military clashes.

(ST).

January 8, 2015 (JUBA) - The leadership of South Sudanese civil society alliance on Thursday called for delays in the country's election process earmarked for June this year.

South Sudan civil society alliance chairperson Deng Athuai Mawiir (Credit: Radio Tamajuz)

The head of the alliance, Deng Athuai Mawiir said government and stakeholders should create a conducive atmosphere for the polls by restoring peace.

“The environment is not conducive for the conduct of elections. You cannot conduct elections when some of the people who are supposed to vote are living in the camps, some of the fled the country. Half of the population of the whole country is food insecure. Some are in danger of looming famine because some places were affected by the conflict that it became difficult for people to cultivate”, said Mawiir.

The outspoken activist said the alliance believes that a lot of work needs to be done before elections of conducted. He said civic education must be conducted first.

“We believe that proper sensitisation and mobilisation of the people who are in the internally displaced camps, who are fled the country to neigbouring countries where they are living as refugees should be sensitised and encouraged to return home. But for them to return to their homes, there must be a security guarantee because they would need protection and they would also need food, shelter, medicines and school because everything they owned has been affected and destroyed by the war”, he said.

A group of activists, Mawiir disclosed, visited camps and urged its occupants to spread messages of peace and reconciliation as well as unity and peaceful coexistence.

David de Dau, the spokesperson of the civil society alliance urged the national elections commission to further extend elections consultation to the states and compile a report that should be made public on the possibility of conducting general elections.

“What we are saying is that let there be a peace and security before you could actually move that elections. For as long as this two are in place and security for an election is guaranteed to be supported by us and I believe by the rest of the citizens and the international community in this matter”, Dau said in a statement on Thursday.

The civil society alliance was reacting to the announcement by the National Election Commission (NEC) that it has set June 30th as the date for the country's general polls.

The head of the electoral commission, Abednego Akok, told Sudan Tribune last week that the institution would soon release the calendar after finishing evaluating consultations it had with all the stakeholders, including President Salva Kiir.

The announcement drew protests from opposition officials, who said widespread insecurity will make it impossible to hold safe and fair elections in June. They further argued that the millions of dollars that have been set aside for the elections should be spent on helping the citizens affected by the conflict, instead of organising polls.

South Sudan cabinet earlier approved a budget of 1.5 billion South Sudanese Pounds ($517 million) for the much-anticipated presidential and parliamentary elections.

The country's information and broadcasting minister, Makuei Lueth earlier said that the Transitional Constitution mandates that the elections be conducted this year.

But the constitution does not specify the day on which elections must be held, although it shows the term of President will come to an end by July 9 of this year.

The Transitional Constitution of also calls for a census to be held ahead of the next general elections, to "determine the number of electoral constituencies for" the vote.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

January 8, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – A new report issued on Wednesday by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) revealed that conflicts in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere had forced to displace an estimated 5.5 million people only during the first six months of 2014.

UNHCR's new "Mid-Year Trends 2014" report shows that among the new 5.5 million people 1.4 million of them fled across international borders becoming refugees, while the rest were displaced within their own countries.

East African countries of Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan are also reported among world's leading refugee contributing countries.

At more than 3 million as of June 2014, Syrian refugees, for the first time, have become the largest refugee population overtaking Afghans (2.7 million), who were the biggest group for three decades.

War- ravaged Somalia is ranked as world's third largest refugee origin at 1.1 million.

Sudan and South Sudan are ranked at fourth and fifth place with 670,000 and 509,000 refugee populations respectively.

Pakistan, which hosts 1.6 million Afghan refugees, remains the biggest host nation in absolute terms followed by Lebanon (1.1 million), Iran (982,000), Turkey (824,000), Jordan (737,000), Ethiopia (588,000) and Kenya (537,000).

The UN refugee agency said relative to the sizes of their populations Lebanon and Jordan host the largest number of refugees, while relative to the sizes of their economies; Ethiopia and Pakistan shoulder the burdens of refugees.

The new data brings the number of refugees under UNHCR's mandate to 13 million as of mid-2014 the highest since 1996 while the total number of internally displaced people protected or assisted by the agency reached a record high of 26 million.

“In 2014, we have seen the number of people under our care grow to unprecedented levels. As long as the international community continues to fail to find political solutions to existing conflicts and to prevent new ones from starting, we will continue to have to deal with the dramatic humanitarian consequences,” António Guterres, head of UNHCR, said in a statement.

“The economic, social and human cost of caring for refugees and the internally displaced is being borne mostly by poor communities, those who are least able to afford it.”

UNHCR's Mid-Year Trends 2014 report is based on data from governments and the organization's worldwide offices.

Conflicts in Middle East, in east and Central Africa and the Great Lakes region are blamed to have worsened the refugees' crises during the first half of 2014.

(ST)

January 8, 2015 (RUMBEK) – A campaign for peace in Lakes state was on Tuesday launched by the Episcopal Church of South Sudan in collaboration with the Committee for Peace and Reconciliation.

Daniel Deng Bul, the Episcopal Church Archbishop called for the restoration of peace and stability in the region blighted by conflict.

The campaign targeted Pacong and Akot payams as well as the conflict-affected Rumbek North, Rumbek Central and Cueibet counties.

Meanwhile, unknown gunmen on Sunday shot and killed a pastoralist and a businessman, a police officer told Sudan Tribune by phone Thursday.

“Among the victims killed was a bread maker and a pastoralist who died in a revenge cycle action,” said police chief, Isaac Mayuom.

He appealed to the population to cooperate with the law enforcers as part of efforts to minimise the high crime rate in Lakes state.

(ST)

January 8, 2015 (RUMBEK) - Thousands of people turned-out in Lakes state's Yirol West county on Wednesday to witness the burial of Isaiah Kulang Mabor, a veteran political who passed away early this year.

Lakes state governor Matur Chut Dhuol speaking at the burial of late Isaiah Kulang Mabor, January 7, 2014 (ST)

Mabor, 77, died of sickness from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

Hundreds thronged the funeral, including parliament speaker, Magok Rundial, ambassador Telar Ring Deng and Lakes state governor, Matur Chut Dhuol.

Many Mabor as a “nationalist” and “pro-democracy” leader.

Governor Dhuol, while speaking at the occasion, urged the public to rebuild trust in their government to foster peace and reconciliation.

“This funeral of late Kulang united us together, we need reconciliation. I urge the public to regain the trust in the government of Lakes state," said Dhuol.

"Peace is the overall solution to your differences,” he stressed.

Prior to his death, Mabor was chairperson of the committee for public service and natural resources in Parliament's Council of States.

(ST)

January 8, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese government and rebel groups strongly condemned the deadly attack on the French weekly satirical newspaper, Charlie Hebdo, saying they stands with the French people against terrorism.

Journalists show signs that read: "Je suis Charlie (I Am Charlie)", as they hold a minute of silence to pay respect for the victims of Wednesday's terror attack in Paris, at the European Commission headquarters, in Brussels, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015 (AP)

The attackers on Tuesday killed twelve people including journalists, two policemen and several staff members of Charlie Hebdo.

The terrorist operation raised a wave of condemnation across the world, including the Islamic countries which emphasised that depiction of the prophet, does not justify the cowardly crime by the extremists.

In Khartoum, the deputy head of bilateral relations department at the foreign ministry, Ambassador Abdel Basit al Sanosi paid his respects at the French Embassy where he signed a condolence book on Thursday.

Al Sanosi transmitted his government condolence to the French Ambassador Bruno Aubert and said that Paris attack has nothing to do with Islam.

The Sudanese diplomat said such terrorist attacks are the result of political tensions in the Middle East, and called for concerted international efforts to resolve these problems.

According to the French authorities one of the two brothers suspected of being the assailants, Said Kouachi, was in Yemen in 2011 for a number of months training with Al Qaeda camps. Also experts pointed to a possible links with the Islamic State which welcomed the attack.

Three Sudanese rebel groups members of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) paid respect for the victims of Wednesday's terror attack in Paris and expressed their solidarity with the French people.

“We extend our condolences to the families of the victims and to the French nation. We express our solidarity with them and with all those who work for peace,” said Malik Agar the leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement – North in a statement written in French langue.

Abdel Wahdi al-Nur the leader of a Sudan Liberation Movement faction (SLM-AW) condemned the “savage and barbaric terrorist attack” and called for a joint European action against terror groups saying it represents “a threat to international peace”.

The leader of the other SLM faction Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) expressed his “warm condolences to the people of France and the families of the victims of the traumatic barbaric assault”. He further reaffirmed the group's rejection of terrorism “whatever its source”.

The French police on Thursday launched a house to house search operation in a forested area 70 km north of the capital Paris where the two fugitives were reportedly seen.

(ST)

January 8, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese ministry of foreign affairs has confirmed to host a regional conference on South Sudan's political and security situation in the capital, Khartoum, on Monday.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi gestures during a news conference in Beijing, November 8, 2014. (Reuters)

The spokesperson of the foreign ministry, Youssef Al-Kordofani, on Thursday announced that the intra-party meeting will discuss ways for resolving the civil war which has been raging on in South Sudan since 15 December 2013.

The conference, which China initiated, will involve participation of representatives of president Salva Kiir's government and armed opposition faction led by the former vice-president, Riek Machar.

Representatives of China and member states of the regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), will also attend the Khartoum forum.

"Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is scheduled to arrive in Khartoum on Sunday leading a senior-level delegation to the meeting,” Al-Kordofani said in a press release on Thursday.

He also pointed out that the Chinese foreign minister and his Sudanese counterpart will also discuss issues pertaining to the bilateral relations between the two nations.

"During his stay here, Wang and his Sudanese counterpart Ali Karti are expected to hold talks on the bilateral ties and cooperation in such areas as commerce, economy and investment," he added.

IGAD for the past one year has been mediating between the two warring parties with little progress as fighting has continued.

The conflict is complicated by military interference of the neighbouring Uganda and Sudanese rebel factions such as the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) on the side of president Kiir's government.

Machar's opposition group of the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) has been calling on all foreign troops, notably Ugandan People's Defence Force (UPDF) to withdraw from South Sudan in implementation of the 23 January cessation of hostilities accord signed by the two warring parties.

The rebels argued that the military interference of the foreign forces will likely expand the war and the interference amounted to occupation and colonization of South Sudan which they vowed to resist.

The SPLM-IO accuses Juba of surrendering the sovereignty of the country to foreign agents.

Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni has however refused to withdraw his troops, fearing that president Kiir's forces would be defeated by the rebels and his leadership taken over in Juba unless an alternative regional force was deployed.

It seems China wants to step up its influence on the two warring parties and help the IGAD regional body in trying to persuade the parties into reaching a peace agreement and stop the war.

Beijing is the biggest dealer in oil production in South Sudan which provides 95% of the overall revenues for the young nation. It also provides loans to the economically staggering east African country. The Asian nation also provided weaponry to Juba at some point.

Also the rebel group in September last year dispatched a delegation to China to persuade Beijing to concentrate on exerting efforts to help end the war and stop providing weapons to Juba, adding Beijing had influence on Juba which it could utilise.

“We believe China can help in changing the current negative mindset in Juba. The regime is solely depending on Beijing and Khartoum for its survival, economically and even militarily. Our leadership believes China can positively play this card of influence and persuasion at its disposal in ending the war,” Machar's spokesperson, James Gatdet Dak, told Sudan Tribune.

Juba on the other hand accuses its northern neighbour of training and arming the country's opposition forces. Both sides denied the accusations.

(ST)

January 9, 2015 (JUBA) - South Sudan's foreign ministry said is was "unnecessary" for the United States to warn its citizens against traveling to the young nation over insecurity.

South Sudan's foreign affairs spokesperson, Mawien Makol (Photo: Citizen News)

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Washington said its “citizens traveling to South Sudan despite this warning should develop contingency plans prior to arrival to ensure their safety and security".

South Sudan's foreign affairs spokesperson, however, expressed shock at the recent US directive.

“Of the 10 states of South Sudan, seven states are all secured and only three states have insecurity is few areas,” Makol exclusively told Sudan Tribune on Friday.

“The government is trying to open corridors which will allow humanitarian assistance to deliver food and so for anybody that is coming to this country, the government is providing safety and we are protecting everybody here in this country; whether foreigners or citizens,” he added.

The US Department of State, on Wednesday, said its embassy in Juba will “continue to operate at reduced staffing levels due to continued armed conflict outside Juba.”

Although Makol admitted that cases of robbers or car hijackings continued to rock capital, Juba, he was quick to dismiss them as “isolated” security threats that can happen in any metropolitan city.

“All these other cities have these crimes. These are just isolated crimes that happen time to time and we can also easily get them in western cities of the world,” said the diplomat.

The US, mid last year, issued a similar directive to its nationals in Juba citing insecurity.

(ST)

January 9, 2015 (JUBA) – South Sudanese lawmakers on Friday hinted on the possibility of passing the controversial security bill without the president's approval, provided it is supported by two-third majority of legislators in the national assembly.

South Sudanese MPs stand during a parliamentary session in Juba on 31 August 2011 (AFP)

Samuel Duwar, the head of parliamentary committee for defense and public security said the assembly has constitutional powers to pass any bill into law without the president assent should two third majority of lawmakers approve it.

“There are three mechanisms and ways in the constitution for a bill to become a law. One way is that any bill approved by the assembly can become a law if it is approved by the two thirds majority of the members. In this case the assent of the president is not required," the lawmaker told Sudan Tribune.

He added, "The way is that any bill approved by the assembly shall not become a law unless the president assents to it and signs it into law. If the president withholds the assent for thirty days without giving reasons, the bill will automatically become law. The last provision is when the president assents the bill into law on time”.

The controversial bill was last year sent to the assembly by president Salva Kiir for further revision meant to accommodate some of the sections of the law which reportedly in conflict with some provisions of the country's Transitional Constitution.

Meanwhile, the government chief whips in the assembly, Tulio Ayahu, echoed Duwar's argument, citing article 109 (1) (c) which permits passage of any bill by lawmakers.

“The national legislative assembly conducts of business regulation 2011, under the section which talk of subsequent procedure on bills is very clear. Article 109 (1) (a) stipulates that any Bill approved by the Assembly shall not become law unless the President assents to it and signs it into law. If the President withholds assent for thirty days without giving reasons, the bill shall be deemed to have been so signed.

(b) Should the President withhold assent to the Bill and give reasons within the aforementioned thirty days, the Bill shall be re-introduced to the Assembly to consider the observations of the President.

(c) The Bill shall become law if the Assembly again passes it by two-thirds majority of all its members, and the assent of the President shall not be required for that Bill to come into force. These are very clear constitution provisions”, explained the lawmaker.

Ayahu did not elaborate on whether the house would pursue unilateral passage of the bill which critics and human right organisations fear government could apply to subjugate dissent by curbing civil liberties.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

January 9, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – The leader of South Sudan's SPLM-In-Opposition faction, Riek Machar, is invited to attend the upcoming summit of heads of state and government of the regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

Leader of SPLM-IO, Riek Machar with commander of Special Division I, Gen James Koang Chol Ranley, in Pagak, 8 December 2014 (ST)

An Ethiopian government official who asked anonymity on Friday told Sudan Tribune that IGAD chairperson, Ethiopian prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, has officially written an invitation letter to the former South Sudan vice-president inviting him to attend the regional leaders summit on the conflict in the young nation.

According to the official, the invitation letter which is due to be extended to the rebel leader as well as to president Salva Kiir calls on both principals to present a report on the outcome of consultations they held with constituencies during the recess.

The IGAD leaders will meet on 18 January to discuss ways to end the ongoing conflict in South Sudan. Discussions are expected to focus on the power sharing between the president and the rebel-appointed prime minister during the transitional period.

It is to be recalled that the two warring parties recently held consultations, the government held in Juba and rebels in Pagak, a town near Ethiopian border. The two warring parties stick to their positions and refuse to make concessions.

MACHAR IN SOUTH AFRICA

Rebel sources said Riek Machar is currently in South Africa, his third visit since the conflict erupted in December 2013.

Previously, including during his visit in September to South Africa, there were rumours alleging that the rebel leader was ill and admitted to a hospital in Pretoria, with now renewed speculations about his health concerns.

However, his spokesman clarified that the top opposition leader was going for a normal medical check-up on his eye, adding his boss was well and good.

“He left Addis Ababa on Wednesday. He is currently in Pretoria for a normal routine check-up on his eye,” Machar's spokesperson, James Gatdet Dak, clarified to Sudan Tribune on Friday.

He further explained that during a similar visit to Pretoria in September the rebel leader was given an appointment of 3rdJanuary 2015 for further check-up, which he missed due to being busy holding the recent consultative conference in the rebel-held town of Pagak.

He downplayed severity of the sickness, saying the eye infection was already diagnosed and was “responding positively to the treatment.”

Dak said Machar will also use the opportunity to meet with senior officials of the South African government and brief them on the progress made and deadlock in the IGAD-mediated peace talks before returning to Addis Ababa to participate in the IGAD summit.

The IGAD leaders' summit is slated to take place on 18 January in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

IGAD leaders are expected to put more pressure and encourage the two leaders (Kiir and Machar) to strike a sustainable peace deal.

Mediators say they are optimistic that the meeting will witness a break through to end the over one-year-old conflict that has killed tens of thousands.

(ST)

January 9, 2015 (JUBA) – Separate talks bringing together three different factions of South Sudan's governing Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) got underway in Arusha, Tanzania with the calls for hard decisions to end the ongoing conflict.

South Sudanese president Salva Kiir (L), Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete (C) and South Sudanese rebel leader Riek Machar (R) pose after meeting for talks on 20 October 2014 in the northern Tanzanian tourist town of Arusha (Photo: AFP)

The internal political dialogue, facilitated by Tanzanian ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi is separate from that mediated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

Deng Alor Kuol, while speaking on behalf of South Sudan's former political detainees, expressed regret at the late resumption of the talks, saying its outcome could have enabled the warring factions agree on peaceful ways of resolving the conflict.

“What is expected of the Leadership of SPLM is taking hard decisions that would expedite the peace process in our country. We cannot continue to behave and act as if we are in normal conditions. South Sudan is no longer the same since the events of December 15th, 2013. Just over a year now, we cannot afford to continue behaving as if we live in cocoons”, Kuol said in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune.

He said the region and world were fatigued each time they see innocent lives being lost.

“We cannot continue to ignore their concerns as well as their commitment to assist us achieve lasting peace, else they will start developing ideas that may not be our best options on how to end the conflict in our country”, emphasized Kuol.

The former cabinet affairs minister said it was high time the leaders ended the suffering of the population and warned against impunity without accountability.

"Power should not be maintained at all cost nor should it be seized by force, while our populations are subjected to perpetual suffering. That is why we made a conscious decision not to pick up arms or join any belligerent party. War is and should not be an option because our people have suffered for so long," said the ex-minister.

"We must stop the war and let us agree to reunite our party here in Arusha and move to conclude a comprehensive peace in Addis Ababa in order to embark on nation building," he stressed.

Tens of thousands of people have died and nearly two million displaced as a result of the conflict which broke out due to political disputes within the ruling SPLM in 2013.

A worsening humanitarian situation raises fears for possible famine outbreak this year.

Peter Adwok Nyaba, who represented the faction allied to president Salva Kiir's main political rival, Riek Machar at the talks said the armed opposition was fully committed to the peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue and reunification of the party.

“I cherish that we leave Arusha as members of one SPLM committed to reforming, reorganizing, institutionalizing, revitalizing and returning the SPLM to it historic grandeur in order to steer our people towards peace, social harmony, justice, equality, democracy and prosperity". Nyaba said in his opening address.

Nyaba, a former South Sudan education minister, said the separate talks being held in Arusha was a self-evaluation exercise to "locate the disease in the body of the SPLM".

“In this respect, I want to caution my colleagues and comrades that the exercise we about to undertake demands honest self-criticism. We request ourselves to put our people and country over and above each one of us. Therefore, blame game and finger pointing will not help us out of the malaise into which we have thrown our people and the hard won independence of our country”, Nyaba, a renowned government critic, said.

Daniel Awet Akot, leader of the SPLM faction allied to President Salva Kiir, described the ruling party as a unifying vehicle in Tanzania with full commitment and mandate.

“I came here with my delegation fully mandated and committed to dialogue with open mind and heart. It is our belief that our brothers and sisters on the other side of the table have the same spirit and determination. In doing so, I believe we shall achieve our objective of reunifying the SPLM to its former days of glory and victory over the forces of oppression and marginalisation,” said Akot.

“We all know that SPLM is the only reunifying vehicle for South Sudanese and if it remains divided, it means the whole country shall remain divided. Therefore, it is our collective responsibility to preserve the unity of such a great movement that brought the freedom to our people,” he said.

(ST)

January 9, 2014 (JUBA) - The caretaker governor of South Sudan's Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, Kuel Aguer Kuel was unusually welcomed to the capital by senior members of the ruling party amid reports of differences with his predecessor, Paul Malong Awan.

Northern Bahr el Ghazal governor, Kuel Aguer Kuel (flickr)

Kuel was welcomed by defense minister, Kuol Manyang Juuk, ex-parliament speaker, Daniel Awet Akot, and acting secretary seneral, Anne Itto, among other SPLM members.

The governor is reportedly in Juba to brief president Salva Kiir on the political situation in the state following his decision to remove and replace some members of the party.

Kuel, who was appointed governor when Awan was appointed South Sudan army chief of staff appointed a new cabinet last year, sideling his predecessor's loyalists.

According to an observer, the high-level reception for Governor Kuel in Juba was meant to signal political unity amid concerns about divisions in the stronghold state.

Ajou Deng, a member of the ruling party from Aweil East County, said the reception given to Kuel is a repudiation of those who think they wield unchallengeable power.

“It was an unprecedented reception... It was a political reception to send a warning signal to those who have a false conviction that without them, there can never be Mading Aweil, which is a false belief because there were people before they came into the leadership position in Aweil and they never behaved the way of our so-called leaders are behaving.”

“They behave like children instead of working together. Public positions are never permanent and some people should understand that public positions are for public services. They are not meant to show power or made an opportunity to settle personal differences with some people,” said Deng.

“It is really confusing that those who supported the appointment of governor Kuel Aguer Kuel are the very people who are now working for his removal in less than a year. What mistake can they say has been made by their friend in such a short period of time?”

(ST)

January 9, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese rebels have called for international pressure on the Sudanese government to postpone the general elections and to support the political and constitutional reforms through an inclusive dialogue process.

SPLM-N Secretary General, Yasir Arman (File photo/Purtizler Center)

The government and the ruing National Congress Party said determined to hold the general elections next April and refused opposition calls for its postponement. Sudanese officials say the delay will create a constitutional vacuum and lead to political chaos.

SPLM-N secretary-general, Yasir Arman, called from Oslo on the international community to not recognise the results of April elections without a credible process ending the war and paving the way for democratic reforms.

“The need for a credible national constitutional process should be key in the normalisation of relations between Sudan and the outside world, and general Bashir and his government should understand that the demand for a credible national dialogue internally and externally, has reached a point of no return,” Arman further stressed.

He further called on the international and regional group and organisations to not give a legitimacy to the “one-party” electoral process and take part in the monitoring of the elections.

He mentioned in his call the Carter Center, adding “We also appeal to the former Nigerian President, and a friend of the Sudanese people, Olusegun Obasanjo, whose name has been mentioned by the ruling party propaganda machine to be the head of the African observation mission to turn down this invitation”.

The rebel leader who is also the secretary for external affairs of the rebel umbrella Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) made his remarks in a lecture at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, Norway on Thursday.

In his first visit to the Scandinavian country since the start of the conflict of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, Arman met with the Norwegian foreign ministry official, humanitarian aid groups and rights activists.

Presidential assistant Ibrahim Ghandour Friday called on the Sudanese to participate actively in the elections scheduled for next April to “frustrate attempts” of those he described as “the enemies of the country”.

The Sudanese official who lead the government delegation for the peace talks with the SPLM-N further stressed that elections would not be postponed.

(ST)