March 7, 2016 (NAIROBI) - The US-based Human Rights Watch has accused South Sudan government forces (SPLA) of allegedly of executing numerous killings, enforced disappearances, rapes, and other grave abuses in recent military confrontations with armed groups in its Western Equatoria province.

South Sudanese soldiers patrol the streets of Unity state capital Bentiu on 12 January 2014 (Photo: Simon Maina/AFP)

Other serious abuses, including rape, were also committed by armed rebels groups in the area, the rights body said Monday.

“As South Sudan's fighting has shifted west, so too have the atrocities by government forces and rebel groups. South Sudan's leaders should put a stop to all abuses,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

“Both an arms embargo and an effective war crimes court are also crucial to help stem the abuses and send a message that the crimes will be punished”, he added.

South Sudanese military officials were not immediately available to comment on the matter.

Last month, a United Nations report revealed that South Sudan's main warring faction in the country's conflict were killing, abducting, displacing civilians and destroying property despite a peace deal they both signed to end over 20 months of violence.

More than 10,000 people have been killed and over two million displaced after a political dispute within South Sudan's ruling party, SPLM, sparked off a civil war in 2013.

The fighting was mainly between the Dinka and Nuer, two of the nation's largest tribes.

According to Human Rights Watch, fighting between government armed forces, the SPLA, and local armed groups, known as “Arrow Boys” began in May 2015, and has since spread across Western Equatoria. The Arrow Boys, composed mostly of Zande, Jur, and Moru ethnic groups, are named after local defense forces formed in the region in 2009 to fight the Ugandan rebel group, Lord's Resistance Army attacks in South Sudan.

“While some Arrow Boys have publicly aligned with the rebel SPLA in Opposition, giving them a role in the broader conflict, one of their groups sought a separate peace deal with the state government,” said the rights body.

South Sudanese authorities, it said, largely failed to respond to allegations of abuses, underscoring the breakdown in law and order that has accompanied the spread of conflict. Human Rights Watch researchers allegedly saw bodies of two men, shot in the head and chest, their arms tied behind their backs, decomposing in a teak forest more than two weeks after UN peacekeepers discovered the corpses and alerted local officials.

The report highlights incidences of killings by the army in various parts of Western Equatoria, urging the African Union Commission to expedite establishment of a hybrid court to try serious crime cases as envisioned in the August 2015 peace agreement.

The United Nations Security Council, it further stressed, should impose a comprehensive arms embargo on all forces in South Sudan to help curtail abuses against civilians.

Fighting has, in recent weeks, escalated in other parts of South Sudan. In one widely reported incident, on February 17, government soldiers and other armed men attacked a UN protection of civilian camps in Malakal. About 20 people were killed and at least 100 injured, and 2,700 shelters were burned. Most of the camp's 43,000 residents were forced to flee to an older protection site or back into the city.

Currently, UN peacekeepers are sheltering nearly 200,000 people at six protections of civilian sites in South Sudan and more than 2.3 million people have been displaced.

Both the South Sudanese government and its armed opposition faction have made commitments to support justice for crimes against civilians since the conflict began in December 2013, but there have never been any domestic investigations into alleged abuses, despite several calls for a probe.

(ST)

March 7, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese presidency said the relieved deputy chief justice of the country's Supreme Court has not been removed from judicial services, stressing that the changes only affected assignment but not the service.

South Sudan's presidential spokesperson, Ateny Wek Ateny (AFP)

President Salva Kiir issued a presidential decree relieving the deputy chief justice, Madol Arol Kachuol, and replaced him the chairperson of the anti-corruption commission, John Gatwech Lul.

Presidential spokesperson, Ateny Wek Ateny, told reporters on Monday that the presidential decision removin Kachuol did not remove him from judicial service. Ateny said the action was a normal administrative change for reassignments.

“Justice Madol Arol Kachuol has not been removed from judicial system. He is still part of the judiciary. What has happened is just a change in assignment, which is a normal administrative practice. The leadership will see where he would be assigned when time comes,” explained Ateny.

The presidential aide explained that the constitution permits the president, in consultation with Judicial Service Commission, to appoint and replace the Supreme Court judges, including the chief justice and his deputy.

Kachuol has been one of the longest serving senior judicial officials and known to have presided over many high-profile cases in recent years until when he was appointed as the deputy chief justice.

His appointment, although his credentials were not contested, was received with mixed reactions.

Supporters of the government hailed it as rightful recognition while critics argued it was part of attempts by the government led by President Kiir, who is an ethnic Dinka, to promote ethnic hegemony at the expense of other tribes in the country.

His removal from the position and replacement with judicial official from ethnic Nuer, Judge John Gatwech Lul, has also received mixed reactions. While proponents say the decision is an attempt to balance the composition of the institution, critics are keen to emphasize that the decision was done to polish composition of the judicial system so that it is not seen as predominantly of ethnic Dinka at the apex of the judicial system.

Lul was previously the top Sudanese supreme court judge for the southern region before the signing of the comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) in 2005.

He has been chairing the anti-corruption commission for many years in South Sudan's government.

(ST)

March 7, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese and Ethiopian defence ministers Monday have pledged to implement the outcome of the meeting of the joint Sudanese-Ethiopian technical committee in a way that maintains sovereignty, security and stability of both nations.

Units of Sudan-Chad joint border-control force in Darfur region (AFP)

In a joint press conference at the conclusion of the 14th meeting of the technical committee Monday in Khartoum, Sudan's defence minister Awad Ibn Ouf pointed to the strategic relations between the two nations in all domains particularly the military domain which aims to achieve security and stability along the joint border.

He underscored the depth and strength of relations between the leadership of both nations, saying “we discussed what we had agreed upon previously besides ways for promoting agreements between the two countries”.

Ibn Ouf expressed his ministry's readiness for the joint work with Ethiopia's defence ministry to form a joint border control force to secure and develop the border between the two countries for the benefit of the two peoples.

For his part, the Ethiopian defence minister, Siraj Fergessa, said his country is to implement the outcome of the joint committee's meeting, saying the meeting dealt with the joint needs of both nations.

He pointed that the border between the two countries is safe due to the joint security efforts, adding they agreed to exchange military training and expertise.

Farmers from two sides of the border between Sudan and Ethiopia used to dispute the ownership of land in the Al-Fashaga area located in the south-eastern part of Sudan's eastern state of Gedaref.

Al-Fashaga covers an area of about 250 square kilometers and it has about 600.000 acres of fertile lands. Also there are river systems flowing across the area including Atbara, Setait and Baslam rivers.

Sudan's Gadarif and Blue Nile states border Ethiopia's Amhara region. The borders between Sudan and Ethiopia were drawn by the British and Italian colonisers in 1908.

The two governments have agreed in the past to redraw the borders, and to promote joint projects between people from both sides for the benefit of local population.

However, the Ethiopian opposition accuses the ruling party of abandoning Ethiopian territory to Sudan.

March 7, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir will travel to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to attend the end of the joint military drills "North's Thunder", said government sources.

Sudanese troops participating in the 'North Thunder' military drill with troops from 20 nations in Saudi Arabia on 16 February 2016 (Photo Saudi Press Agency)

On February 29, armed forces from 20 Arab and Muslim nations have begun military manoeuvres at the King Khalid Military City (KKMC) in Hafr Al-Batin in north-eastern Saudi Arabia.

The military exercise comes within the framework of the Saudi-led alliance to fight terrorism in Islamic countries.

A government source told Sudan Tribune that Bashir, who is currently taking part in the 5th extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jakarta, will return to Khartoum at dawn on Tuesday aboard a Saudi aircraft.

The official source said the Chadian President Idriss Deby will arrive in Khartoum on Tuesday afternoon in an official one-day visit to hold talks with Bashir, saying both presidents would leave separately for Riyadh on Wednesday to watch the end of the manoeuvres in the presence of the Saudi King Salman bin Abdel-Aziz.

The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, emphasized that Bashir left for Jakarta aboard a Saudi plane, saying the Sudanese presidential aircraft is currently under maintenance and that is why Riyadh sent the plane.

Bashir travelled to Jakarta on Saturday despite an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued in Mars 2009. In April last year he cancelled at the last minute his trip to Jakarta for an Asia-Africa summit.

Sudan's foreign relations have witnessed a remarkable shift since last fall particularly in its rapprochement with the Arab Gulf states following years of chilly ties.

The east African nation participates with over 850 troops in the Saudi-led "Decisive Storm" against the Iranian-allied Houthi militants in Yemen.

The Sudanese military participation in the military campaign in Yemen and the Islamic alliance reconciled Bashir's regime with the Saudi government, and marked the divorce with Iran.

Following the visit of the Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir to Khartoum late last month, multiple sources said that Saudi Arabia has granted five billion dollar military assistance to Sudan initially dedicated to the Lebanese army.

DEBY'S VISIT

Meanwhile, Sudan's ambassador to N'djamena Abdel-Aziz Hassan Salih told Sudan Tribune that Deby's delegation to Khartoum would include foreign and trade ministers besides several experts from the transportation ministry.

He pointed the two presidents would discuss bilateral cooperation as well as regional and international issues, adding that Deby would thank Bashir and the Sudanese people for sending a medical aid convoy to his country.

Salih noted that the Chadian trade minister Gidi Bishara would stay in Sudan following Deby's departure to hold talks with his Sudanese counterpart and to visit the area designated for Chad's imports at the sea port of Port Sudan.

The Sudanese diplomat added that the Chadian transportation experts will discuss with their Sudanese counterparts the proposed railway project that would transport goods from Port Sudan to N'djamena.

He commended the evolving relationship between the two countries, saying that Sudan praises Deby's election as the African Union chairman.

In January 2010, Sudan and Chad signed a normalization agreement ending a long history of mutual hostility in which both sides provided support to each other's insurgents.

(ST)

March 7, 2016 (JUBA) – A joint force from the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) may arrive in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, next week, a senior opposition official said.

President Salva Kiir meets SPLM-IO Chief Negotiator, Taban Deng Gai, in Juba, December 22, 2015 (ST Photo)

This is part of the implementation of the security arrangements per the August 2015 peace agreement signed between President Salva Kiir's government and Riek Machar, first vice president designate and leader of the opposition faction, in ending 21 months of civil war in the country.

According to the secretary general of the SPLM-IO, Dhieu Mathok Diing Wol, the opposition forces have been assembled in three different locations in Upper Nile region and have been moving to other locations where they will be airlifted to Juba.

Wol did not specify the date of the forces arrival in Juba although he expressed optimism that troops would land at Juba airport any time next week.

“We are expecting next week to be busy one as far as the transportation of our [SPLA-IO] forces to Juba is concerned,” Wol told Sudan Tribune on Monday when asked about when the troops would arrive in Juba.

“At least the first batch will arrive by Tuesday if not Monday [next week],” he said.

The senior official explained troops in Upper Nile will leave Kwek area to Kaldak and then to Malakal, capital of Upper Nile state, where they would eventually be airlifted to Juba.

Another group, he added, will leave Tharjiath oilfields to Bentiu, capital of Unity state, where they would be picked up to Juba. The third group, he further explained, will leave their headquarters in Pagak across the border into Gambella in Ethiopia where they would be airlifted to Juba as well.

The issue of feeding for the troops once in Juba, he said, would be handled by the Troika member countries for at least two weeks or until the transitional government of national unity (TGoNU) is formed following the return of the first vice president to the country to assume his position and start work in a new capacity.

“Troika countries will take the responsibility for two weeks until the transitional government of national unity takes over,” Wol explained.

The Troika countries (United States, United Kingdom and Norway) have representatives in the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), a body which oversees the implementation of the August 2015 peace agreement and makes arrangements for the transportation of the troops.

Although a site has been identified behind Jebel Kujur [Kerek] for accommodation of the opposition forces, their shelters, food, water and medical services have not been put in place.

The arrival of the armed opposition forces in the capital, Juba, is a requirement for the preparation of the arrival of the first vice president, Riek Machar.

(ST)

Houses burnt in the Hai Ikpiro neighbourhood of Yambio city, South Sudan, during the December 2015 clashes between government forces and rebels. (Photo HRW)

March 7, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudanese army, the SPLA, has vehemently denied reports by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), which accused the government forces of indiscriminate killings, rapes and looting of civilians and their properties in the former Western Equatoria state, saying those reports lack evidence.

SPLA acting spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Marko Mayol, said government's forces have been observing permanent ceasefire in Gbudue, Amadi and Maridi – the three states curved from the former Western Equatoria state.

“The whole of South Sudanese people are looking for peace and the SPLA cannot be an obstacle to peace,” said Mayol when contacted by Sudan Tribune for comment on Monday.

He said the agreement signed between President Salva Kiir's government and the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) under the leadership of Riek Machar led to permanent ceasefire which is “generally holding” nationwide.

In a report released on March 6, HRW said it documented cases of looting and burning of homes by government soldiers in Yambio, the capital of Gbudue state. Similarly, the advocacy group said the Arrow Boys – armed civilians allied to the SPLM IO - are also accused of raping a 67-year-old catholic nun in Yambio last December.

Mayol said the SPLA will cooperate with the HRW to investigate and bring to book those soldiers implicated in the crimes.

(ST)

March 7, 2016 (YAMBIO) - Gender-based activists working in collaboration with the state government have established a special protection unit in Yambio referral state hospital to provide psychosocial counseling and treatment services to wounded people.

Special protection Unit Office in Yambio Hospital (ST Photo)

The health unit was initiated by the state ministry of gender, child and social welfare, through activists with support from UN agencies such as UNDP, UNICEF and WHO.

The Commissioner of Yambio county, Hussein Enocka said says the health facility will serve both men, women and children who live in Yambio county.

“This facility is not only for women to get services for it, but for both men and women because women also are beating and knifing their husbands to death according to police report," said Hussein.

Hussein urged both men and women to focus on behavior change and to love their partners as to live in harmony and promote peace among the community.

The mayor of Yambio municipal Council, Daniel Badagbo lauded efforts by the UN to bring services closer to the victims in the hospital enabling them to get timely treatment.

He said government will work hand in hand with the unit to see into it that the security of the hospital is at its peak. The fence, he said, is on progress and about to be completed.

Veronica Anni, a social worker in the ministry of gender, child and social welfare said the newly established would help the hospital handle any form of emergencies, whether they are domestic-related forms of violences, accidents or cases of a psychological nature.

(ST)

March 7, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan will take part in a consultative meeting with the armed groups organized by the African Union High level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) to be held within a week, said an African official on Monday.

Head of Darfur peace office Amin Hassan Omer (C) speaks at the opening session for peace talks on Darfur conflict in Addis Ababa on 23 Nov 2014 (Courtesy photo / AUHIP)

Last week the government spokesperson and Information Minister Ahamed Balal Osman said his government would not participate in the meeting and pointed to the ambiguity of the AUHIP's invitation to Khartoum

The meeting is supposed to discuss the way forward on the national dialogue and how to stop the armed conflicts in the Two Areas and Darfur. Besides, the government and the National Umma Party of Sadiq al-Mahdi the meeting will be attended by three armed movements: SPLM-N, Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement - Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM).

The head of African Union's Liaison Office in Khartoum, Mahmoud Kan, said that the Sudanese government will participate in the meeting with two delegations the first is led by the Presidential Assistant Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid and the second id chaired by the Head of Darfur Peace Office Amin Hassan Omer.

Kan further said in statements to the semi-official SMC that all the parties agreed to attend the meeting, except JEM leader Gibril Ibrahim as they are still awaiting his response.

It was reported that Ibrahim would like to see more political forces invited to take part in the meeting particularly the newly established Futures Forces of Change.

The AUHIP chair, former President Thabo Mbeki is expected to visit Khartoum to discuss with the Sudanese officials the ongoing preparations for the meeting which will take place on 16-18 March.

A Sudanese official confirmed to Sudan Tribune the government's participation in the meeting saying that Hamid received the needed clarifications from the mediation on the nature of the Consultative Strategic Meeting.

"The government asked the mechanism to clarify whether the Consultative Strategic Meeting will deal with the national dialogue or peace negotiations in order to know who we will send to negotiate, the dialogue mechanism (7 +7) or a government delegation," he stressed.

The invitation of the opposition National Umma Party to take part in a meeting to discuss ways to war troubled all the Sudanese parties.

Last month several rebel groups said they are not sure about the nature of the meeting. Al-Mahdi himself also wrote to the mediation on the invitation.

The Strategic Consultative Meeting is conceived by the mediation to replace a national dialogue preparatory meeting the government had rejected.

The purpose of the pre-dialogue meeting was to gather the armed and political holdout groups and the government to discuss confidence building measures paving the way for their participation in the internal political process.

The pre-dialogue meeting was supposed to intervene after the signing of a cessation of hostilities agreement within the framework of declaration of principles for a peaceful settlement.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

March 7, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) - The Federal Democratic Party/South Sudan Armed Forces (FDP/SSAF) have accused a group of relieved generals and officers of fraudulently using the name of the opposition movement, which broke away from the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement-In-Opposition (SPLM/A-IO).

Gabriel Changson Chang (ST Photo)

In an email exchange with Sudan Tribune, Gabriel Changson, Chairman – Political Committee of the FDP/SSAF accused Gen. Gathoth Gatkuoth of being playing the lead role in illegally and fraudulently using the FDP/SSAF.

“The leadership of our organisation has noticed with great concern that a group of dismissed and defectors officers from the ranks of the FDP/SSAF movement are using the name of our organization purporting to members, in their press releases and presumably in communicating with third parties” Changson said.

Gatkuoth was one of Changson's top military general but was dismissed from the FDP/SSAF movement on the 4th of January 2016 after he sent an advance team to Juba without authorization from the leadership of the new faction.

“Gen. Gathoth Gatkuoth and his colleagues should be creative enough to create an attractive name for their breakaway faction instead of illegally and fraudulently using the FDP/SSAF name which they broke away from” Changston added.

He urged all the third parties that may be doing business with the breakaway generals not to use the name of FDP/SSAF or risk facing the legal implications involved.

“We call upon our members in particular and general public at large not to believe in false claims that Gen. Peter Gatdet Yak, Gen. Gatwech Chan (Tang-Ginye), Brig. Gen. Chuol Gakah and Hon. Gabriel Changson Chang are members of his breakaway group and that they will follow them in Juba very soon. None of us is going to Juba”, said Changson.

The opposition leadership further urged and assured its members not to believe on the rumours allegedly being circulated in the media by Gen. Gathoth Gatkuoth about the health of the FDP/SSAF movement and the credibility of its leaders.

“Let us continue with our activities in furthering the objectives of our movement which the breakaway group has completely abandoned”.

Along with Gen. Gathoth Gatkuoth, the leadership of FDP/SSAF has also fired 24 members of the movement's advance team.

They were all fired after leaving to Juba to negotiate with President Salva Kiir government without the approval of neither by the Chairman neither of the Military Command Council of FDP/SSAF Gen. Peter Gatdet Yak nor by the Chairman of Provisional Political Committee, Gabriel Changson Chang.

Changson then called on Juba government not to recognize the “so-called advance team” as part of the FDP/SSAF.

FDP/SSAF has also accused Gathoth Gatkuoth of signing a communiqué with the government without the knowledge of his Changson's leadership.

Gathoth, was a former deputy chief of general staff for logistics in the SPLM-IO but defected to join FDP in protest to what he said was lack of commitment in striking peace accord between the two South Sudan rival leaders president Kiir and SPLM-IO leader, Riek Machar.

FDP/SSAF is a movement that broke away from the SPLM/A-IO in August last year.

The political wing is Federal Democratic Party/FDP led by Gabriel Changson Chang and the military wing is South Sudan Armed Forces/SSAF led by Gen. Peter Gatdet Yak.

The movement says it has presence in South Sudan, several areas as well as abroad.

(ST)

March 7, 2016 (YAMBIO) – The Church Council and decision makers of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Sudan and Sudan have presented a strongly-worded petition that demands the immediate resignation of Bishop Wilson Noah.

The centinary of Missionairies arriving in Western Equatoria State is celebrated at Timbiro Episcopal Church in Yambio, South Sudan, 28 December 2012 (Photo: Phillip Mbugo William)

The Bishop, is among others, accused of allegedly not doing enough for the church and his continued absence from office.

Sources disclosed that the Church Council also faults the Bishop for failing to visit the deaneries and parishes in greater Upper Nile, Bar el-Ghazal and in Equatoria region.

Because of failing to visit these areas, most of the churches closed and Christians have ran away and joined other denominations, said the petition.

Also contained in the petition, delivered to the Bishop over the weekend, are allegations of corruption and misuse of church properties. They claimed the embattled Bishop embezzled the money from land rented in the capital, Juba and that other properties such as the church generator went missing.

The petition further claimed Bishop Noah has been hesitant to work with the financial committee for proper accountability and transparency purposes.

The suspension and dismissal allegedly by Bishop Noah of priests without following formal church procedures is also mentioned in the same petition.

“Some donors of the church were deported out of South Sudan and others are stopped to visit South Sudan by the Bishop. Because of this, many donors of Evangelical Lutheran Church have resorted not to fund any project again the way it used to be before the death of late Bishop Andrew Mbugo,” further reads the petition from the Church Council.

Meanwhile, Bishop Noah confirmed obtaining the document, but said he would only respond to allegations made after carefully reading the Church Council's petition.

(ST)

March 7, 2016 (YEI) -The governor of South Sudan's Yei River state, Moses Lokonga has vowed to prioritise security, warning those intending to disrupt peace to stay away.

Yei state Governor Moses Lokonga speaking at Christ the King Church, March 6, 2016 (ST)

According to the governor, intelligence information indicated that some individuals were mobilising and wanted to create insecurity in Yei River.

“I have heard that there are some people planning to carry out insecurity in my territory. I don't want any of my citizens to get involved and be deceived by people who want to cause problems in our area. Yei is a peaceful place. I don't want anything to do with bloodshed here”, he said.

Lokonga vowed to deal with anyone who attempts to cause havoc in Yei.

The official urged citizens to concentrate on implementing the peace deal signed by Pesident Salva Kiir and the armed opposition leader, Riek Machar.

“Why is that there are some elements wanting to drag us back to the bush instead of coming to the town and focusing on development?” he asked.

Lokonga said the creation of the 28 states in the world's youngest nation was intended to bring services closer to the South Sudanese population.

“Late Dr. John Garang's vision of taking towns and services closer to the citizens has become a reality. I have come to deliver services to my people and there is no need for the people of Yei to go to Juba looking for the government. I have my full cabinet, including members of parliament who are ready to deliver services to the people,” he stressed.

Lokonga, on the other hand, assured the citizens that his government had obtained 20 tractors from the national government to boost agriculture.

“We have been complaining of lack of food from time to time, but today I need to assure you that it's time for all of us to go to the rural areas and begin investing in agriculture as an alternative to fighting food insecurity in the country,” said the governor, while cautioning the youth in drug abuse.

Meanwhile, the Yei Catholic Bishop Arikolano Ladu Tombe appeals to the state government to prioritise peace and deliver services to the people.

“We are happy that the Government is now closer to us, no more going to Juba in search of nationality cards and others services. We as a church will work hand in hand with the government in ensuring that services are better rendered to the people,” said Bishop Tombe.

“We don't want to hear there is insecurity in the town and on our high ways”, he added.

(ST)

March 8, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudanese rival forces have traded accusations over renewed fighting in different locations of the country despite the permanent ceasefire agreement they reached in accordance with the peace agreement signed in August 2015 which should have ended 21 months of civil war.

SPLA soldiers sit at the back of a pick-up truck in Malakal, Upper Nile state January 12, 2014. (Photo Reuters/Andreea Campeanu)

The fighting occurred on Monday and Tuesday in Koch county, Unity state, and Ulang and Nasir counties in Upper Nile state between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir's government and forces loyal to the first vice president designate, Riek Machar, who leads the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO).

A senior military officer in the command of the South Sudanese national army, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), on Tuesday claimed that the armed opposition forces of the SPLA-IO carried out attacks on positions held by their forces around Nasir town.

Lieutenant General Johnson Gony Biliu, the overall sector commander of the government forces in Upper Nile region, told Sudan Tribune on Tuesday that he has been receiving reports of unusual military activities of the opposition forces in the areas around Nasir town. He added that he thought it was part of preparations to assemble the opposition forces to leave for Juba until the attack occurred on Monday.

General Biliu blamed “anti-peace elements” within the SPLA-IO forces for allegedly attacking government troops in the area.

“This must be the work of some anti-peace elements within the SPLM-IO forces. It must not be treated as a planned and coordinated attack because their leaders in Juba are talking about their preparations to leave to Juba as part of security arrangements,” General Biliu told Sudan Tribune.

“So we will treat it as an isolated incident until it is proved there was intention to derail the peace [agreement] by the leadership of SPLM-IO,” he said.

Peter Hoth Tuach, information minister in the newly created Latjor state of which Nasir is its capital, also confirmed in a separate interview with Sudan Tribune that fighting erupted on Monday between the rival forces and continued on Tuesday. He further claimed that the town had come under attack from the forces believed to be members of the SPLA-IO.

The attackers, he added, were however repulsed and the security situation has been brought under control.

“The SPLA-IO forces launched an attack on Monday. They were shelling Nasir town and it resumed today (Tuesday) but it was repulsed. The situation now is calm,” Tuach said.

However, SPLA-IO's military spokesman, Colonel William Gatjiath Deng, claimed that government forces came out of their locations and surprised the opposition forces with coordinated attacks, including in Koch county of Unity state.

He said fighting continued in the areas until Tuesday but the opposition forces repulsed the government troops, allegedly killing a number of them and seizing many of their weapons in the process of self-defence.

But minister Tuach of the Latjor state government said their forces did not go out of their positions but fought back in self-defence.

“The governor here spoke to our SPLA high command and was informed that our forces in the area did not go out to any of the positions held by the SPLA-IO forces. They were the ones who came out to attack the positions of our forces and so they had to return fire in self-defense,” Tuach told Sudan Tribune.

Minister Tuach said he believed the attack might have been carried out by “spoilers and anti-peace elements” within the SPLA-IO.

“Actually the governor did his best and he reached almost the senior military officers at our command headquarters here and the information he received shows that this was not a coordinated and planned attack. It may have [been] the work of spoilers and some disgruntled and anti-peace elements within the SPLM-IO. Because if this was a planned and coordinated attack, then I don't understand how they would do that when they know their leader is coming to Juba,” he said.

15 KILLED IN CLASHES

The acting spokesman of the SPLA, Lt. Col. Marko Mayol, confirmed the fighting on Tuesday morning in Nasir, but declined to speak about the casualties.

“We heard that there was fighting in Nasir this morning, following an attack by the rebels but we have no details,” said Lt. Col. Mayol, in Juba.

But a government soldier once deployed to Nasir told Sudan Tribune that 5 soldiers lost their lives and 10 others are wounded. The source said 13 SPLA-IO soldiers were also killed though this could not be confirmed independently.

The UN peacekeeping mission which has a mission in Nasir also confirmed there was shooting in the early hours on Tuesday but could not confirm if there was fighting between rival forces.

Sudan Tribune was unable to independently verify the veracity of the allegations, given that such military developments took place in remote places where network facilities have lost connections.

Observers however say anti-peace elements from both sides could have been behind the recent skirmishes.

The fighting took place in states which will be governed by the opposition faction of the SPLM-IO once a transitional government of national unity (TGoNU) is formed, according to the power sharing agreement.

President Kiir on the day of appointment of the governors from the 6 newly created states of Upper Nile region told the governors that they will be removed and be replaced with new governors nominated by the SPLM-IO leadership.

Opposition forces which comprise part of the joint police and military forces are awaiting transportation to the national capital, Juba, from various locations in the country in accordance with the security arrangements signed by the rival parties.

The arrival of the joint opposition forces in Juba will be followed by the return to the national capital of the top opposition leader, Machar, who will form the transitional unity government with President Kiir.

(ST)

March 8, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Chadian President Idris Deby has arrived in Khartoum on Tuesday to hold talks with his Sudanese counterpart Omer al-Bashir on bilateral cooperation as well as the situation in Libya and South Sudan.

Chad's President Idriss Deby (L) with President Omer al-Bashir greets Sudanese officials at Khartoum airport on Friday 9, 2015 (Photo SUNA)

Deby was received at Khartoum airport by Bashir and a number of ministers and ambassadors accredited to Khartoum besides representatives from the Chadian community in Sudan.

Sudan's state minister for foreign affairs Kamal al-Din Ismail told reporters that the visit comes within the framework of the evolving relations between Khartoum and N'djamena.

He added the two presidents will hold talks on economic and trade cooperation between the two nations as well as the trade exchange and how could Chad benefit from the sea port of Port Sudan.

Ismail pointed the talks would also tackle the issue of the joint border control force between the two countries besides the situation in Libya and South Sudan, praising Chad's support for Sudan on the regional and international forums.

He added that Bashir congratulated Deby on his election as the African Union chairman.

The two presidents are expected to leave separately for Riyadh on Wednesday to watch the end of the joint military drills "North's Thunder" Thursday in the presence of the Saudi King Salman bin Abdel-Aziz.

In January 2010, Sudan and Chad signed a normalization agreement ending a long history of mutual hostility in which both sides provided support to each other's insurgents.

(ST)

March 8, 2016 (JUBA) – A former finance minister in South Sudan's Western Bahr el Ghazal state, Lillian Valentino Rizik has sued the current governor of Wau state, Elias Waya Nyipuoch for allegedly defaming her.

Governor Elias Waya addressing people in Wau upon his arrival on January 12, 2016 (ST)

Last month, Nyipuoch accused the former Western Bah el Ghazal governor Rizik Zackaria Hassan and the finance minister of stealing 6 million South Sudan pounds from the state government treasury, allegations the duo denied.

On Monday, however, the ex-finance minister was at Juba North Police station and demanded that the case be forward to the court so that Nyipuoch's immunity is lifted to enable him respond to the corruption allegations.

“I need governor Waya to apologise over the matter or he should come to the court with legal document, detailing that I have withdrawn such amount of money from the government's account,” said Rizik.

The former finance minister told Sudan Tribune that her defamation case has been opened under Article 138 of the South Sudanese Transitional Constitution.

Meanwhile Nyipuoch said he was ready to face Rizik in court over the corruption.

(ST)

March 8, 2016 (JUBA) - The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said it had restored maternal health care services in Bentiu town for the first time in nearly two years.

IOM offers maternal care for mothers in Bentiu (©IOM Mohammed 2016)

Midwives at the maternity ward provide ante-natal and post-natal care, care during deliveries, family planning support and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of Human Immune Virus (HIV).

The hospital was damaged in fighting in 2014. The maternity ward was ransacked and critical infrastructure was damaged, including delivery chairs and incubation units.

Most of the population of Bentiu still lives in the UN protection site but IOM says that the town population has been slowly growing, with nearly 22,700 people registering for assistance in Bentiu town and surrounding areas since July 2015.

The restored maternity ward is now equipped with furniture, equipment and medical supplies.

“The State Minister of Health has indicated plans to assign additional midwives to enable the ward to run 24-hours a day,” agency said in a statement issued Tuesday.

IOM further said it had extended its Tuberculosis (TB) testing and treatment programme to Bentiu hospital to help with early diagnosis and treatment of TB cases for people who cannot access health services at the nearby UN protection of civilians (PoC) site, where IOM recently opened a TB testing laboratory.

Nyachom Gatluak, a resident of Bentiu, said the new health facility was all along considered to be pride to women left without proper medical equipments in the town.

“You know the opening up of these services to the community in Unity state means a lot as it helps hundred of women who were left without facility in the area,” she said.

Gatluak has been living in the United Nations protection of civilian camp since mid-December 2013 when a calls for political peaceful reform within the country's ruling party, the SPLM, turn violent in Juba and later extended to the other states in South Sudan.

(ST)

March 8, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBoS) in Sudan Tuesday announced that the monthly inflation rate has slightly increased to reach 12, 94% in February compared to 12, 44% in January due to an increase in the consumer goods prices.

FILE - A man selling eggs waits for customers at the market in Khartoum, Sudan May 12, 2011 (REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

According to the CBoS's monthly bulletin, the price change rate of goods and services in urban areas has registered 14, 73% in February compared to 13,79 in January while in rural areas it has registered 11,44% in February compared to 11,37% in January.

It pointed that seven states have registered an increase in the price change rate in February, saying the highest price increase was in the Gezira state which registered 6,46 points while the lowest price increase was in Khartoum state which registered 1,00 point.

The general price index for the food and beverages has dropped by 2,75% with the legumes and vegetables registering 56,98% as the lowest decrease in the prices of the group.

According to the CBoS, the general price index in the rural areas has been stable during February and registered 0,60% while the food and leverages group registered a decrease of 1,40%.

Sudan's economy was hit hard since the southern part of the country declared independence in July 2011, taking with it about 75% of the country's oil output.

The Sudanese pound has lost 100% of its value since South Sudan's secession, pushing inflation rates to record levels given that country imports most of its food.

The East African nation which became a net importer of oil after the partition is benefiting from the sharp drop in crude prices worldwide weak demand and rise in supplies.

Ordinary citizens, howver, continue to complain from cost of living increases that impaired their access to basic commodities.

The IMF projected that inflation rate would reach 12.4% by the end of 2015.

(ST)

March 8, 2016 'KHARTOUM) - Sudanese army will take part in a meeting of the Saudi-led Islamic alliance against terrorism by the end of March as, as troops from the state members are concluding their first joint military drills on Thursday.

Sudanese troops march during the celebrations for the 55th anniversary of Sudan's independence in Khartoum on December 19, 2010. (Reuters Photo)

Last December Saudi Arabia announced the formation of a 34-nation Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT), which is expected to deploy troops into Syria to fight the militants of the Islamic State organization (ISIS) and other jihadists groups in the Islamic world.

Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) spokesperson Ahmed Khalifa al-Shami Tuesday announced on the participation of Sudanese military in the first meeting of the chiefs of staff of the IMAFT armies which will take place at the alliance headquarters in Saudi Arabia by the end of March.

The Sudanese military spokesperson didn't elaborate on the agenda of the meeting but pointed to the participation of President Omer al-Bashir at the closing ceremony of the 'Thunder of the North' military exercise which taking place since two weeks in Saudi Arabia.

Bashir's participation at the closing ceremony confirms Sudan's belief in the need for a joint Arab and Muslim action in all the issues of strategic dimension to ensure security and stability in the region and to deter any plan targeting the Arab and Islamic world, al-Shami further said.

The Sudanese defence minister, Awad Ibn Ouf and SAF chief of staff Emad al-Din Mustafa Adawy will fly with President al-Bashir to attend the closing ceremony.

Chadian President Idriss Deby will also travel from Khartoum to Saudi Arabia for the same ceremony. Chad, which is involved in military operations against Jihadists groups in western Africa, is a IMAFT member.

Last February, Saudi Arabia expressed readiness to send troops to fight Islamic State in Syria in an international operation involving another IMAFT member, Turkey which is also a NATO member.

The Islamic alliance does not include two ISIS front lines countries: Syria and Iraq.

The IMAFT is also seen as part of the Saudi military doctrine aiming to build a Sunni military coalition to counter the growing Iran-led Shiite influence in the region.

(ST)

March 8, 2016 (JUBA) – The head of Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has expressed interested to visit the war-torn South Sudan to meet its leaders during the upcoming transitional period, a bishop who met the Pope has said.

Roko Taban Musa, the Apostolic Administrator of the Catholic Diocese of Malakal, told local radio station in Juba that Pope Francis informed the bishops from Sudan and South Sudan during their recent meeting in Rome, that the Holy Father wanted to meet President Salva Kiir and first vice president designate, Riek Machar.

“The Pope is updated about the situation both in Sudan and South Sudan. He knows what is happening,” Musa told Eye Radio in an interview on Monday evening.

“He told us (the bishops) that he wanted to visit South Sudan clearly but he did not give us the time. He told us he is trying to work out the possibility of meeting [President] Salva Kiir once again and Dr. Riek Machar,” Musa added.

Pope Francis met President Kiir for 15 minutes last year in Kampala, Uganda. The brief encounter was arranged by the Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, a regional ally who sent his forces to fight Machar's opposition for two years.

South Sudan has a substantial number of Roman Catholic followers. President Kiir too is a Catholic.

Musa, who met Pope Francis with other bishops from Sudan and South Sudan, said the Vatican will announce the date of Pope's visit, which he said is significant.

“As a man of supreme moral authority in the world, the Pope will be able to play a great role in bringing together, not only in bringing together the two men, but making the two men work together for peace, for prosperity and for freedom in this country,” he said.

Although the date for the visit has not been fixed, issues such as security in the capital will be put into consideration.

(ST)

March 8, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – Madame Angelina Jany Teny, First Lady of the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/SPLA-IO), has called on women in South Sudan to actively participate in the change in the country through the reforms stipulated in the peace agreement signed in August 2015 to end 21 months of civil war.

Riek Machar sits next to his wife Angelina Teny in front of their tent in rebel-controlled territory inside Jonglei state, on 31 January 2014 (Photo: Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)

In a statement she released on Tuesday, 8 March, to mark the International Women's Day, Teny said the women in the war-torn country should also celebrate a number of strategic achievements they have made so far towards significant women's participation in public life.

“I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the women of the Republic of South Sudan on the occasion of the International Women's Day. This is the time for us, women, to reflect on our past progress and achievements so that we can celebrate together. One of these achievements is the affirmative action guaranteeing women 30% participation in public life as agreed across the political divide and social spectrum,” partly reads her women's day message.

She emphasized that the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan is another unifying achievement that the South Sudanese women should rally around and celebrate.

“This Agreement not only ended the tragic and costly war that resulted in the much suffering, but also offers a rare chance for the women to take part in meaningful change through the reforms stipulated in the Agreement. The reforms that the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGONU) shall implement would create the necessary environment for the women to develop the strategies that shall enable us plan for and work towards fulfillment of the UN 2016 theme for this year, “Planet 50-50 by 2030; step it up for Gender Equality”, as the first step of the implementation of the new Sustainable Development Goals particularly goal number 5 and number 4 that are concerning the empowerment of all women and girls, and quality education for all,” she stated.

Teny further called on women of South Sudan to identify “key targets” that should focus on bringing about real change in the lives of women.

“The key targets include plans and programs to elevate the humanitarian situation particularly amongst women, considering that more than 7 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. Reconciliation and healing is another key area for intervention in order to ensure that the fabric of society that is torn by war is rebuilt and for the people to move on and start the process of nation building,” she said.

WOMEN IN SECURITY SECTOR REFORMS

Teny, who is also the chairperson of the national committee for defence and security in the SPLM/SPLA (in Opposition), urged the women of South Sudan to devote special attention to the security in the country and its reforms.

She decried what she said is “the widespread sexual violence and other forms of violence”, that have been practiced, mainly by security forces, during the war, adding that these are among the priorities that need the attention of women so as to focus the government and the international community to end such practices including ending impunity.

The First Lady of the SPLM-IO further urged the women to develop their own agenda on the security reforms and influence security institutions to implement such reforms.

“In conclusion, I would like to urge the women of South Sudan to devote special attention to the security and the security sector reforms. We must develop our own agenda on the security and advocate for the changes that our security institutions can adopt and implement,” she emphasized.

Some other strategic targets to ensure women advancement, she added, include education, health and economic empowerment.

The women, she said, should seize the opportunity of the international women's day to further reflect and identify some of the shortcomings and failures, while maximizing the gains and continue on the cause of achieving the goals.

(ST)

March 8, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - A visiting Norwegian delegation on Tuesday discussed in Khartoum ways to coordinate action to fight against illegal immigration and terrorism.

Sudan's foreign ministry building in Khartoum (SUNA)

Norway which is not a member of the European Union is also hit by the immigration crisis. During the past months, the Scandinavian adopted draconian measures aiming to send back illegal immigrants crossing Russia's border to avoid the perilous journey across the Mediterranean to Europe.

The majority of migrants from the Horn of Africa countries, cross into Europe via Sudan. The European Union and Germany recently decided to provide Khartoum with financial support for development projects and to build facilities for refugees in eastern Sudan.

The Norwegian delegation was headed by the director of bilateral relations Ambassador Atina Smith and the Sudanese side by Ambassador Dafalla al-Haj Ali Osman who is also the director of bilateral relations department at the Sudanese foreign ministry.

According to a statement issued by the foreign ministry following the meeting, the two parties agreed to continue political consultations and to work together to enhance bilateral relations, implement joint programmes and exchange of visits between officials.

The visiting delegation extended an invitation for the Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour to visit Norway as soon as possible, said the statement.

The head of the Norwegian delegation said she listened to Sudan's point of view on the illegal immigration, pointing out that her country is in the process of providing assistance to Sudan on this respect through the agreed mechanisms to enable the east African country to fulfil its role in the fight against the illegal immigration.

Smith further said they are a number of development projects that Norway will implement in Sudan, including the Oil for Development (OfD) Programme that has been renewed recently, along with the continuation of the traditional academic cooperation which is established since more than 50 years.

Through the OfD Programme, which is established in 2005, the Scandinavian country offers assistance to developing countries to achieve poverty reduction through responsible management of petroleum resources.

(ST)