September 8, 2017 (JUBA) - Community leaders from his home region of Aweil in Kenya have called to allow the former South Sudanese army chief General staff Paul Malong Awan to leave home confinement and travel to Nairobi after the death of his daughter.

The Kenya-based community leaders, cited poor health and the need for former army chief of staff to travel to neighbouring Kenya where his daughter died during fire break out at a school in Nairobi, resulting in the death of at least 10 girls, including the daughter of Gen Awan.

“As a result of this unfortunate turn of events, as a community, we are hereby requesting the President of the Republic of South Sudan to release Gen. Paul Malong join the rest of his family members in mourning his beloved late daughter,” reads a statement signed by Ngor Atuer, chairperson for Lol state, Kiir Kiir Akol; Chairperson for Aweil State in Kenya and Akuei Chier, representing Aweil East State Chairperson.

The statement points out that the call is based on a request by the Kenyan government through the Ministry of Education requiring that both parents avail themselves for DNA tests to ascertain the identity of the victims that perished in the tragic fire.

The test requires the presence of both husband and a wife to be granted permission to the DNA test in order to identify the dead.

pointing to "Malong's deteriorating health", the statement further said " it is our kind request that the government allows him to access better medical services abroad".

"Finally, should there be reasons as to why the government should not grant our request then the community demands a clearly outlined explanation to the public in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan,” the statement stressed.

Following a request he made last week to President Salva Kiir last Saturday, Malong was informed on Tuesday that after consultation with the first vice-president and the vice president it was decided to reject his request.

"The President, First Vice President and Vice President met and they made a decision that I should not go to Kenya, which is unfortunate and painful one to the family,” he told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday.

Malong who was accused by the security services of plotting to overthrow President Salva Kiir was sacked from his position and confined to his house in Juba.

(ST)

Dr Lam Akol

The youngest country in the world was born amid great expectations and hopes for the future. These were not day dreams or castles built in the air. The hope was based on the fact that the country is endowed with human and natural resources very few African countries, if any, had at independence. Today it is a basket case not because of misplaced assessment of its resources but of bad leadership. The current regime in Juba has turned its back on the slogans of liberation and turned into an ethnocentric kleptocracy that cared less about its people but only about syphoning the resources of the country to support its extensive patronage networks so as to prolong its stay in power. Therefore, it is not by accident that the country is today embroiled in an unnecessary ethnic civil war that has seen horrendous war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed by both sides of the conflict. The last and current spite of civil war was initiated by none other than the sitting President. It follows that any attempt to resolve the current crisis must never reward perpetrators of atrocious crimes nor tolerate impunity.

Classical liberal prescriptions of peace agreements, as has been the case in Sudan and South Sudan, end up with a transitional government that is entrusted to implement the provisions of the peace agreement reached by the negotiators. These provisions are usually meant to stop the war, create a conducive atmosphere for a sustainable peace through democratic transformation and reform of governance institutions and finally the conduct of a general election for the people to choose their leaders in a free, fair and credible manner. The question is: can the antagonists be trusted to carry out that mission?

The simple answer to this question is that they can't. There are many reasons for that. Suffice it here to stress that a transitional government stitched together from the warring parties has no chance of being coherent as each side jockeys for advantages with the eyes set on the ball; that is winning the elections that will follow at the end of the Transition in two or so years. Such was the case in 2005-2011 and in 2015-2016 with disastrous consequences. This vicious circle has to be broken if South Sudan has to have a chance of stability not to mention democratic transformation. The way out is by eliminating from the power equation the politicians with vested interests in the outcome of the elections expected to take place at the end of the Transition. The Transition should be run by South Sudanese patriots who are not engaged in partisan politics but have the requisite ability to execute the tasks of the transitional government and deliver a free, fair and credible election at the end of the Transition. The politicians should wait and use the short Transition to build their political parties or Movements in preparation for the general election.

It is these South Sudanese we call technocrats. They are part of the broader civil society and should not be confused with technicians nor are they necessarily civil servants in active service. There are many of them out there. Their selection must be based on strict criteria agreed upon a priori and on that basis, they shall be vetted by the stakeholders who negotiated and signed the peace agreement to be. Another condition that should be imposed on them to further ensure their undivided attention to their task at hand is not to seek elective office immediately after the Transition.

The major obstacle in agreeing on transitional governments in peace talks has always been the insistence of the sitting government that it was elected by the people and thus enjoys the legitimacy to continue ruling. In South Sudan today, the civil war itself is a damning verdict against that claimed legitimacy, for the cardinal function of a government, is to safeguard its people from fear and from want. The current regime in Juba could not do either. In fact, it has been the main cause of fear with millions voting with their feet to become refugees and internally displaced. Some quarter of a million has chosen to seek protection from the atrocities of their government in the UNMISS Protection of Civilians sites in the national capital and other towns. The remaining population is in the grip of food shortage and real famine. It is only the international good will that keeps them surviving. If the people whose sovereignty the government should be exercising on their behalf are undergoing such tribulations, what moral authority has the regime to cling on to power?

For those who see things through a legalistic lens only, it sufficient to state that the current regime in Juba is de facto and not de jure. There are many reasons to support this conclusion but for the lack of space, only one shall be here mentioned. It is to be recalled that since independence the South Sudanese have never elected a president nor members of Parliament. The current government derives its legitimacy only from the August 2015 Agreement for the Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (Agreement). This is why it is termed the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) as came in the Agreement. Since the agreement has collapsed, the legitimacy of that government goes with it and it is not renewable. A new dispensation has to be worked out in a new all-inclusive roundtable of stakeholders. It is in this context that this proposal is being made.

Sudan has seen two technocratic transitional governments in its modern history. Both came about after popular Uprisings overthrew the military juntas (in 1964 and 1985) and led the Transition to democratic elections. The Council of Ministers, which wielded executive authority, was in both cases composed of nonpartisan personalities that paved the way for democratic elections. Of course, technocratic transitional governments are not without problems, but taking all factors into account they come up far on top compared with a transitional government of politicians if the purpose is to prepare a level field for all.

To recap, the main reason for proposing a technocratic transitional government in South Sudan is to put in place a team that can deliver the Transition to its intended purpose. That purpose is to prepare a level ground for all citizens for the country to leave its troubled past behind and embark on a truly democratic path.

September 8, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) have re-initiated a lawsuit five year the publication of the incriminated article against a Sudanese journalist specialized in jihadist groups.

Al-Hadi Mohamed al-Amin Friday told Sudan Tribune that he was summoned to appear before the Press Court in Khartoum on Sunday as a suspect in a case lodged by the NISS against him in December 2012.

According to the expert on the jihadist groups, the security apparatus hired a legal adviser five years ago to initiate a lawsuit against him at the Press and Publications Prosecution Office on the background of the publication of an analytical article on the "Al-Dinndir's cell" in the Al-Intibaha newspaper.

"At that time, we -the editor-in-chief Sadiq al-Rizaqi and me- were investigated about the article which did not refer to the security apparatus from near or far," he said.

In December 2012, Sudanese authorities raided a training camp of jihadists in Al-Dinndir Wild Life Park in Sennar State, where they arrested 25 of the group's members following heavy clashes that led to the death of three others. The group was training its fighters to wage war against French troops in Mali.

This move is "suspicious, strange and disturbing," he said because it takes place five years after the publication of the article.

He pointed that if he is convicted before the court, the sentence would not be more than the publication of a correction or a fine.

However, he added that two people filed a new complaint about defamation against him and demanded two million Sudanese pounds (90,000 thousand US dollars) for each of them, saying their names were mentioned in a report published by Al-Tayyar newspaper on 30 August 2017, about a school run by extremists in Al-Kalakala suburb south of Khartoum.

Different sources say al-Hadi who is an independent journalist working with the different media is targeted by the NISS because he brings to the public sensitive affairs that they do not want to see it on the press reports.

(ST)

September 8, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The humanitarian branch of the SPLM-N al-Hilu SPLM's Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Association (SRRA) called on the international community to investigate "attacks on civilians" by a rival group led by Malik Agar in the Blue Nile state.

In a statement released on Friday the SRRA al-Hilu, Sodi Ibrahim Shamilla accused the SPLM-N faction led by Malik Agar of "killing innocent civilians in the refugee camps" carrying out "attack on NGOs and civilians in the liberated areas".

"Therefore we urge and appeal to UN, human rights organizations and activists and other concerned international bodies to carry out thorough, transparent and fair investigations and reveal the facts around the incidents," Shamilla further said.

Following a rift within the group that began in March 2017, the SPLM-N is now split into two groups.

Agar says his group controls the SPLM-N held areas in the Blue Nile State and accused Uduk fighters led by Gen. Joseph Tuka who support al-Hilu of causing troubles in these areas and in the refugees' camps in South Sudan.

On the other hand, the SPLM-N al-Hilu says they are in control of the SPLM-N liberated areas in the Blue Nile and has the support of the population there except, the Angasana ethnic group of Malik Agar.

"We would like to assure our partners, friends, NGOs and donors providing humanitarian services in the two areas that the SPLM/A-N and its entire leadership and communities are not against Angasana tribe as Malik (is) preaching to get sympathy and support to achieve his goal," said the statement.

Journalists have no access to the SPLM-N held areas in the Blue Nile, also the security situation in South Sudan's Upper Nile region, particularly in the border area, discourage many from reaching the area.

However, the two rival groups issued several statements reporting clashes in the refugees' camps in Maban of South Sudan and inside Sudan.

In his statement, Shamilla said Agar forces killed some 20 civilians in different clashes occurred between May and August 2017.

Last week, the SPLM-N Agar issued a statement announcing the reorganisation of its humanitarian branch after the split of the rebel group which fights the Sudanese government since 2011.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

September 8, 2017 (ADDIS ABABA) – The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) on Friday held their 11th Annual Joint Consultative meeting here in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa at the AU Headquarters.

Representatives of the 15 UNSC member countries arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Wednesday.

Ambassador Tekeda Alemu, head of Ethiopian Mission to the UN told journalists that the meeting deliberated on peace and security situations in Africa, particularly on conflict and crisis situations in South Sudan, Somalia, and the Lake Chad Basin.

Tekeda who is President of UNSC for the Month of September said the meeting helps to discuss ways to resolve the crisis in these countries.

He said the joint consultative meeting would further strengthen and deepen the cooperation between the two organizations.

"At a time when current security challenges are growing in a scale and complexity, it is important that the councils strengthen their cooperation," Tekeda told the councils at the meeting Friday.

"The two organs should explore measures that could further strengthen their cooperation and working relations including joint field visits and harmonization of their respective programs of work among others" added the Ethiopian envoy.

Ambassador Smail Chergui, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, for his part said the joint meeting would create a good opportunity to fight against the growing threat of extremism.

Somalia has shown improvement compared to where it was 10 years ago, Ambassador Chergui said, citing the recent election held in that country as a case in point.

However, building strong public institutions and eradicating Al Shabaab from Somalia are our assignments ahead, he added.

The Somali Nations Security Forces need support to take over the security operation from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the Commissioner indicated.

The joint councils today urged South Sudan warring factions to respect and effectively implement the peace agreement signed in 2015 to avoid the suffering of people in the youngest African country.

In her opening remarks, Punkie Josephine Molef, chair of AUPSC, noted that the African continent has continued to grapple with a myriad of challenges on peace and security since the last consultative meeting held in New York.

"We shall exchange views on the situations in South Sudan where the crises persist, the humanitarian situation has deteriorated and several efforts have been made with AU, IGAD and the international partners working with the government of South Sudan and other players to the conflict towards the implementation of the peace agreement," said Molef.

Molef also Botswana's envoy to Ethiopian and the AU said conflict situations in South Sudan, Somalia and Chad basin have seen some positive developments but still face serious challenges in their resolutions.

Ahead of today's meeting, The two Councils held informal consultations on Thursday, which focuses on the partnership between the AU and the UN, funding for AU peace and security activities, and post-conflict peace building.

The meeting also discussed ways how to further strengthen financial support to peace keeping operations.

The horn Africa's nation started its presidency of the United Nations Security Council last Saturday

(ST)

Eric Reeves

The UN's World Health Organization (WHO) continues in its refusal to call the cholera epidemic that has spread throughout Sudan by its proper name (cholera is caused by the Vibrio cholera bacterium, easily identified in WHO's Geneva laboratories).

WHO remains silent, refusing either to confirm or disconfirm the existence of cholera in Sudan. Give the continual reporting, for a year now, by Radio Dabanga and Sudan Tribune, about the existence of a cholera epidemic, it is indisputably WHO's obligation to make a determination. From its silence we may infer two things:

[1] The ruthless National Islamic Front/National Congress Party regime in Khartoum knows there is a "stigmatizing" cholera epidemic, which is why it threatens health workers and reporters who dare use the word cholera, and has also succeeded in intimidating the WHO into not using the word cholera in any way.

[2] But given the widespread reporting of cholera epidemic in Sudan, WHO would certainly use fecal samples from victims of what they insist on calling “acute watery diarrhea” to disconfirm the existence of cholera, if it possibly could. But it can't, so it maintains an unconscionable silence.

Why is it important that cholera be named? There are many reasons, including the urgent deployment of medical equipment (primarily massive quantities of re-hydration supplies and cholera treatment medicines) and knowledgeable medical personnel (including infectious disease specialists and epidemiologists familiar with the patterns associated with a cholera epidemic).

Critically, newly developed cholera vaccines could be used, particularly in populations most at risk (Kalma camp and Jebel Marra in Darfur, for example). But the vaccines won't be distributed unless the disease from which they offer protection is named. WHO itself recognizes the value of such vaccines:

The UN World Health Organization on Cholera Vaccines:

Cholera vaccines | http://www.who.int/topics/cholera/vaccines/en/

In the long term, improvements in water supply, sanitation, food safety and community awareness of preventive measures are the best means of preventing cholera and other diarrhoeal diseases. However, WHO and partners are evaluating the use of newer tools to complement these traditional measures. Oral cholera vaccines of demonstrated safety and effectiveness have recently become available for use by individuals. Some countries have already used oral cholera vaccines to immunize populations considered to be at high risk for cholera outbreaks.

Evidence gained on the use of oral cholera vaccines is evolving rapidly. Work is under way to investigate the role of mass vaccination as a public health strategy for protecting at risk populations against cholera. Issues being addressed include logistics, cost, timing, vaccine production capacity, and criteria for use of mass vaccination to contain and prevent outbreaks.

• Potential use of oral cholera vaccines

• Currently available oral cholera vaccines

[Cholera vaccines are discussed in similar terms by the U.S. Center for Disease Control | https://www.cdc.gov/cholera/vaccines.html/]

The refusal to name the cholera epidemic in Sudan by its proper name is costing more lives and creating more human suffering daily.

Why won't the UN World Health Organization fulfill its explicit mandate?

Our primary role is to direct and coordinate international health within the United Nations' system.

Our goal is to build a better, healthier future for people all over the world. Working through offices in more than 150 countries, WHO staff work side by side with governments and other partners to ensure the highest attainable level of health for all people.

—

Eric Reeves, Senior Fellow at Harvard University's François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights

September 9, 2017 (JUBA) - A presidential aide Saturday said that President Salva Kiir has directed all government institutions to cooperate with the United Nations mission in the country, stressing that the young nation was herself a member of the global organization.

“The government has no problem with the presence of UNMISS (United Nations Mission in South Sudan). We know this is not the first time our problem have dealt with the United Nations. The United Nations has been with our people for a very long time. During the war of liberation struggle, the United Nations and western countries led by the United States played a very important role,” a presidential adviser on military affairs”, told Sudan Tribune on Saturday

Daniel Awet Akot said the government and the people cannot forget the support received during dark days from the United Nations and the international community.

"What we are saying now is that: yes, there are challenges but they can be overcome through the same spirit of cooperation and understanding we received from the United Nations and others during the war," Akot said.

Government spokesperson Minister Michael Makuei Lueth recently said they want to renegotiate UNMISS mandate before its renewal next December. He further accused the peacekeeping operation of causing situations in order for their mandates to be renewed.

“We are talking of revisiting the mandate because once the UN comes to your country, they will never write one day that this country is at peace we [the UN] are going away. They will continue all the time to write there is insecurity so that they continue to stay,” said Lueth.

The minister also said the mandate of the Regional Protection Force (RPF) also needs to be reviewed because they were supposed to be deployed at a time when the forces of Riek Machar were in Juba.

Meanwhile, the UN Special Representative in South Sudan, David Shearer said in a statement broadcast by the state owned South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation following a meeting with President Salva Kiir on Thursday that the discussion he had with South Sudanese leader focused on working relations between the government and the UN Mission in South Sudan.

Shearer described the meeting as a ‘positive' discussion, covering the UNs cooperation, deployment of the Regional Protection Force and patrols along the volatile Juba-Yei and Juba and Bor roads.

The top UN official in the country said the main message that came out of the meeting was to strengthen cooperation between the government and the United Nations mission in the country.

“We agreed that cooperation was necessary at all levels between the UN and the government and the President asked me to come back and have a chat with him next week before I go off to the UN General Assembly which is in a couple of weeks' time. So it was a very good meeting and very good to hear the President's impressions of what is happening on the ground and the continuing cooperation between the UN, UNMISS and the government of South Sudan,” said Shearer.

John Andruga Duku, Director for International Organizations at the ministry of foreign affairs said the meeting marks the beginning of improved working relations between UNMISS and the government.

(ST)

September 9, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The Belgian Minister of State for Asylum and Immigration Affairs Theo Franken said Khartoum has agreed to issue travel documents to repatriate Sudanese illegal migrants in Brussels.

Eritrean migrants wait aboard a navy ship in the Sicilian harbour of Augusta, March 4, 2015 (Photo Reuters/Antonio Parrinello)

Up to 600 illegal migrants, mostly Africans hailing from Eritrea and Sudan, hoping to sneak into the United Kingdom are now camping in Maximilian Park in Brussels, Belgium.

Following his meeting with the Sudanese Ambassador to Brussels Mutrif Siddiq Thursday, Franken told reporters that “Khartoum is ready to issue the required documents to facilitate the repatriation of its nationals”.

According to the Khartoum-based Al-Saiha newspaper Saturday, Franken said Belgium wouldn't serve as a transit point for illegal migrants seeking to reach the United Kingdom.

He pointed out that the majority of Sudanese migrants camping in Maximilian Park don't want to apply for asylum in Belgium but seek to travel to Great Britain.

The Belgian minister added that Mutrif has agreed to dispatch a team from the embassy to Maximilian Park to identify the Sudanese migrants so as to issue the required documents for their repatriation.

He pointed that the Belgium police would continue to arrest the illegal migrants, saying, however, the immigration officials will notify the detainees of their right to apply for asylum in Belgium before starting the deportation process.

Sudan, which is identified as a source of migrants and a transit country, is cooperating with the EU countries to combat the illegal migration from Sudan and Horn of Africa countries including Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.

In April 2016, the EU officially allocated Sudan €100 million to improve the living conditions for refugees, help Sudanese returnees to reintegrate back into society, and to improve security at the border.

Also, Sudan benefits from additional funding under the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, in particular from a €40 million programme to better manage migration in the region.

According to the UNHCR, there are 5,065 Sudanese who reached Italian shores by boat from Libya until the 31 August of this year 2017.

In a recent report on migrants, Amnesty International said over 2,000 migrants have died at sea while over 73,380 have reached Italy this year.

(ST)

September 9, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) Saturday has seized print runs of Al-Tayyar newspaper from the printing house without stating reasons.

A Sudanese woman reads a local newspaper in Khartoum in 2010 (AFP PHOTOS)

Journalists working for Al-Tayyar told Sudan Tribune that the confiscation was likely due to publishing an interview with the leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu last week.

On Thursday morning, the NISS summoned the editor-in-chief of Al-Tayyar, Bahaa al-Din Issa, who was interrogated about the interview during three hours.

The NISS, on Thursday evening, issued a directive to the editors in chief of the local newspapers reminding them that the ban on publishing interviews or statements by the leaders of the armed groups is still in force.

The same journalists told Sudan Tribune that the NISS officers asked Issa about the interview, describing the move as a violation of the press honour code, as al-Hilu is leading an armed insurgency against the state and the press shouldn't promote his movement's ideas.

The NISS routinely confiscates newspapers either to prevent circulation of certain stories or to punish them retroactively on previous issues.

It accuses the newspapers of crossing the red lines through publishing reports which adversely impact on national security.

In February 2015, NISS seized entire print runs of 14 newspapers in one day without stating the reasons for its decision.

According to the non-governmental Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) network, the NISS confiscated newspapers 66 times from May 3, 2016, to May 3, 2017.

(ST)

September 9, 2017 (JUBA) – A South Sudanese human rights organisation has appealed to the international community and leaders of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) countries to release rebel leader Riek Machar from confinement in South Africa.

South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar addresses a news conference in Uganda's capital Kampala January 26, 2016 (Reuters photo)

The Centre for Peace and Justice (CPJ) said Machar needed to be released to enable him participate in the upcoming IGAD High Revitalization Forum on the 2015 peace agreement in which he was one of the main signatories.

"Without Riek Machar participation in the upcoming high revitalization forum it will reach nowhere and it will add no value to the ordinary South Sudanese citizens,” said CPJ's coordinator Tito Anthony.

"[The] international community and regional leaders (IGAD) countries must work to secure release and participation of Riek Machar in the forum, not only him but the forum should include the NDM [National Democratic Movement] of Lam Akol, NAS [National Salvation Movement] of Thomas Cirillo, SPLM-G10 [Sudan People's Liberation Movement-In-Government 10] and other armed and non-armed opposition to achieve peace in the young nation,” he added.

According to Tito, the upcoming IGAD High Revitalization Forum should include all parties, both the armed and non-armed opposition if the regional bloc wants to help South Sudan achieve peace.

Machar, in South Africa since last year, told the United Nations in June that he wanted freedom from “confinement and detention".

"My host here South Africa has been hospitable," he said in a statement released after a teleconference with the UN Security Council.

The South Sudan rebel leader reportedly arrived in South Africa late last year without government's knowledge after fleeing the capital Juba, amid claims President Salva Kiir wanted to assassinate him.

South African officials, however, deny claims that Machar is under house arrest.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the South Sudanese conflict and over two million people have fled the country, while the UN estimates that six million people, or half the population, are severely food insecure.

(ST)

September 9, 2017 (JUBA) – A staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was on Friday killed in South Sudan as he delivered aid to the needy civilians, the organization said Saturday.

South Sudan Red Cross demonstrating in Bor how they evacuate victims from conflict in Jonglei state, May 6, 2013 (ST)

The agency, in a statement, said it was “shocked” and “dismayed” after Lukudu Kennedy Emmanuel, a driver, was killed when unknown people shot at an ICRC's convoy of nine trucks and one vehicle.

"We are shaken and distraught by the killing of our colleague who was traveling in a convoy of vehicles which were clearly marked with the Red Cross emblem. In addition, all parties to the conflict in the area had been duly notified about our presence," said François Stamm, ICRC's head of delegation in Juba.

The convoy was returning from an assistance operation in Western Equatoria state, the agency further stated, adding that it is still assessing the implications of this killing on its operations in the area.

More than 80 aid workers have been killed in South Sudan ever since the conflict started in 2013. This year alone, 16 aid workers have died.

Intentional attacks against humanitarian relief personnel, under international humanitarian law, may constitute war crimes.

Meanwhile, ICRC has appealed to all the parties involved in the South Sudan conflict to protect civilians and respect aid workers.

Ten of thousands of people have been killed and more than two million displaced in nearly four years of the conflict in South Sudan.

(ST)

September 9, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Two Sudanese armed groups accused the hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) of handing over two former bases in North Darfur state to the notorious Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.

The UNAMID, which is tasked with the protection of civilians from militia attacks, handed over several sites in Darfur to the Sudanese authorities following a resolution by the UN Security Council last June to cut the number of operation's troops and police by 40 percent, citing the improvement of the security situation in the region.

In a joint statement on Saturday, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement-Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) said that the joint mission gave its bases in Maleet and Malha areas of North Darfur state to the RSF militia in flagrant breach to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed between the Government of Sudan (GoS) and the UNIMID.

The two groups further called on the international community to "strongly condemn this unlawful act and urge UN and AU to ask the Government of Sudan to order the RSF to immediately evacuate" these bases.

The SOFA "stipulates that any property left by the UNAMID should be handed over to local authorities to be used for civilian purposes only," reads the joint statement.

The two groups further claimed that the Sudanese government militia is using the two sites, which are not far from the Libyan border, against the innocent civilians.

"The RSF have already arrested more than 700 individuals in these two localities," they said.

The Sudanese president earlier this year has integrated the RSF in the army, as part of the government efforts to disarm civilians and tribal militias in the region.

The militia was reconstituted in 2014 from the notorious Janjaweed that terrorized civilians in during the first years of Darfur crisis.

(ST)

September 8, 2017 (KAMPALA) - The Centre for Peace and Justice (CPJ) has condemned an attack that occurred at a police post in South Sudan's Western Lake state, describing is as an “unlawful act”.

Map detail showing South Sudan's Lakes state in red

Thursdays' attack allegedly carried out by armed youth in the capital, Rumbek left seven people dead and eight others injured.

CPJ's coordinator, Tito Anthony urged South Sudanese authorities to investigate motives behind attacks that occurred at the police post.

"I call on youth in Western Lakes state not to take the law into their hands, instead they should address all their issue and grievances in a legal way to avoid being called criminal or robbers,” said Tito.

He appealed to South Sudanese authorities to investigate the incident and hold those who attacked the police post responsible.

"The state government must be keen in addressing community issues in a good way. State officials should not take sides in the conflict because of their tribal background or where they belong,” said Tito.

He said grievances between community members and state officials should equally be treated without favoring any side of the conflict.

"If there is any dispute between the community and one of senior state official than that state official must be discharged to avoid confrontation with the community,” stressed the CPJ coordinator.

The state information minister, Shadrack Bol Machok, said the attack happened when armed pastoralists raided cows inside Rumbek town and drove toward Chueicok, prompting security forces to respond before being attacked by the youth.

The people of South Sudan's Western Lakes state have, in recent months, shown resistance to Governor Matur Chut Dhuol over his methods of administration.

(ST)

September 9, 2017 (NYALA) - Sudan's Health Minister Bahr Idriss Abu Garda Saturday arrived in Nyala to inspect the health situation after the reported increase of increase of Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) in the South Darfur state.

Independent doctors groups and activists speak about a cholera outbreak in the western Sudan region and other states but government officials deny this diagnosis, stressing it is about AWD cases and they are working to control the situation

Following his arrival, Abu Garda told reporters that health authorities at the state and federal levels managed to control the epidemic in the different areas where it appeared. He added that the situation in South Darfur requires a cooperation between his ministry and the state.

Flanked by several officials who came with him from Khartoum, the minister, visited Kass locality, 80 km west of Nyala, after reports of an increase in AWD cases in the area.

During a visit to Kass hospital, he pledged to exert needed efforts to eradicate the disease.

Last Wednesday South Darfur government set up a high-level body to work with the state health ministry's emergency committee to tackle the increasing AWD cases that have hit large parts of the state.

Dozens of people were killed, especially in the localities of Sharq Jabel Marra, Ed al-Fursan, Katyla, Kass, and Bielel, as well as a number of neighbourhoods in Nyala.

In a joint report released last August, the Sudanese ministry of health and the World Health Organization (WHO) s additional 36,000 to 40,000 AWD cases over the next six to nine months.

(ST)

September 10, 2017 (JUBA) - A former South Sudanese newspaper editor claimed he survived an assassination attempt, a situation that highlighted the level of insecurity in the country's capital Juba.

Nhial Bol Aken, The Citizen newspaper's editor-chief in Juba (ST)

Nhial Bol Aken claimed two members of the presidential guards attacked him at his Thongpiny house on Saturday morning but was rescued by police officers guarding two commercial banks.

“Soldiers attacked me in my house in Thongpiny at 02:00 am this morning but with help of my son, I managed to escape what I considered coordinated attacked against my life. First, they pulled the main gate, entered the compound then started calling me by name, Nhial where are you?” Aken noted in a statement issued Sunday.

When asked to identify themselves, one reportedly replied, “I am Majak and we are soldiers, come out, we want you. I looked out and I saw one of them with AK 47, wearing a tiger uniform”.

The veteran journalist said the soldiers decided to vacate his premises after neighbours came out, but one was apprehended.

“When the two [soldiers] saw neighbours coming [while] calling [them] thieves, one of them in uniform ran to the northwest of the road from my house, but the other solider who called himself Majak run eastwards of the road and the neighbours with support of the police protecting Charter 1 Bank managed to arrest him, said Aken.

A case, the veteran editor said, is registered at a police station in northern division and that Majak told police he was a member of the presidential guard unit.

(ST)

September 20, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - A number of Sudanese officials have expressed optimism over the full lift of more than 20 years of U.S. sanctions against Khartoum.

The US imposed comprehensive sanctions on Sudan in 1997 (US Embassy in Khartoum website)

Washington is involved in a five-track engagement process with the Sudan over the permanent lift of sanctions on Sudan. The process includes the fight against terrorism, Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), Sudan's role in the peace process in South Sudan, Sudan's peace and the humanitarian situation in Darfur region, the South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

Last January, former U.S. President Barack Obama issued an executive order easing the Sudan sanctions on a probationary basis. The sanctions relief was to become permanent on 12 July unless the U.S. Administration acted to stop it.

President Donald Trump, in a new executive order issued on 11 July, moved that deadline back by three months, while keeping the temporary sanctions relief in place, citing the need to take more time to assess the robust process.

Sudan's presidential assistant Awad al-Jaz told the Russian news agency Sputnik that statements by some U.S. officials indicate that they don't see any reason for maintaining the sanctions on Sudan.

“There are reports from both sides and there are joint committees and part of these economic sanctions was lifted in June this year,” he said.

“The joint committees are still meeting with each other, and there are statements from U.S. officials indicating that they find no reason to keep these sanctions on Sudan,” he added.

Al-Jaz pointed out that the government adapted to living under the sanctions regime since 1997, saying they eventually sat with the U.S. at the negotiating table to reach an agreement.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese Chargé affairs to Washington Muawiya Osman Khalid has expressed his optimism over the lift of U.S. sanctions on Sudan.

He told the pro-government Ashorooq TV that he expects further rapprochement between Khartoum and Washington during the coming period.

Khalid said the recent visit by the U.S. businessmen to Sudan came within the framework of exploring the economic opportunities ahead of the full lift of sanctions.

He added the visits of a number of the Sudanese delegations to Washington were intended to lay out the Sudanese point of view and introduce Sudan in various economic and cultural fields.

“We are confident that we are embarking on a better era in relations that would pave the road for more rapprochement and joint action between the two countries,” he said.

It is noteworthy that a number of U.S. officials have visited Sudan recently to assess the implementation of the five-track engagement process.

During a visit to Sudan late last month, the head of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mark Green said his country is keen to normalise relations with Sudan and promote cooperation in the various fields.

(ST)

September 9, 2017 (JUBA) – A member of South Sudan's armed opposition faction (SPLM-IO) has decried the ongoing rivalry among the country's various ruling party factions, saying it was giving the Juba government an advantage to continue remaining in power.

Lt. Gen. Thomas Cirino Swaka, the ex-SPLA deputy chief of general staff for training (youtube photo)

The armed opposition's deputy spokesman, Lam Paul Gabriel on Saturday claimed the National Salvation Front (NAS) forces loyal to Gen. Thomas Cirilo have been attacking their forces instead of working together to achieve aims for which they all took up arms.

“The forces NAS under the command of Gen. Peter Yugu in Lobonok, who pledged allegiance to NAS, executed 03 SPLA IO soldiers hailing from Eastern Equatoria in Ayii Payam. 1st Lt. Onek Peter Pio survived NAS forces attack. He hails from Hiyala county of the Imatong state where 16 others from eastern Equatoria and some from other regions, mainly SPLA-IO members of ethnic Nuer were killed,” Lam said in a statement in extended to Sudan Tribune.

He added, “The soldiers who lost their lives were staying among their colleagues in Lobonok peacefully until General Thomas defected and formed his movement when life started changing”.

Nine armed opposition members were reportedly arrested and taken to unknown locations, but their fate remained unknown.

“On 1st September, four other colleagues were again arrested, but later decided to escape to Eastern Equatoria but were pursued and attacked by NAS forces on the way around Kit, resulting in the death of three colleagues,” further noted the statement.

Lam, however, urged their forces and intelligence officers to be on high alert, claiming they could face attacks from the other factions.

“The SPLA IO forces around Southern bari, in Kajo keji, Imotong and Wonduruba are being warned to be vigilant of imminent attack from NAS forces. It's crystal clear that NAS has no any intention to fight Juba regime since they received reinforcements from Juba government with the objective to attack IO bases and eliminate its members according to our intelligence”, he further observed.

Meanwhile, the governor of Imatong state, General Oyet Nathaniel condemned the “targeted” killings of officers and men hailing from Imatong state and other nationalities of South Sudan.

“This is not the first time it [the attack] happened. About a month ago, Col. Laku Emmanuel Joko also killed five sons of Imatong and two Nuer, all SPLA-IO soldiers after switching allegiance from Machar's side to Cirillo's faction,” said Oyet.

The accusation comes barely a week after President Salva Kiir extended amnesty to Cirillo, the former army chief of logistics who quit the military to form a rebel movement against the government. He, however, declined President Kiir's amnesty offer.

(ST)

September 10, 2017 (EL-FASHER) - The Egyptian authorities have transferred dozens of Sudanese gold prospectors to Aswan and Cairo for trial, a miner who escaped from Abu Ramad prison told Sudan Tribune.

Workers break rocks at the Wad Bushara gold mine near Abu Delelq in Gadarif State, Wad Bushara on 27 April 2013 (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

Multiple press reports said Egyptian troops on September 3rd have penetrated four kilometres into the Sudanese territory and chased Sudanese gold prospectors south of the disputed Halayb triangle, pointing they arrested 70 of them near Al-Alaki area in Abu Tebak valley.

Also, a resident of North Darfur state who survived the Egyptian raid on Wednesday told Sudan Tribune that 41 gold prospectors, mostly from North Darfur and North Kordofan states, have been kidnapped by the Egyptian troops.

Badr al-Din Badawi, a miner who was arrested during the raid told Sudan Tribune via a satellite phone that he managed to escape from Abu Ramad prison as the Egyptian authorities were transferring the gold prospectors to prisons in Cairo and Aswan in preparation for their appearance before the court.

He pointed out that the Egyptian troops allowed some miners to contact their families and the governor of the Red Sea state to notify them that they have been detained at Abu Ramad prison.

“The Egyptian troops took miners out of Abu Ramad prison at 10:00 pm on Saturday to transfer them to Aswan or Cairo for trial,” he said.

Badawi appealed to the Sudanese authorities at the state and federal level to move quickly, saying “the miners were kidnapped from within Sudanese territory”.

“The government must come here to determine where this territory belongs …the [federal] government imposes taxes on us through the government of the Red Sea state,” he said.

He further disclosed that the Egyptian troops which attacked the miners have burned 14 camps and seized all their equipment.

In August 2015, Egyptian authorities released 37 Sudanese gold prospectors after being held for 5 months on charges of cross-border infiltration. But their properties estimated at eight million dollars are still held by the Egyptian Army.

The seized properties include metal detectors, GPS equipment, satellite phones, a number of sophisticated compasses, amounts of raw gold, 430 cars and generators.

Relations between Sudan and Egypt are strained due to the disputed Halayeb triangle, Sudan's support to the Ethiopian dam, and the ban of Egyptian agricultural products.

The Halayeb triangle, which includes the three main towns of Halayeb, Abu Ramad and Shalatin, stretches over 21,000 square kilometres. It has been a contentious issue between Egypt and Sudan since 1958, shortly after Sudan gained its independence from the British-Egyptian rule in January 1956.

The area has been under Cairo's full military control since the mid-1990's following a Sudanese-backed attempt to kill the former Egyptian President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak.

(ST)

September 10, 2017 (YAMBIO) – A senior commander of South Sudan National Liberation Movement (SSNLM), a rebel entity operating in Gbudue was reportedly killed together with several of his body guards on Sunday.

The map of Western Equatoria in red

The army, an official disclosed, killed Brig General, James Kabila after he declined to respond to calls from state authorities to be probed over last week's murder of a World Vision staff in Yambio town.

Kabila was a prime suspect in the killing of Thomas Kumbayo, a World Vision staff last seen at an entertainment center near the town.

Gbudue state information minister, Gibson Wande said a special force comprising of the South Sudanese army (SPLA) and security operatives shot Kabila and his body guards after he turned down a request to be peacefully taken to a security office for questioning.

“He [Kabila] refused and ordered his body guards to open fire which resulted into his death and his body guards, but his wives and children were safe,” the minister told the state-owned Yambio FM.

Wande, however, described the killing of the senior SSNLM commander as an “isolated” incident that would have no impact on last year's peace accord between government and the group.

According to the minister, already underway is a plan to have members of the former rebel re-integrated into the national army.

He said the security situation in Yambio town was now calm and urged citizens to continue with normal work and business activities.

Attacks against humanitarian and relief personnel constitute to the war crimes, according to international humanitarian law. Over 80 humanitarian aid workers have reportedly been killed in South Sudan ever since the crisis started in December 2013.

(ST)

September 10, 2017 (KHARTOUM)- In a recent meeting with the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP), the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North al-Hilu (SPLM-N al-Hilu) explained its position on the self-determination reiterated its commitment to the unity of Sudan, said an African Union official on Sunday.

In March 2017, the Nuba Mountains Liberation Council (NMLC) rejected the resignation of al-Hilu from his position as the SPLM-N deputy chairman and announced its support to the right of self-determination, and refused to disband the SPLA-N during the interim period.

Furthermore, the NMLC decided to remove Yasir Arman from the position of secretary general and chief negotiator of the rebel group in support of al-Hilu who accused Arman of accepting the dissolution of the Movement's army during the transitional period and refusing to include the self-determination in the SPLM-N's position paper to the negotiations.

The two tools are seen by al-Hilu as the only guarantee for the full implementation of any peace agreement they would sign with the government.

Mahmoud Kan, AU representative in Khartoum, told the semi-official Sudanese Media Center (SMC) that the SPLM-N al-Hilu delegation held a "successful meeting" with the AUHIP mediators in Addis Ababa on 28 August.

Regarding the self-determination, Kan said the delegation explained that this claim is intended to address the root causes of the crisis in the Two Areas and does not mean to separate from Sudan.

The SPLM-N al-Hilu wants "a Sudan united on the basis of the Movement's conditions related to the recognition of religious rights and particularities of the people in the Two Areas, the rights of people in the Two Areas (for developments) and not to apply the Islamic law on Christians in the two Areas," the African Union official said according to SMC.

The Sudanese government called on the SPLM-N al-Hilu to resume negotiations under the auspice of African mediators but the rebel group says its priority for the time been is to hold a general conference next October and adopt new programme and structures before negotiations.

Khartoum stresses its readiness to resume talks on the basis of a framework agreement signed with the SPLM-N negotiating team headed by Arman.
But it is not clear whether it would accept the addition of clauses of self-determination and maintaining the SPLA-N during an interim period.

(ST)