Africa

December 22, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan and Ethiopia expressed the need to settle border issues and develop bilateral cooperation to fit with the strong relations between the people of the two neighbouring countries.

Sudanese and Ethiopian delegations started in Khartoum on Wednesday the meetings of the Ethiopia-Sudan High-Level Political Committee to discuss bilateral cooperation and recent border clashes.

The visiting Ethiopian delegation was chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonen while the Cabinet Affairs Minister Omer Munis chaired Sudanese side.

In his speech at the opening session of the bilateral political committee, Mekonen said the Sudanese military operations led to the death of several civilians, destroyed their belongings and farms.

The Ethiopian government is "very much concerned by this recent development in the border areas. Furthermore, it is endangering the agreements we have reached to maintain the status quo in the area north of Mount Dagelish," he said in his speech extended to Sudan Tribune.

"Therefore, it is our firm position that reactivating the existing mechanisms and finding an amicable solution on settlement and cultivation are the only way to bring a lasting solution to the issues in our common border," further said the minister who is from the Amhara region.

The minister did not raise the recent cross border attacks by the Ethiopian army of the Fano militiamen against the Sudanese army inside its territory which are seen by the Sudanese side as the main issue of discord.

Sudanese officials also were dismayed with the accusations directed by Ethiopian lawmakers accusing Sudan of backing the TPLF fighters despite the assurances made by Al-Burhan during his visit to Addis Ababa in November 2020.

Addressing the opening session of the committee's meeting, Munis indicated "the strong political will of the two parties to demarcate the borders between the two countries," said the office of the Sudanese prime minister.

The Sudanese official reaffirmed the historical and strong relations between the two countries and underscored that the meeting would determine a date for the start of the border demarcation process.

This will contribute to "Resolving the outstanding issues between the two parties regarding the issue of borders," he stressed.

The government spokesman Faisal Mohamed Saleh made things more clear about the position of his country when he told reports in Khartoum that the most important now is to demarcate the border.

"When the borders are demarcated, we can discuss anything, including the issue of Ethiopian farmers on the Sudanese territory. This is the official position of the Sudanese government," he stressed.

During a recent meeting for the IGAD countries in Djibouti, the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed thanked the bloc leaders for their support for his government to quell the dissent in Tigray and to preserve Ethiopia's integrity.

In a related development, the Ethiopian Minister of Transport Dagmawit Moges discussed with her Sudanese counterpart, ways to develop Ethiopian use for Port Sudan.

Moges also discussed with the Sudanese Minister of Energy and Mining, Khairy Abdel-Rahman the supply and distribution of oil products as well as possible projects that the two countries can jointly develop.

(ST)

December 22, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - Three civilians have been injured during several attacks by soldiers belonging to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Bobaya village, South Kordofan last week, a local group said on Tuesday.

The attacks took place as part of government raids against those suspected to be sympathizers with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), a rebel group led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu. Two of the victims survived with injuries to their limbs while the third victim, a herder, is being treated for a gunshot wound to the abdomen.

The Human Rights and Development Organization (HUDO) has released a statement calling for the Sudanese government to investigate the incidents and hold the responsible officers accountable for violating civilians' right to life.

The statement also calls for “Sudan government at the state and central level to urgently investigate the state of insecurity in South Kordufan/Nuba Mountains and to solve it urgently.”

Despite the cases being reported to local Dilling police, the investigations have not been followed upon.

“Currently, there is a lot of insecurity in Nuba Mountains/ South Kordufan State than before… This raised fear among residents that more attacks may happen,” the organization added.

(ST)

A lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene services have put approximately 250,000 children, displaced by escalating crises in a northern province of Mozambique, at risk from deadly diseases, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned. 

Reports of artillery strikes on civilians and mass killings of non-combatants in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, must be investigated and full access granted to independent investigators, UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Tuesday. 

December 21, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan shut its borders to travellers coming from Britain, South Africa and the Netherlands due to fears about a highly infectious variant of coronavirus.

“The Civil Aviation Authority notified all carrier companies operating in Sudan to implement the decision from December 23, 2020, until January 5, 2021,” reads a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Monday.

The ban on passengers coming from the three countries is applicable regardless of their nationalities, or whether they are arriving through direct or indirect flights, further said the statement.

The new variant of coronavirus is more able to transmit the respiratory disease than other variants.

The new variant appeared first in London last September but cases of the new strain were also detected in the Netherlands in early December.

It is worth noting that many European countries have cut transport links with the UK. However, some of them such as Italy and Germany say they identified cases of the new strain.

(ST)

South Sudan's FVP Riek Machar (Reuters photo)

December 21, 2020 (DJIBOUTI) – The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has lifted travel restrictions imposed on South Sudan's First Vice President Riek Machar.

The decision, reached during the 38th Extra-Ordinary Summit of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the regional bloc (IGAD) held in Djibouti on Sunday, implies that the South Sudanese opposition leader is now free to travel to any of the IGAD member states.

The summit mainly discussed ongoing regional peace and security initiatives.

“[The Assembly Heads of State and Government] underscored that currently there are no travel restrictions of any kind imposed by IGAD on the First Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan, Dr Riek Machar Teny,” partly reads a communique issued at the end of the summit.

The IGAD member countries are Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti and Eritrea.

Meanwhile, regional leaders attending the summit congratulated the South Sudan's transitional government of national unity and the parties for “commendable progress” made in the implementation of the revitalised agreement on resolution of the country's conflict.

The summit further applauded the progress made in the formation of state and local government structures, in particular the appointment of nine out of the 10 state governors, as well as the agreement on the allocation of positions at state and county levels.

The meeting, convened by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok of Sudan, also Chairperson of the IGAD Assembly, was attended by Presidents Ismail Omar Guelleh (Djibouti), Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), Mohamed Abdullahi (Somalia), Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, South Sudan's Vice President, Nyandeng and Uganda's envoy to Djibouti, Ambassador Rebecca Otengo.

(ST)

Novatus and Onyango describe the challenges faced by men as victims of rape in Africa.

December 21, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese army on Monday expelled Ethiopian troops and militiamen from Salam Br area on the Sudanese side of the international border between the two countries.

The border area on Monday witnessed fierce clashes between the Sudanese army and the Ethiopian forces which led to the death of a soldier and several other wounded.

"The Sudanese army has continued its military operations to regain control of the agricultural areas, as it penetrated to Greater Fashaga after recapturing Abu Teyyour area," military sources told the Sudan Tribune correspondent.

"An army force took the control of two camps for Ethiopian troops and militias in the Salam Br area," the sources further said.

The Ethiopian forces built two large camps for several years ago in Salam Br, 15 km inside the Sudanese border.

The Ethiopian troops, from the Amhara region, waged severe attacks on the Sudanese army since last April.

The outbreak of the Tigray crisis and a recent attack on a Sudanese force patrolling the border triggered Khartoum's decision to control the whole international border in line with the 1902 agreement.

In the same context, the Sudanese army deployed its troops in Mahaj area, which is located south of Lugdi town, of the Tigray region.

The army reported that an Ethiopian militia, presumably Fano militiamen, attacked Alosra area inside the Sudanese border. They shot a shepherd in the area.

Amhara militiamen have played a significant role in the fight against the TPLF fighters of Tigray.

A joint committee from Sudan and Ethiopia will meet to discuss the border issue on Tuesday.

(ST)

An Italian pathologist is trying to identify the migrants on a boat that sank in the Mediterranean in 2015.

December 21, 2020 (WASHINGTON) - U.S. lawmakers finally approved a bill reinstating Sudan's sovereign immunity for after months of political wrangling.

The legislation which was endorsed by both chambers of the U.S. Congress was released as part of US government funding bill and sent to President Donald Trump to sign into law.

The 'Sudan Claims Resolution Act' would quash all terror-related claims in court with the exception of 9/11 cases currently pending.

The U.S. will also pay a portion of the 1998 embassy bombings victims $150 million to settle their claims. They constitute African victims who have later acquired US citizenship.

Furthermore, Sudan stands to receive hundreds of millions of dollars from the U.S. under the funding bill including debt relief and other economic assistance.

According to the bill, the U.S. will disburse $111 million to pay off part of Sudan's bilateral debt, and $120 to help pay off its debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Also, the legislation provides to support Sudan with $700 million until September 2022.

The Sudanese government signed a bilateral claims agreement with the United States last month that stipulated removing Sudan from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism and passing the ‘legal peace' bill in return for paying $335 million to settle with the victims of terror attacks.

The deal covers the 1998 bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the attack against the USS Cole off the port of Aden in 2000 as well as the 2008 killing of USAID employee in Khartoum.

But the Senate Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer and the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee insisted that the initially proposed bill extinguishes potential claims by 9/11 families and offered their own versions that allow them to go after Sudan in courts.

Sudan warned the U.S. that its agreement on normalization with Israel will not hold unless the sovereign immunity bill is passed. This also prompted Israeli officials to lobby U.S. lawmakers to salvage the deal.

(ST)

Scores of Malian refugees in Burkina Faso have returned to a camp in the northeast of the country nine months after armed attacks and threats forced them to flee to a neighbouring town, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Monday. 

Research has revealed that the use of mobile phones whilst driving is one of the major causes of road crashes in the Ashanti Region. The Ashanti Regional Police Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD) has therefore vowed to stop drivers from using mobile phones whilst driving in the region.

An Accra Circuit Court has sentenced a welder to a fine of GH cent;2,400. 00 for stealing items belonging to a soldier. In default, Abdul Razak Salifu, 38, would serve five years imprisonment in hard labour.

There was drama at an Accra Circuit Court when 32 alleged secessionists discharged by the court were re-arrested and escorted to the Police headquarters. When the case was called on Monday, the Prosecution led by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sylvester Asare, informed the Court that they were withdrawing the charges leveled against the accused.

Residents of Aboadze and Abuesi, two fishing communities in the Shama District of the Western Region have been battling with perennial water shortage for the past nine months. Trekking to the Volta River Authority (VRA) area and to Inchaban, a nearby town with the yellow gallons, popularly known as 39;Kufuor gallons, 39; in search of water have become a daily routine for the residents, particularly women and children.

The Supreme Court has adjourned indefinitely the case seeking an interpretation of the extent of the powers of the Auditor General vis- agrave;-vis the Audit Service Board. This was due to the failure of the four lawyers in the matter to abide by the court 39;s orders to file their joint memorandum of issues.

An international operation coordinated jointly by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the international police organization INTERPOL has disrupted trafficking networks that supply terrorist groups across West Africa and the Sahel, the UN agency reported on Monday. 

With a week to go until elections are scheduled to take place in the Central African Republic (CAR), the UN is concerned about an escalation of armed attacks, amid reports that armed groups have taken control of towns near the capital, Bangui.

Ethiopia's prime minister says no civilians were killed in the Tigray conflict. Three witnesses say otherwise.

Claims about the US president-elect are among misinformation being widely shared during an election.