Africa

An ex-BBC reporter recounts his experience of Sunday's deadly hotel siege in Mogadishu, and his friend's death.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for the immediate restoration of constitutional order and the rule of law in Mali, after mutinying troops arrested the country’s leader and other senior officials on Tuesday.

August 18, 2020 (KHARTOUM)- Sudanese government and the SPLM-N led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu will resume peace talks next Thursday, said the spokesman of the mediation on Tuesday.

Dhieu Matouk, the Rapporteur de la South Sudanese mediation told the official Sudan News Agency that the agreement was reached during a meeting with the negotiating team of the SPLM-N al-Hilu on Tuesday morning.

Matouk said that the two parties will resume discussions on the declaration of principles from where they had stopped.

"Perhaps the issues of humanitarian aid and the cessation of hostilities will be discussed," he added.

Talks are deadlocked on the relationship between religion and state, as the SPLM-N al-Hilu says that this issue should be discussed in the talks. But the government says it should be discussed in the constitutional conference.

On 22 June, the government said it had received an invitation from South Sudan's mediation to resume negotiations with the SPLM-N al-Hilu.

At the time, the spokesman for the government negotiating delegation, Mohamed Hassan Eltaishi said that the meeting agenda includes three items: cessation of hostilities, humanitarian assistance, pursuing the negotiations on the declaration of principles.

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August 18, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese government on Tuesday disavowed statements by the official spokesman of the foreign ministry about ongoing contacts with Jerusalem over the normalization of bilateral relations between Sudan and Israel.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman Haydar Badawi Sadiq on Tuesday morning welcomed the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Also, in statements to several Arab media, he expressed his support for normalization and peace with Israel stressing that his country is looking forward to peace with Israel.

In a short statement released in the evening, the acting foreign minister said they "learned with astonishment" the statements of Haydar Badawi Sadiq, the ministry's spokesman, about normalizations with Israel.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Sudan confirms that the issue of relations with Israel was never discussed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," said Omer Gamar-Eldin.

"Ambassador Haidar Badawi was not assigned to make any statements about this matter".

The statements of the foreign ministry spokesman were the main topic of discussion in Sudanese forums and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed his statement while the Palestinian officials slammed the move.

On 3 February 2020, the head of the Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan met with the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Uganda to discuss ways to normalize bilateral relations.

However, he backtracked upon his return to Khartoum saying Sudan foreign policy should be decided only by the civilian government of Abdallah Hamdok, according to the transitional constitution.

Other political groups said that the transitional government has a limited mandate and only an elected government can take a decision in this respect.

Late on Tuesday, the spokesman said he made his statement about the normalization of relations with Israel "as a free Sudanese citizen, the Revolution enabled him to speak his mind".

Before to add " because I felt that the Foreign Ministry was absent and left in the dark regarding this file" and referred to what al-Burhan said after his meeting with Netanyahu.

"I did not say more than that al-Burhan put Sudan on the right track with his meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister," he added.

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Mounting violence in Burkina Faso has forced more than one million people to flee their homes: 453,000 so far this year alone, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reported on Tuesday, citing government figures.

August 17, 2020 (JUBA) - The head of the National Democratic Movement, Lam Akol Monday voiced concerns about the missed timelines in the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement and proposed a number of measures to catch up with the time.

On 22 August will mark the sixth month into the transitional period for the implementation of the levitated peace pact of 12 September 2018 that ended a five year period of civil war in the young nation.

The agreement included an implementation matrix for the formation of transitional institutions and reforms to be implemented before to hold a free and fair general election after 30 months of transition.

In a letter to the signatories of the agreement on Monday seen by Sudan Tribune, Akol said 67 of the activities that were to be implemented during the first six months of the transitional period have been missed.

“This is a very serious matter. As you are aware, implementation activities are interconnected and non-implementation of some will cause delays of the implementation of subsequent ones;” he said.

He said that to catch up with time, they can do several things simultaneously instead of doing it one after another as it is the case currently.

He proposed to form 4 committees to accelerate the implementation of the security arrangements, economic and humanitarian matters, constitution-making process and transitional justice.

He further proposed the immediate ratification of the Constitutional Amendment Bill and President Kiir assent the transitional constitution once ratified.

NDM leader further suggested reconstituting the legislative assembly and the Council of States.

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The UN in Somalia has strongly condemned a terrorist attack that took place on Sunday at the Elite Hotel in the capital Mogadishu, which reportedly killed at least 16 people and left many others injured.     

August 17, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - The Governor of Khartoum State slammed the excessive use of violence by the police forces to disperse the "Inventory" march in Khartoum.

On Monday, the Resistance Committees organized protests on the first anniversary of the signing of the Constitutional Declaration between the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) and the dissolved Military Transitional Council. The text set the goals of the transitional period and determined a timetable to implement it.

The protesters wanted to show their anger over the delayed implementation of the transitional agenda in terms of peace, democratic reforms and particularly justice as the government has failed until now to hold accountable those who killed civilians during the revolution.

"I express my deep sorrow over the events that took place in the Inventory processions organised by the revolutionary forces," said the governor of Khartoum, Ayman Khaled, said in a statement on Monday.

The Attorney General Taj al-Sir al-Hiber and prosecutors supervising the police forces said that the dispersal of the protest was based on their appreciation of the security situation, Khaled further said.

"But despite these justifications, I see that the use of force was excessive, and contradicts our approach in the era of freedom, peace and justice," he stressed.

The police forces used tear gas to disperse protesters who sought to storm the premises of the cabinet office in Khartoum after refusing to hand over their memo to a member of Hamdok's office demanding that he personally come to meet them.

The police arrested 77 protesters who were released later during the day.

The governor called on the Attorney General to investigate the use of force to disperse the protesters.

The police issued a statement saying its forces acted in line with the law to preserving public order and safety of government officials and public institutions.

Abdel Aziz al-Hilu the leader of the SPLM-N issued a statement to voice his support for Monday protest.

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August 17, 2020 (JUBA) - The Sudanese government and the SPLM-N of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SPLM-N SRF) Monday initialled an agreement on security arrangements, ahead of initialling a comprehensive peace agreement between the government and the SRF in Juba on 28 August.

The initial signing ceremony took place in Juba, in the presence of a delegation from the Sudanese Sovereign Council and the Sudanese Minister of Defence, who led the government negotiating delegation, Yasir Arman the Movement Deputy Chairman and head of its negotiating delegation, in addition to the South Sudanese mediation, a Chadian delegation and another from the United Arab Emirates.

The agreement, seen by Sudan Tribune, dealt with the integrating the SPLM-N SFR led by Malik Agar into the Sudanese army and in three phases to be achieved within 39 months.

The first stage will deal with the integration process of the SPLM-N combatants which should be effective in 12 months starting from signing the agreement process.

During the second phase, the SPLA-N fighters will remain in the area under the command of the Sudanese army for 14 months before to redeploy its units in other parts of the country for 13 months.

At the end of the 39-moth period, the SPLA-N will units will be totally dismantled.

The agreement further says that the agreement will be enforced, monitored and control the implementation of the security arrangements: the Security and Defence Council, the Sovereign Council and cabinet and the Security and Defence Committee at the transitional parliament.

The defence and security council will set general plans for reforming, modernizing and developing the Sudanese army, the Sovereign Council and the cabinet will watch the implementation process and provide the needed fund and means while the parliament will control it.

The Sudanese Minister of Defence and the head of the negotiating team said that the integration of the SPLA-N fighters "will make the army more coherent, strong and ready to deal with any threats to the security of the homeland".

Yassin Ibrahim further stressed that the security arrangements agreement should motivate and encourages other non-signatory groups to join the peace process for the sake of developing and building Sudan.

For his part, the Movement's deputy chairman and head of its negotiating delegation said that the security arrangements agreement came in line with the spirit of the revolution and its objectives in reforming, the military and security sectors, without which Sudanese will not build a civil state.

"Sudan will not join the club of countries that have collapsed, such as Libya, Yemen and Somalia (..) We are here to benefit from these experiences and lead our country towards new dawn (...)," Yasir Arman further said.

The mediation is expected to use this agreement as a model for security arrangements agreements to be signed with the other armed groups.

Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, the head of the other SPLM-N group issued a statement Monday, saying that what is taking place in Juba is "an attempt to achieve a partial peace that does not address the root causes of the Sudanese crisis, and will not lead to a real peace that restores security, peace and stability."

He further stressed that his movement sticks to its demand to build a secular, democratic, decentralized system that preserves the rights of all its population.

Hemetti met Monday with the leaders of the SRF leaders in the presence of the South Sudanese Chief Mediator Tut Galtuak.

Dhieu Matouk the mediation's rapporteur announced that the mediation has set a timetable for completing the talks on the security arrangements in Darfur and reviewing some papers regarding political and national issues in the tracks of Darfur and the Two Areas.

He added that Galtuak had announced on Monday morning that the initial signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement will take place on the 28th of August.

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August 16, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - The Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Irrigation in Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia have agreed to resume difficult negotiations on the Renaissance Dam next Tuesday.

The minister of the three riparian countries held a videoconference meeting on Sunday convened by South African Foreign Minister, the current chair of the African Union, after the postponement of the talks for a week on the request of the Sudanese government.

"At the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Africa, we the Foreign and Irrigation Ministers of Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia, agreed in a meeting held on Sunday to resume negotiations next Tuesday," said Foreign Minister Omer Gamar Eldin.

Gamar Eldin added that the parties agreed to compile their positions papers in one document with the support of African Union experts and observers.

"The draft will be submitted to the AU chairman to review it and considering if it can become a basis for an agreement between the three countries," he added.

For its part, the Irrigation ministry said in a separate statement that Sudan demanded returning to the agenda set by the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, in his letter of August 4, 2020, and included in the report of African experts submitted to the African mini-summit on July 24, 2020.

The report recommended a legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the GERD and ensured "Ethiopia's right to freely develop future upstream projects as long as they are in accordance with international law".

In Cairo, the foreign ministry issued a statement saying that during the meeting Egypt stressed the need to conclude a legally binding agreement that regulates the filling and operation of the Renaissance Dam.

The deal should "preserves the rights of the three countries, secures their water interests, and limits the impact of this dam and its effects on the two downstream countries".

Ethiopia sovereign rights

Speaking in a virtual meeting with the Ethiopian in the Nile River riparian countries on 15 August, foreign minister Gedu Andargachew stressed that the Renaissance Dam "corrects historical imbalances" in the use of the Nile water.

"The minister said since the Nile river basin holds 2/3 of Ethiopia's water resources, utilizing it is a matter of sovereignty and an essential requirement for the development of the country," further said a statement issued by the Ethiopian foreign ministry.

Ethiopian Diaspora contributes to financing the $4 billion hydropower dam being built on Blue Nile river.

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August 16, 2020 (JUBA) - The Sudanese government and the SPLM-N of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front led by Malik Agar reached an agreement on security arrangements in the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains states, paving the way for the signing of a comprehensive peace agreement in Juba.

Sudan Tribune learned from a source close to the talks that the agreement was completed on Sunday evening following a series of meetings between the two delegations chaired by Defence Minister Yassin Ibrahim and SPLM-N Chief Negotiator Yasir Arman.

"The two parties have also agreed on a mechanism to reform the military and security establishment, according to which there will be one professional and a non-politicized army that reflects the Sudanese diversity," the source said.

Earlier on Sunday, Dhieu Matouk the Mediation Rapporteur and its official spokesperson announced that the two parties finalized an agreement on the integration of the SPLM-N combatants the forces in the security arrangements file, the path of the two regions, and the mechanisms for developing and modernizing the armed forces and security services remained.

The two sides had already discussed the security arrangements. The weekend meetings discussed the pending issues.

"This is the first agreement to be finalized between the government and an armed group under the mediation of South Sudan, which is a good diplomatic victory for Juba also," stressed the source which is not authorized to speak the press.

The security arrangements are the last issue on the negotiating table in the Juba mediated process for peace in Sudan.

Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hemetti) Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council and head of the government negotiating delegation will arrive in Juba on Monday flanked by Shams al-Din Kabbashi and Mohamed Hassan Eltaishi two members of the Sovereign Council and the negotiating team.

In a related development, a delegation of the Forces for Freedom and Change will arrive in Juba Monday for talks with the Sudanese Revolutionary Front to discuss preparation of an FFC conference on ways to reform the ruling coalition and build a solid structure.

The delegation includes Omer al-Digair, of the Sudanese Congress Party, Mariam al-Mahdi of the National Umma Party.

The SRF agreed earlier to take part in this conference.

Matouk expected that Hemetti arrival to Juba, on Monday, will accelerate the negotiation process in preparation for the initial signing of the comprehensive peace agreement that "will take place soon" as he said.

Last Month the Higher Peace Council in Khartoum held a series of meeting to determine to the government position on the security arrangements.

The rapporteur of the mediation revealed that the drafting committee tasked with the preparation of the negotiating paper on the security arrangement in Darfur will hand it to the government, SRF and SLM of Minni Minnawi on Monday.

Talks on the security arrangements in Darfur also will be limited to the sticky points in this file.

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From banking, to food delivery, and taxi bookings, Uganda is rapidly becoming accustomed to many of the online tools that are commonplace in developed economies, and which don’t rely on face-to-face interactions. The UN is supporting this shift, as a way to help developing economies recover from the global economic crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Millions of lives could be lost to hunger in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), amid escalating conflict and worsening COVID-19 transmission, the UN emergency food relief agency has warned, urging the international community to step up support for the African nation.

In the remote Lamu region, on the northeast coast of Kenya, quality healthcare is hard to come by. Every month, medical staff from Safari Doctors, an NGO founded by Umra Omar, set sail on a boat filled with medicines, to provide free basic medicines to hundreds of marginalized inhabitants in several coastal villages.

Enoch Adeboye riles social media critics with his views on women, but this has not dented his standing.

The UN official working to end rape during wartime is urging authorities in Somalia to scrap a proposed law that allows for child marriage, among other “very disturbing provisions”.

Recent clashes in Sudan’s Western Darfur region has driven more than 2,500 people across the border into neighbouring Chad, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has reported.

A ban on drinking highlights a legacy of the country's racist past but threatens its economic future.

Two UN agencies are calling for greater action to dismantle smuggling and trafficking networks following the deaths of 27 migrants off the coast of Mauritania, northwest Africa.

 new “surge team” of leading UN health experts is on its way to South Africa to ramp up the COVID-19 response there, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.