Africa

July 18, 2017 (YEI) - Children suffering from the ongoing violence and poverty in war-torn South Sudan have urged the country's political leaders to restore peace and stability in South Sudan's town of Yei.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir (C) poses for a picture after the government swearing in with his first deputy Riek Machar (R) and second deputy James Wani on 29 April 2016 (Photo Moses Lomayat)

The situation in Yei, located about 150 kilometres south of the capital, Juba is currently dire following last year's outbreak of the violent conflict.

According to the United Nations, 70% of the population in Yei town fled last year after fierce fighting erupted between government and opposition forces, leaving the largely a “ghost” town.

The ongoing conflict in Yei has prevented cultivating crops because of the ongoing insecurity, murders, abductions, rape, and lootings.

Some children are reportedly remaining in Yei town, including a number of orphans who have sought sanctuary at the Catholic founded Christ the King Primary School.

2 MILLION CHILDREN DISPLACED

Over 2,000 children have been killed or injured, and much more have witnessed horrific violence due to the raging civil war in South Sudan, the U.N Children Fund (UNICEF), said in a new report released on the eve of the country's independence.

Millions of children in South Sudan, it said, are suffering unthinkable hardships and setbacks in their education, nutrition, and health.

UNICEF released its report ahead of South Sudan's sixth Independence Day on 9 July.

According to UNICEF, more than two million children have been forced from their homes to escape the fighting in a country with the highest percentage of children out of school, in the world.

South Sudan's war, sparked when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup in 2013, has been marked by numerous atrocities against civilians despite the presence of thousands of UN peacekeeping troops.

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July 19, 2017 (JUBA) - The United Nations says it plans to open a new base in the conflict-hit Yei region of South Sudan if the warring parties allow its peacekeepers unfettered access to outlying villages.

The Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), David Shearer, visited the town yesterday on a mission to assess the needs of the community against the value of establishing a base.

The head of the UN mission in the country (UNMISS), David Shearer said several conditions must be met before the world body commits to a new base, including guaranteed access for peacekeepers to areas outside the town, the cooperation of local authorities, and a grassroots peace process that is genuinely inclusive.

“There's no point just talking to your friends. You have to talk to your enemies too or there will be no peace,” said Shearer.

Yei, an agricultural area that was relatively peaceful, became volatile in 2016 when violence erupted between government and Opposition forces as they fought for control over the strategic region.

Due to the renewed violence, most of the population reportedly fled, leaving Yei a ghost town, which it largely remains today amidst the ongoing violence, human rights abuses, and extreme poverty.

Shearer, however, expressed concerns that Yei region, the former breadbasket of war-torn South Sudan instead needed food aid.

“Everything you would want is here and yet it has been destroyed by war. Seventy per cent of the population is no longer here. They are in refugee camps or displaced.

"That's the real tragedy so whatever we can do to try and support bringing back Yei to what it was, we will try and do,” he said.

Members of Yei State Transitional Legislative Assembly, Christian and Muslim religious leaders, women and youth representatives support the establishment of a new UN base in the town to provide protection and help build a durable peace.

The state assembly speaker, Naphtali Hassen Gale, said there was little evidence of rule of law in the town and many crimes were tolerated instead of being prosecuted.

“This had created a breakdown between the Government and the people and it would take time to restore confidence again,” stressed Gale.

But while a local peace agreement was signed last month, many in the community say, unless killings, abduction, rape and robberies stop, there is little hope of enduring peace or the recovery of the once vibrant and prosperous Yei region.

UNMISS was established on 8 July 2011 by UN Security Council Resolution 1996 (2011). As of August 2015, it comprised of 12,523 total personnel, 11,350 military, and 1,173 police personnel. It is headquartered in the South Sudanese capital Juba.

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July 19, 2017 (WASHINGTON) - U.S. State Department Wednesday once again praised Sudan for its counterterrorism cooperation with the American agencies and described the east African country as a "cooperative partner" despite its designation as a pariah state.

In June 2016 Washington for the first time publically praised Khartoum for its cooperation on counterterrorism. Also in September of last year, it acknowledged Sudan's efforts in the global fight of the Islamic State group.

However, in its annual report on international terrorism for 2016 released on Wednesday, the State Department underscored Sudan's positive cooperation but maintained the east African country in its small list of "State Sponsors of Terrorism" with Iran and Syria.

"(...) Countering terrorism is today a national security priority for Sudan, and Sudan is a cooperative partner of the United States on counterterrorism, despite its continued presence on the State Sponsors of Terrorism List," said the report which is released on Wednesday.

The State Department stated that during the year 2016 there were no terrorist attacks in Sudan. It further said the Sudanese government didn't tolerate or assist terrorist groups during the period covered by this report.

"Reports indicate that the Government of Sudan ceased providing Hamas (with) any direct support as they did in years past," it added.

In its report of 2015, the State Department mentioned Sudan cooperation to counter the terrorist threats but pointed to the declining support for Hamas which had been in the past allowed to raise funds, travel, and live in Sudan.

Following the signing of the five-track framework in 2016, Khartoum has enhanced its cooperation to combat terrorist groups in the region the reports stressed.

"The Sudanese government has taken steps to improve its counterterrorism efforts through enhanced interagency and international cooperation to address the ISIS threat".

Recently, President Donald Trump postponed the lift of economic sanctions on Sudan but underlined Khartoum's cooperation on counterterrorism. The State Department pointed to the need to further discuss human rights, religious freedom and Sudan's commitment to UN sanctions on North Korea.

Being a designated as a sponsor of terror, Sudan remains under a special regime of sanctions including a ban on arms-related exports and sales; controls over exports of dual-use items, prohibitions on economic assistance and imposition of financial and other restrictions.

Sudan was labelled as a State Sponsor of Terrorism on August 12, 1993, for its support to three Palestinian terrorist groups, including the Abu Nidal Organisation, Palestine Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and Hizballah.

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July 19, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudan's rebel leader, Riek Machar said the late Kawac Makuei Mayar, who died last Saturday, deserves a state burial for roles he played in the struggle for self-determination and the independence of South Sudan.

South Sudan's opposition leader Riek Machar speaks during a briefing in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa April 9, 2016 (Photo Reuters/ Tiksa Negeri)

Machar said he learnt of the death of Mayar, a war veteran and one of the founding members of South Sudan's 1983 rebel movement, with sadness.

He described the departed veteran politician as a committed nationalist who fought for self-determination and independence of South Sudan from neighbouring Sudan.

“He [Mayar] shall also be remembered for his courage, honesty and integrity. Above all, he was a friendly person," said Machar on Wednesday.

"He shall be missed not only by his family but all. He was a towering figure in the political life of South Sudan that deserves state burial in recognition of his role”, he added.

Kawac died on Saturday morning in Juba on a return trip from Cairo, Egypt, where he sought medical attention. It was not clear what the illness with which he was battling and the level of severity that took him to Egypt for treatment, and whether or not the death is associated with the condition of his health. The family members have confirmed he died but did not release the detail to the public.

LEGACY OF THE LATE VETERAN COMMANDER

The veteran soldier became a towering figure after taking to the bush and fought in the first, second and third wars as a leader in the Anyanya one during the First Sudanese Civil War in 1955. When the first war ended in 1972 with the signing of the peace agreement in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he decided to return to the bush in 1983 when peace could not meet the expectations of South Sudanese and became one of the founding members of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).

He, however, joined the Anyanya 1 movement between 1962 and 1963 and became a major by the time the Addis Ababa Accord of 1972 was signed. He did not integrate into the Sudanese army but served in the regional government brought by the peace agreement as a member of parliament in Juba. Kawac became Commander of the Jamus battalion in the SPLA, resulting into a successful operation into Wathkec, on the Mouth of the Jonglei Cana, in February 1984 as the commanding officer of Jamus brigade.

His military knowledge and experience reportedly resulted into successful military operations that opened up the way for recruits from Bahr el Ghazal, western and northern Upper Nile regions to pass to the military training camps in Ethiopia.

Kawac inspired and trekked with thousands of recruits from Bahr el Ghazal for a long walk to Ethiopia at the inception of the movement. He fell out with late John Garang, founding leader of the SPLM in September 1984 over the death of Benjamin Bol Akok, a former minister in the regional government in Juba. Late Akok whose death annoyed Kawac and protested it was the first SPLM official representative to the United Kingdom (UK) when the movement was founded. Akok was killed in Ethiopia on his way to London after visiting the headquarters of the SPLM at the Sudan and Ethiopia border. His death caused commotion, resulting in the arrest of commander Kawac in September 1984.

Garang, it is said, feared Kawac would mobilize men he recruited and who formed the majority of the rebel forces against the leadership of the movement in which he also arrested several other influential figures in the movement, centralizing leadership around him.

Kawac left the movement after the split in 1991 forced his release and on 21 April 1997 and he was among southern leaders who signed the Khartoum Peace Agreement of 1997, representing the Bahr al-Ghazal Independence Movement for Southern Sudan. The Agreement provided for self-governance of the south during a transitional period when a referendum would be held on the future form of government. That agreement was boycotted by the faction under the leadership of John Garang with whom he fell out and the left the movement.

He was appointed governor of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State as part of the provisions of the peace agreement. In June 1998 an attack was made on his house, apparently by members of a rival pro-government militia. When the civil war ended in January 2005, Kawac Makuei was appointed Chairperson of the Southern Sudan War Veterans Commission by the Government of South Sudan.

In February 2010, he declared his candidacy for governorship of Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, running on the United Democratic Salvation Front platform. In the April 2010 election, the incumbent Paul Malong Awan of the SPLM got 162,209, General Dau Aturjong Nyuol won 84,452 and Kawac Makuei Kawac trailed with 9,854 votes.

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The United Nations health agency is scaling up cholera response in South Sudan, where 17,785 cases, including 320 deaths, have been reported since the outbreak in June 2106.

Highlighting challenges facing South Sudan, a senior United Nations official today underlined that overcoming obstacles borne of a volatile combination of insecurity and political uncertainty is critical for the war-torn country to be put on the track to peace and stability.

Urgent action is needed now towards the meaningful participation of women in peace processes, as well ensuring their voices are heard in all aspects of society, the United Nations deputy chief told reporters in Abuja today as part of a first-ever UN-African Union trip focused on women, peace and security.

July 19, 2017 (JUBA) - Reporters Without Borders also known as Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) Wednesday has called for the release of the director of South Sudan's state-owned national TV broadcaster, SSBC, detained since nine days ago by the security service.

Adil Faris Mayat (Photo from his page on Twitter)

Adil Faris Mayat has been arrested on 10 July after the station failed to relay a live broadcast of President Salva Kiir's speech during the sixth independence day anniversary held on 9 July.

According to RSF, Mayat attributed this failure of the live broadcast to technical problems. However, the South Sudanese officials were angered considered it as an act meant to undermine the South Sudanese president.

“We call for this journalist's immediate release,” said Cléa Kahn-Sriber, the head of RSF's Africa desk. “Frequent arbitrary measures of this kind by the security services and the accompanying impunity are killing media freedom in South Sudan and are holding back a return to peace and national reconciliation,” he said.

The director of the official TV station is detained without charges.

The freedom of information advocacy group further said that his family or lawyer have no information about his whereabouts or the conditions in which he is being held.

South Sudan has fallen 20 places in RSF's World Press Freedom Index since 2015 and is now ranked 145th out of 180 countries.

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July 19, 2017 (RIYADH) - Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir Tuesday said his country would continue its efforts to improve Sudan's relations with the United States and to lift the economic sanctions imposed on Sudan.

The Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir has arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for the second leg of an Arab Gulf tour that also took him to the UAE.

Last week, al-Bashir decided to suspend the participation of his government in a joint committee on the permanent revocation of sanctions in response to a decision by President Donald Trump to postpone his decision on the embargo for three months.

However, he agreed to a Saudi request to continue positive engagement with the U.S. administration and its official agencies for the permanent lift of economic sanctions on Khartoum.

In a joint statement with his Sudanese counterpart at the end of al-Bashir's visit to Riyadh Tuesday, al-Jubeir said they believe that Khartoum made significant progress to lift the economic sanctions and remove its name from the U.S. list of states sponsors of terror.

“We would continue our efforts in coordination with our brothers in Sudan and other brothers in the region to find a solution to return this situation to normal so that Sudan could focus on development, economy and prosperity,” he said.

Last January, former U.S. President Barack Obama issued an executive order easing the 19-year 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.

On 12 July, Washington said it needs to discuss with Khartoum the human rights situation and religious freedom in the east African country, besides its commitment to UN sanctions on North Korea.

It is noteworthy that Sudan was placed on the U.S. terrorism list in 1993 over allegations it was harbouring Islamist militants working against regional and international targets.

Despite intense lobbying by Khartoum, the U.S. administration kept Sudan on the terrorism list drawing frustration and rebuke from Sudanese officials.

Ahead of President Trump's decision on sanctions relief on 12 July, the U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said her country has no plans to remove Sudan from the list of states that sponsor terrorism.

“I can tell you one thing, and that is the designation of Sudan as a state sponsor of terror will remain,” she said.

COMBATING TERRORISM

Meanwhile, al-Jubeir said the talks between King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with President al-Bashir on Tuesday have dealt with regional developments and ways to combat extremism and terrorism.

“The two countries are key partners in the Islamic [military] alliance to fight terrorism and extremism and partners in the coalition to support the legitimacy in Yemen and the two countries are also partners in the work to combat extremism and terrorism financing,” he said.

Last month, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE and Egypt severed ties with Qatar accusing it of supporting Islamist terrorist groups and arch-foe Iran. But Doha vehemently denies the charges.

Sudan is among the Arab states that refused to take part in the ongoing diplomatic crisis and declared its support for the Kuwaiti efforts to settle the rift.

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July 19, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Defence Minister Awad Ibn Ouf Wednesday discussed with the head of UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) Jean-Pierre Lacroix the implementation of the Security Council's resolution to reduce the hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

Last month, the UNSC unanimously approved a resolution to extend the mandate of the UNAMID until 30 June 2018 and to reduce by a half its troops.

The hybrid mission will be reduced by withdrawing the military personnel by 44% and that of the police component by 30%, the closure of 11 team sites in the first phase and the withdrawal of the military component from another 7 team sites in the second phase.

According to the official news agency SUNA, Ibn Ouf praised UNAMID's efforts to achieve peace and stability in Sudan, welcoming the U.N. decision to downsize the mission.

He said the decision indicates the stability of security and humanitarian situation in Darfur, expressing hope that the mission would continue its efforts to convince the rebel movements to join the peace and dialogue process.

The defence minister further expressed army's readiness to provide all forms of assistance and facilities to enable the mission to implement the reduction decision in coordination with the joint committees formed for this purpose.

For his part, Lacroix thanked the Ministry of Defence, hoping for further coordination in order to achieve the desired goals and make a positive shift in peace-related issues, including empowering the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) to carry out its duty and to complete the Joint Monitoring and Verification Committees.

The newly appointed French diplomat will visit Abyei to meet UNISFA chief and inspect the situation in the disputed border area, after what he will move to South Sudan to meet South Sudanese officials and UN peacekeeping mission in the restive country.

The hybrid mission has been deployed in Darfur since December 2007 with a mandate to stem violence against civilians in the western Sudan's region.

It is the world's second largest international peacekeeping force with an annual budget of $1.35 billion and almost 20,000 troops.

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July 19, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudan president Salva Kiir has assigned the governor of Tonj state, Aker Tong Aleu, to spearhead the state of emergency situation he declared in Wau, Aweil East, Gogrial and parts of Tonj states.

President Salva Kiir addresses the nation from the State House on September 15, 2015, in Juba (Photo AFP/Charles Atiki Lomodong)

Aleu is expected to visit each of the states where emergency was declared or summon the governor in each of the state for briefings and provide guide on what needed to be done to improve the security situation in these areas.

He said it was an honour to oversee the security situation in the four states for three months. Some of the area where emergency was declared have witnessed significant unrest in past months, mainly communal conflicts in Gogrial, Jonglei and Tonj states.

Observers have, however, interpreted the order to mean an attempt by the president to deter supporters of the former chief of staff Paul Malong Awan from resorting to armed opposition in protest over the manner in which he was treated.

Awan remains under confinement since he returned to capital, Juba, after he abruptly left immediately following the announcement of his removal from the position. All his supporters in the military and other key institutions have been removed from influential positions and placed under strict security surveillance.

Kiir on Tuesday convened an emergency meeting of the national security committee in the capital, Juba a day after declaring a state of emergency in parts of the country.

The meeting followed the communal clashes in four states. The state of emergency covered parts of Aweil East, Wau, Gogrial and Jonglei states.

The order did not mention which specific places in the state were affected. It not known which areas will be affected since such a declaration is usually followed by the introduction of special measures such as increased powers for the police or army, usually connected to civil unrest or natural disasters like earthquakes.

Martial laws apply for civil unrest in the area and in most cases, the measures affect operations of local schools and other economic activities since it hampers movement.

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