Africa

November 1, 2016 (JUBA) – The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon has sacked the commander of the UN force in South Sudan, a day after the world body released which accused its peacekeeping troops of failed to protect unarmed civilians in July.

The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon handshake with the President of the Republic of South Sudan, Salva Kiir at Presidential Palace, J1 in Juba capital on February 25, 2016 (UNMISS photo)

A spokesperson for the UN Secretary General said Ki-moon demanded the “immediate” replacement Lt Gen Johnson Mogoa Kimani Ondieki.

The UN had instituted an independent special investigation into the July 2016 violence in the young nation's capital to establish what actions its mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) undertook, including its response to acts of sexual violence in and around the protection of civilians sites at UN House and the attack on Terrain camp.

The special investigation found said the UN did not respond effectively to the violence due to an overall lack of leadership, preparedness and integration among the various components of the mission.

“The Special Investigation also found that command and control arrangements were inadequate, while peacekeepers maintained a risk-averse posture,” partly reads a statement from the world body.

It further added, “These factors contributed to the failure of UNMISS to respond to the attack by [South Sudan] government soldiers on the Terrain camp on 11 July and protect civilians under threat”.

The special investigation, according the report, was unable to verify allegations that peacekeepers failed to respond to acts of sexual violence committed directly in front of them on 17 and 18 July.

The independent special investigation into the violence from 8-11 July in the South Sudanese capital was commissioned by the UN.

The fighting began with clashes between President Salva Kiir's guards and bodyguards of the sacked former vice-president Riek Machar.

In the three days of fighting, at least 73 people were reportedly killed, including more than 20 internally displaced people who had sought UN protection, the world body said in the damning report. Two peacekeepers were killed and others injured.

Meanwhile, the special investigations report also backed claims by aid workers that the UN troops refused to respond when government soldiers attacked an international aid compound in Juba.

The special investigation, however, found that UNMISS faced an extremely challenging set of circumstances and was caught in the crossfire of an active and particularly violent conflict.

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November 1, 2016 (YAMBIO) – Five policemen who were deployed by a newly created Gbudue state's government to guard Makpandu Refugees Camp in Yambio have been abducted by unknown gunmen since Monday night and taken to unknown location with all their weapons.

An eyewitness from the area told Sudan Tribune that a group of armed men surrounded the police station in Yambio which was established by the government of Gbudue state to give protection to the refugees and kidnaped the five policemen together with one Darfurian trader. One HF radio communications which was installed by a non-governmental organization operating in the camp was also taken away.

The source said there was no gunshot when they kidnaped five policemen and the unknown armed men did not enter the refugees' settlement at Makpandu. Also, they did not loot anything in the stores erected in the camp.

The incident created panic and fear among the refugees forcing some refugees to flee to Yambio town for safety. And the incident has created fear to UN agencies and Non-government organization who are serving the refugees at Makpandu not to visit the camp as usual.

The authorities of Gbudue state have not yet made any statement regarding the incident at Makpandu, saying they have not received a clear report about the incident.

The alleged abduction happened a day after heavy attack by unknown armed group who attacked the Police Headquarters in Yambio on Saturday morning, killing one police officer and looting heavy weapons in the store and escaped to the bush with all the looted items.

Deputy Governor of Gbudue and Yambio town Mayor on Sunday toured Churches around Yambio town, informing people not to panic or flee their homes to avoid crossfire and the number of theft cases has increased in the recent days.

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November 1, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Leading figure at the National Umma Party (NUP) Mubarak al-Fadil on Tuesday has downplayed the renewal of the United States sanctions against Khartoum saying the opposition mustn't count on the embargo to change the regime.

Mubarak al-Fadil (ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP/Getty Images)

Al-Fadil, who is a cousin and political rival of the NUP leader al-Sadig al-Mahdi, had been a presidential aide in 2002, has recently again improved his relations with the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and participated in the government-led dialogue process as leading figure of the opposition NUP.

However, al-Mahdi who is allied with the armed groups since August 2014, issued a statement from his residence in Cairo distancing the NUP from the activities of al-Fadil saying he is no longer a member of the party.

In a press statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Tuesday, Al-Fadil said the U.S. sanctions “wouldn't topple the regime” but will adversely impact on the residents, economy and future generations.

Sudan is under American economic and trade sanctions since 1997 for its alleged connection to terror networks.

On Monday, U.S. President Barak Obama extended sanctions on Sudan for another year, saying Khartoum actions and policies that caused these sanctions continue to pose a threat to the national security and U.S. foreign policy.

Al-Fadil pointed that the statement issued by the U.S. Department of State has underscored Washington's commitment to a continued high level policy engagement with Sudan.

On Monday, the U.S. Department of State issued a separate statement minimizing renewal of the sanctions, saying it is “a technical decision and part of a routine, annual process that does not prejudice the ability of the President to provide sanctions relief at any point in the future”.

He called on the opposition to reach a political settlement with Khartoum and “stop running behind mirage”, asking the government to accelerate implementation of the dialogue's outcome and reforms agreed upon with the international community in order not to “miss this historic opportunity”.

Last month, the political forces participating at the government-led national dialogue concluded the process by signing the National Document which includes the general features of a future constitution to be finalized by transitional institutions.

The opposition groups boycotted the process because the government didn't agree on humanitarian truce with the armed groups and due to its refusal to implement a number of confidence building measures.

Washington urged Khartoum to consider the government-led dialogue as a first step for a broader process for peace and democratic reforms that will encompasses all the political and armed groups in the country.

In 2002 Al-Fadil defected from the NUP and formed the Umma Reform and Renewal Party (URRP). He was of the view at the time that the NUP should take part in the government while al-Mahdi rejected any participation in a non-democratically elected government.

Following what, he was appointed as a presidential adviser for economic affairs in 2002 and several members of his party were also appointed in various positions in the government.

However, he was sacked in 2004 after a dispute with President Omer Hassan al-Bashir and was arrested in 2007 with a number of retired army generals and accused of attempting to stage a coup. He was released five months later.

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November 1, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese government under the leadership of President Salva Kiir has downplayed the significance that the absence from unity government of the former First Vice President, Riek Machar, will derail implementation of the August 2015 peace agreement, saying the country must move forward.

First Vice-President Riek Machar (L) and President Salva Kiir (R) listen to the national anthem following a ceremony during which Machar was sworn in on April 26, 2016. (Phot AFP/Samir Bol)

Presidential Advisor on Security Affairs, Tut Kew Gatluak, told Sudan Tribune on Tuesday that the cabinet had clearly stated and affirmed during a series of meetings with the delegation of the African Union the government's commitment to fully implement the agreement.

“The delegation of the African Union Peace and Security came and was able to hold series of meetings with all the stakeholders and went to Malakal where they met the internally displaced persons in POC's protection of civilian' sites managed by the United Nations in South Sudan,” said Gatluak.

“In the meeting with the government they were convinced that a lot has been done. And it proved the commitment of the government to go ahead with the implementation of the peace agreement,” he claimed.

Meanwhile President Kiir's controversially appointed First Vice President, Taban Deng Gai, also said absence of Machar in Juba could not endanger the implementation of the agreement, claiming that there was no good working relationship between him and the government.

"The days when Riek Machar was in Juba, we witnessed strange relationship between him and government," said Gai.

Gai, a former chief negotiator for Machar during two years of talks with the government to end conflict, stressed that people of South Sudan need to move forward.

The president, he said, needs a partner and he cannot work in a vacuum. “Leadership of the SPLM-IO decided to go ahead with the implementation because the first vice-president is not here. He is not in Juba. So how do we move forward? He cannot take charge of his responsibility and the people of South Sudan need the things to go forward. They need the peace to be implemented,” he explained.

He was speaking to the delegation of the African Union over the weekend before departing the country on Monday after spending three days in the country to interact with different stakeholders in the peace agreement.

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November 1, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's government has described the United States President Barack Obama's order to extend sanctions on Sudan as “unjust” saying it is inconsistent with his administration's recognition of Khartoum's role in the fight against terrorism.

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

Sudan has been under American economic and trade sanctions since 1997 for its alleged connection to terror networks and remains on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terror.

On Monday, U.S. President Barak Obama extended the 19-year embargo on Sudan for another year, saying Khartoum actions and policies that caused these sanctions continue to pose a threat to the national security and U.S. foreign policy.

However, the U.S. Department of State issued a separate statement minimizing renewal of the sanctions, saying it is “a technical decision and part of a routine, annual process that does not prejudice the ability of the President to provide sanctions relief at any point in the future”.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Sudan's embassy in Washington described Obama's order as “unjust”, saying it contradicts with the statement issued by the U.S. States Department acknowledging Sudan's active role in combating terrorism in the region.

On 21 September 2016, the Department of State welcomed Sudanese government efforts to combat terrorism and its increased cooperation with Washington.

“While countering terrorism is an important objective for the United States, we continue to engage the Government of Sudan on protecting human rights, resolving internal conflicts, addressing humanitarian needs, improving regional stability, and advancing political freedoms, accountability and reconciliation," further said the statement.

The diplomatic mission stressed that the unilateral coercive U.S. sanctions constitute a "blatant violation of human rights", pointing to its adverse impact on human rights conditions in Sudan and elsewhere.

For his part, Sudan's Information Minister Ahmed Belal Osman described Obama's order to extend the sanctions for another year as “routine decision” that brings nothing new.

He told the semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) that the remaining period for President Obama in office wouldn't allow him to take any measure to lift the sanctions, saying Khartoum got accustomed to hear such a decision every year.
Osman underscored Sudan's cooperation with the U.S. in the war against terror, stating that Khartoum is dealing with Washington cautiously.

He added that Washington should abide by its pledges to lift the unilateral sanctions on Sudan, renewing his government's keenness to achieve peace and stability in Sudan and the region particularly South Sudan.

Sudanese officials recently expressed hopes that President Obama before the end of his second term would lift the sanctions on the eastern African country, saying Washington is convinced of its inefficiency and that it harms ordinary Sudanese.

It is noteworthy that Washington eased the sanctions imposed on agriculture equipment and services, and allowed exports of personal communications hardware and software. Also, the U.S. Treasury Department removed the private Bank of Khartoum from a blacklist of Sudanese entities.

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October 30, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The European Union has achieved a 8.5 million Euro developments projects to address food security in four states in eastern Sudan implemented by the Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and local actors.

Children from the nomadic tribe of the Rashaidas from eastern Sudan they wait on a roadside with their parents for people to come buy their smuggled goods in Tesseney, western Eritrea. (AFP file Photo)

In a joint statement released on Sunday, the EU Mission in Sudan and the FAO said the situation in Sudan, which is vulnerable to climatic variability, has been exacerbated by the effects of El Niño-driven changes in the rainfall pattern.

"This has contributed to reduced water and grazing land availability, as well as lower agricultural production increasing crisis-level food insecurity, especially in the Eastern regions of the Country," underlined the joint statement.

In this context, the purpose of the €8.6 million programme is to address these challenges in eastern Sudan states of Blue Nile, Gedaref, Kassala and Red Sea. Local authorities in the region are involved with the FAO to implement this capacity building and development plan.

“This four years programme is a successful example of FAO and EU collaboration with partner institutions in Sudan to build evidence-based policy responses to food security and nutrition issues in the country,” said Abdi Jama, FAO Representative in Sudan.

Jama further said that the programme set up institutions for collection, analysis and availability of food security information in the four states and pointed to the need for similar projects in the other regions.

On his part, the Head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation in Sudan Jannik Vaa, said "In the past four years this programme has achieved undeniable successes".

“Systems have been strengthened by the project and hence future responses to food insecurity in Red Sea, Kassala, Gedaref and Blue Nile States will be supported by robust evidence,” Vaa stressed.

He admitted that additional investment at State and Federal level is needed adding "The EU is ready to work with our partners to strengthen food security in Sudan and improve the livelihoods of the rural population."

Over 80% of the labour force in Sudan is engaged in agriculture, and two thirds of the population are living in rural areas. The economically east African country is also hit by armed conflict in southern and western parts.

Eastern Sudan which is one if not the poorest part of the country hosts refugees from Eritrea and Ethiopia who quickly quit the region to Khartoum in their rout to Europe through Libya and Egypt.

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October 30, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Eastern Sudan civil society groups have called for the creation of a new track for peace talks to address the crisis of their poor region which suffers from underdevelopment and marginalisation.

Refugee girls play during a visit by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres to the Shagarab Eritrean Refugees camp at Kassala in East Sudan January 12, 2012. (Reuters)

Groups from eastern Sudan three states gathered in Nairobi between 24 to 26 October in workshop sponsored by the Sudan Democracy First Group (SDFG) to ''identify a shared vision (...) that would enhance their collaboration "to achieve positive political and societal change both for the region and at the national level".

The meeting which coincided with the 10th anniversary of the signature of the East Sudan Peace Agreement (ESPA) agreed that the deal has failed to solve Eastern Sudan's complex crisis.

"Vital questions of power sharing and the relationship with the centre were reduced to individualist trading over government positions," said a statement issued by SDFG at the end of the meeting.

"Participants therefore called for the creation of a new negotiating platform which would address Eastern Sudan as part of a comprehensive approach to Sudan's multiple crises," further announced the statement.

They further said that this track should propose a system of governance for the region "determining the relation with the centre, and enhancing political participation"

Also, the 'Nairobi Declaration for Change in Eastern Sudan' endorsed by the participants identified objectives and a work program for the platform, alongside strategies for achieving political, societal and popular support for the initiative.

"This would include seeking political guarantees from, and opportunities for collaboration with, other agents for positive change in Sudan, and within the international and regional community more broadly," the statement said.

Last September, the opposition United People's Front for Liberation and Justice (UPFLJ), a group from eastern Sudan called on the African Union mediation to open a new peace track for the Eastern Sudan region.

The UPFLJ, which is part of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) led by Malik Agar, urged the African Union mediation "play a positive role in the establishment of a platform to discuss issues of eastern Sudan on the basis of its mandate to broker a comprehensive and inclusive peace process in Sudan.

The African Union High-level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) is brokering a peace process with two tracks one for Darfur and the other for the Two Areas. This process also provides to hold national constitutional conference with the participation of all the political forces in Sudan.

Eastern Sudan civil society groups who have called to involve them in such political platform said they established to working group to "raise awareness of the need for their full involvement in the process of stability and change in the region and nationally".

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October 30, 2016 (BOR) - A girl, less than 16 years old, from South Sudan's Jonglei state, said she nearly died during labour about two months ago because of her young age and physical inability to mother her child.

South Sudanese schoolgirls (Getty)

Achol Akim Garang said she was forced by her brothers to marry an old man after the latter paid 34 heads of cattle and about 40,000 South Sudanese pounds (SSP) nearly two years ago.

What aggravated her worries most was the unexpected loss of her husband just a month before she gave birth to her first child. The little girl, born to a poor family, was in primary three when she was told not to go to school again by her brothers who feared she might copy bad habits due to peer groups' influence at school and western "education poison" as brothers put it. All these happened after her father died when the crisis of 2013 started.

"My father was a village chief, and he loved me a lot. He encouraged me to study. After his death, things changed. I was forced to marry a man I never wanted, because he was not of my age, and again I was not mature enough to mother the child," explained the young girl as tears rolled down her face.

Her brothers arranged the marriage at age 14 without her consent, even without putting the mother into picture, she recalled.

"By then I was still 14 years old. I could not do things that other mature girls do, because I was still weak. But they forced me to marry the man simply because they wanted cattle to pay as dowries for their wives," Achol lamented.

"Six months later I was pregnant, and had a lot of problems. I thought I was going to die. Sometimes I couldn't sleep at night because of the trouble my brothers had caused to me. The baby was too heavy for me to carry in the womb, but God helped me," she said.

While at home with her mother, she was advised about things contrary to traditions.

"I was told not to eat food that would let me grow fat, because the child was going to gain more weight, which would result in labour complication during the child birth,” she said.

Achol also tried to avoid nutritious and energy giving food or any vitamins, but her condition deteriorated as she completely became weaker and weaker week after week.

She further recalled that she was not allowed to see doctors for prenatal care, adding that during her last trimester, she was unable to stand on her own and tears could drop voluntarily from her weakened eyes even when she was not crying. She remained indoor for most of the day.

"One evening, I was on labour, but I did not know. I thought something was burning up in me. I stood up, sat down, but there was no better way to resist the pain. I cried for help. My mother came and held me down," explained Achol.

She said she was in hard labour for three days before the child was born during which she could hardly drink water or eat food due the unbearable pain.

“I was abusing every man that passes nearby," she narrated, adding, but "Then finally the child was born. I did not wake up for hours because I was exhausted, and bleeding was serious. This time, I could hear people's voices like birds, and nobody was clear in my sight, I was blind."

She cautioned that the experience she went through was horrific for a child like her, further revealing that she was married at almost the same time with her age mate, but she has never conceived till now.

Paramount chief, Alier Aluong declined to talk about customary laws when contacted by Sudan Tribune.

"We have no authority to tell someone not to marry underage. If the girl respects her parents to get married before the age of 18 years, we don't interfere," said paramount chief Alier.

Per South Sudan's Transitional Constitution, a person is a child when he or she has not reached the age of 18 years. Any marriage that involves a child of below 18 years of age is considered an offense, and is punishable by law.

Sources from Jonglei state ministry of education said such underage forced marriages are common in the communities, but no one has been punished for committing such an offense as the society seems to condone it.

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October 30, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan and Kenya on Sunday signed a number of agreements between the two countries in the fields of minerals and oil, in the presence of Presidents Omer al-Bashir and Uhuru Kenyatta.

Kenyatta left Khartoum on Sunday evening after a two-day official visit to Sudan. Bilateral meetings between the two sides began on Saturday evening after the arrival of the Kenyan leader and his delegations.

In a ceremony held at the Sudanese presidency on Sunday evening, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding for bilateral cooperation in the field of mineral resources and another deal for cooperation in the fields of oil and gas.

At the conclusion of the joint talks Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed and Sudan's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal al-Din Ismail co-signed the final communiqué. Foreign Affairs Minister Ibrahim Ghandour is visiting in China.

Recently Kenya discovered oil in Kenya's northern Kerio Valley. Nairobi sought to export the expected small production via a joint pipeline that the land-locked Uganda can finance to export its oil but Kampala preferred to partner with Tanzania.

President Omer al-Bashir thanked Kenyatta for visiting Khartoum saying his short visit to Sudan was full of activities. He further pointed that the establishment of an independent state in South Sudan didn't affect the good relations between the two countries.

"We thank Kenya for its efforts during the peace talks (to end war between northern and southern Sudan) in Naivasha that ended a war lasted for twenty years," Bashir stressed in remarks he delivered after the signing of the agreements:

"President Kenyatta promised us a longer visit (next time) and expressed his desire to visit the Meroe pyramids, Kenana sugar factory, the Gezira Scheme, and the complexes of military industry," he added.

For his part, Kenyatta praised the progress Sudan achieved in the oil industry and the expansion of its infrastructure.

The Kenyan president paid a visit to the oil crude refinery in Khartoum state, where he was briefed on the advanced techniques used in the refining operations.

He praised the Sudanese long experience in the oil industry and associated industries, stressing his desire to transfer Sudan's experience in the oil industry to his country.

The two leaders didn't comment on the decisions of three African countries to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) which issued two arrest warrants against al-Bashir and indicted Kenyatta before to withdraw charges later.

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October 30, 2016 (KAMPALA) - The Guit community living in Uganda have backed the appointment of Taban Deng Gai as South Sudan's first vice-president.

South Sudan's first Vice President Taban Deng Gai addresses the UN General Assembly (UN Photo/Cia Pak)

Gai, a former rebel chief negotiator, replaced the armed opposition leader, Riek Machar.

Kuol Dak Peter, the leader of Guit community in Kampala said members of various students' bodies, including civilians who have fled into refugees resettlement camps within Uganda have welcomed the appointment of Gai as first vice president.

“Your H.E the first vice president of the republic of South Sudan, the entire Guit community and youth leagues in Uganda would like to make it clear to your office and the entirely leadership of the SPLM-IO that you have won a trust and support through the implementation of the peace agreement on the resolution of the conflicts in the country,” he said.

The secetary general of the Guit community association in Uganda, Tang Beliny Wang said Gai's appointment will enhance efforts to implement the already shaky peace deal.

“On the context of peace among Guit Community members in Uganda, We are very firm and capable to enlighten and aware our people in Uganda about the peace implementation through the leadership of Taban Deng Gai,” he said.

The appointment of the former rebel chief negotiator, analyst said, was one of the most controversial decisions made by President Salva Kiir after his main political rival peace Machar who was part of the Transitional Government of National Unity was sacked in August. The reblel leader described Gai's appointment as "illegal."

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