Africa

August 1, 2016 (GUIT) - Two senior South Sudan armed opposition (SPLM-IO) generals say they are in contact with Riek Machar, who was recently dropped from government.

South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar addresses a news conference in his office in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, August 31, 2015. (Photo REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri)

Machar was replaced by the SPLM-IO's former chief negotiator, Taban Deng Gai last week, a move the armed opposition leader described as “illegal”.

But Maj. Gen Liah Diu, a senior military officer with the armed opposition, told Sudan Tribune he still remains loyal to Machar.

“I have never gone anywhere. I'm still in contact with my commander in chief Dr. Riek Machar. Those who wish me to defect to Taban Deng are great enemies of the movement,” he said.

Forces allied to two senior opposition generals reportedly clashed after one side declared allegiance to Gai at Neemni village.

Diu, however, confirmed he and Lt. Gen Dor Manjuor conducted a meeting with local chiefs in the area on the replacement of Machar by South Sudan President Salva Kiir.

He claimed most people in the area disagreed with the appointment of Gai, which they alleged was a tactical move by President Salva Kiir to divide the armed opposition faction.

South Sudan's newly-appointed vice-president reportedly dispatched Maj. Gen Carlo Kuol from Juba to the area to discuss and mobilize the community to support his new position.

But Diu insists some people were simply misled into backing Gai, stressing the Machar was still the legitimate leader of the armed opposition movement.

“It is not true the statement you received from commissioner and press secretary of Unity State governor. We were in the meeting yesterday as Guit county community on ground, but our position has been misunderstood by members of our comrades,” he explained.

Diu said they communicated the SPLM-IO leader on Monday and that the latter assured them of his support to the movement and the struggle to fight for a better South Sudan.

(ST)

August 2, 2016 (JUBA) – Spokesperson of the leadership of the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO), said forces loyal to President Salva Kiir have been defeated in all fronts around Juba and that the SPLA-IO troops are waiting for an order from their commander-in-chief to move on Juba.

SPLA soldiers drive past military tanks that were destroyed and abandoned in the recent fighting in the Jabel area of Juba, on July 16, 2016 (Reuters Photo)

Reached by Sudan Tribune on Tuesday morning, James Gatdet Dak has said that “Several hundreds of soldiers” belonging to President Kiir have been killed in the forests in the south, west and northwest of the national capital, Juba, as they tried to hunt for Machar, former first vice president who fled the town three weeks ago.

Machar left Juba with his “small number of troops” after battling President Kiir's forces for four days in the capital. The former first vice president said he left to save his life, de-escalate the situation in the capital and would return after a third party force is deployed in Juba.

Dak said over 10,000 of the SPLA forces have been defeated in the frontlines with some having now reported to have fled to United Nations protection of civilians cites in Juba, including three military Generals who have taken refuge and refused to go back to the front lines.

But he said only air raids using helicopter gunships is what the government is dwelling on.

“Our forces have defeated President Kiir's troops in all their frontlines. They have been dispersed in disarray. The government is not telling the truth about what is happening in the forests. Several hundreds of their troops have been killed and dozens of their military vehicles and other logistics captured,” said Dak.

“SPLA-IO forces are in upper hand as we speak and are only waiting for the right time and order from their commander-in-chief to take control of Juba. This will happen soon unless a third party force is deployed in Juba,” he further added.

The South Sudanese army spokesperson was not reachable for comment on these claims.

Asked about SPLM-IO leader, Dak said their, Machar, is safe protected by his forces, saying that all the battles occurred in locations far from where he is situated. Also, he said that the opposition forces have received reinforcements from different locations in the country who have "besieged Juba without the government knowing".

Dak further claimed that Juba-Yei road and Juba-Mundri road have been closed by their forces, as well as taking control of northwest of Juba in Katigiri.

The spokesperson who said he has been in contact with his boss also announced that Machar has appointed Lt. General John Jok Gai, as Sector Commander for Central Equatoria, where he is deployed to coordinate the operations of the army divisions which are commanded by his junior officers including Major General John Kenyi, Major General Mabie Gaar, among other Major Generals in charge of different frontline locations in the area.

(ST)

August 1, 2106 (EL-FASHER) - Doctors at the main hospital in El-Fasher, capital of North Darfur state went on strike since July 28th to protest against government refusal to respond to their demands for improving working environment.

IDPs wait to be seen at an MSF health post in North Darfur state in 2010 (File Photo/MSF)

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune, general practitioners and intern doctors at El-Fasher Teaching Hospital said they launched the strike due to delay of their financial entitlements, deteriorating work environment and poor housing conditions.

“Our continued discussions with the hospital administration and the ministry [of health] didn't yield any results due to the administration's intransigence” read the statement

Last week, the director general of the Ministry of Health in North Darfur has sacked directors of several departments including the therapeutic medicine, basic health care, health planning and development, training and human resources development besides directors of thirty sub-departments.

The health sector in North Darfur suffers from administrative and financial problems besides the lack of qualified health professionals, medical equipments and the inappropriate doctors' housing.

(ST)

Eric Reeves August 1, 2016

It is telling that a visit to Khartoum by the U.S. Special Envoy for the Sudans, Donald Booth, generated not a single bit of international news coverage, even as his schedule was known to include a “fact-finding” trip to Darfur. According to one highly reliable Sudanese news source, the Khartoum regime didn't have to bother with requests from journalists asking to accompany Booth during his visit to Darfur: there weren't any. Among other things, this encourages Khartoum in its already strongly held belief that the world has forgotten about Darfur, and that it can simply wait for the final stages of “genocide by attrition” to accomplish themselves.

To be sure, the lack of non-Sudanese journalists is perhaps understandable, given the tight control by Military Intelligence and the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) over every moment Booth was in Darfur, every location to which he would travel—something that could easily have been foreseen on the basis of previous highly controlled “fact-finding” missions.

But at least Booth went to the right places: North Darfur and what is now called “Central Darfur” (formerly part of West Darfur). The latter is where the Jebel Marra massif is located, site of the particularly savage military assault by Khartoum's regular and militia forces beginning in January of this year. We still have no fully reliable figures for how many were displaced during the campaign on the ground and from the air; 200,000 seems a reasonable estimate based on UN figures and reports from Radio Dabanga and Sudan Tribune, although it may well be higher. We certainly have no data that can establish mortality totals, but the reports from these two Sudanese news sources, as well as a range of other sources, makes clear that the death toll has been very high, as have the number of rapes, assaults on villages, and instances of large-scale looting and destruction.

North Darfur is the location of what is somewhat loosely referred to as “East Jebel Marra,” the region east of the massif itself and heavily populated, primarily by people of the African Fur tribe. Over the past four years this region in North Darfur has seen the worst violence in all of Darfur, rivaling in intensity and brutality the early years of the genocide (see my January 2016 report on the mass rape of girls and women and “Changing the Demography”: Violent Expropriation and Destruction of Farmlands in Darfur, November 2014 – November 2015" [November 2015]).

Booth has become notorious for not making statements, according to a Sudanese journalist colleague, even when meeting with opposition groups in Paris or Addis Ababa. And true to form, Booth has so far made no statement during his current (and presumably now concluding) trip to Sudan. He did meet with some of those who have witnessed the horrors of recent years, and some apparently spoke honestly, acts of extraordinary courage. Booth was in Nierteti (Central Darfur) and Tawila (“East Jebel Marra” in North Darfur), scenes of some of the very worst human rights abuses and violent destruction. He reportedly also met with civil society representatives in el-Fasher, capital of North Darfur.

For their honesty, outspoken displaced persons and civil society representatives will pay a heavy price, as Radio Dabanga reported yesterday:

Agents of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) detained five men in Nierteti in Central Darfur today. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, multiple sources reported that Adam Siddig, of the Northern Nierteti camp for the displaced, and Abdelkarim Adam Abdelkarim, of the Southern Nierteti camp were held at the town's bus station this morning. Nasreldin Yousef and Adam Mohamed, the owner of a welding workshop, were detained in the market of Nierteti. Ahmed El Tijani Abdeljabar Yousef was taken from a house in the Dar El Naeem district. The sources said that the NISS officers seem to be still searching for others. Last week, the US special envoy for Sudan, Donald Booth, paid a visit to Darfur. In Nierteti, he reportedly spoke with a number of displaced (July 31, 2016).

Reporting today (August 1, 2016) Sudan Tribune offered a fuller account of events in Nierteti:

Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) on Monday has arrested at least 21 leaders of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the locality of Nirtiti, Central Darfur state following a meeting with the United States Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan, Donald Booth, said IDPs official. On July 26, the American envoy started a visit to Darfur states to assess the security and humanitarian situation on the ground particularly in Jebel Marra area. Deputy Chairman of IDPs and Refugees Association Adam Abdalla Idris told Sudan Tribune that the NISS is now making intensive efforts to arrest dozens of IDPs leaders after it accused them of providing Booth with misleading information pertaining to the security and humanitarian situation in the region particularly in areas of east Jebel Marra. He added that several IDPs leaders have disappeared from sight for fear of being arrested by the NISS, pointing the latter has a list including names of all IDPs who met with the American envoy.

According to Idris, a security source disguised as an IDP has attended the meeting with Booth and submitted a report including details of the meeting to the NISS. Idris pointed that the hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID), human rights groups operating in the area and the IDPs have provided identical reports to the American envoy including numbers of those killed in the recent clashes in Jebel Marra besides numbers of the newly displaced persons and the rape incidents. “The humanitarian situation is at its worst particularly after food and drug supply have stopped besides the lack of blankets and other basic necessities” he said. He added that the American envoy will likely delay his visit to South Darfur state in fear of subjecting dozens of IDPs to harassment and detention by the NISS.

[These reports are partially confirmed by another Darfuri source on the ground near Nierteti—ER]

Despite his reluctance to issues statements, it would seem incumbent upon Ambassador Booth to demand publicly that Khartoum provide assurances that his fact-finding mission did not result in the large-scale arrests of displaced persons, and that he be provided evidence of the safety of those with whom he spoke.

Not to speak out is to allow diplomatic tactical calculations to outweigh the clear risks to those who dared to speak with Booth, at his request, in order to provide what the U.S. surely already knows from the many reports that have appeared in the last year: from UN OCHA, from other UN agencies and humanitarian organizations, from Human Rights Watch (two important reports in 2015, focusing on the mass rape of girls and women at Tabit, East Jebel Marra, by Khartoum's regular army forces, and the ghastly predations of recent years by Khartoum's current militia force of choice, the Rapid Support Forces). The Special Envoy's office is also in possession of a great deal of research—including first-hand interviews of victims—that reveals the scope of human devastation from this year's campaign against the people of Jebel Marra.

Silence from Ambassador Booth at this critical moment in the lives of courageous Darfuris will be acquiescence in their fate, a fate his visit to their ravaged lands has worked to define.

Eric Reeves, Senior Fellow at Harvard University's François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights. To read more articles, please go to his blog www.sudanreeves.org

August 1, 2016 (JUBA) - Alfred Taban, a prominent journalist and chief editor of the daily English newspaper, Juba Monitor, has been released on bail but still faces charges.

Alfred Taban (Time-UA Photo)

Taban was arrested two weeks ago and detained by security personnel but was transferred from the National Security Service (NSS) headquarters on 22 July to police custody in Juba town.

He has been charged with ‘publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to South Sudan' and ‘undermining the authority of or insulting president Salva Kiir.

The veteran journalist prior to his arrest wrote an article which called for resignation of both President Kiir and his former first deputy, Riek Machar, for returning the country to war on 8 July.

He was released on bail in response to his request so that he could receive medical treatment for a previously existing health condition.

It is not clear whether or not he will be dragged to court to answer for the charges against the president.

(ST)

Some 60,000 people have fled South Sudan&#39s recent violence in the capital city of Juba, bringing the overall number of South Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries since December 2013 to nearly 900,000, the United Nations refugee agency said today.

August 1, 2016 (ZALINGEI) - Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) on Monday has arrested at least 21leaders of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the locality of Nirtiti, Central Darfur state following a meeting with the United States Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan, Donald Booth, said IDPs official

On July 26, the American envoy started a visit to Darfur states to assess the security and humanitarian situation on the ground particularly in Jebel Marra area.

Deputy Chairman of IDPs and Refugees Association Adam Abdalla Idris told Sudan Tribune that the NISS is now making intensive efforts to arrest dozens of IDPs leaders after it accused them of providing Booth with misleading information pertaining to the security and humanitarian situation in the region particularly in areas of east Jebel Marra.

He added that several IDPs leaders have disappeared from sight for fear of being arrested by the NISS, pointing the latter has a list including names of all IDPs who met with the American envoy.

According to Idris, a security source disguised as an IDP has attended the meeting with Booth and submitted a report including details of the meeting to the NISS.

Idris pointed that the hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID), human rights groups operating in the area and the IDPs have provided identical reports to the American envoy including numbers of those killed in the recent clashes in Jebel Marra besides numbers of the newly displaced persons and the rape incidents.

“The humanitarian situation is at its worst particularly after food and drug supply have stopped besides the lack of blankets and other basic necessities” he said

He added that the American envoy will likely delay his visit to South Darfur state in fear of subjecting dozens of IDPs to harassment and detention by the NISS.

UN agencies estimate that more than 120,000 people have been displaced by the fierce clashes which occurred since last January between the government army and the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) led by Abel-Wahid al-Nur.

Jebel Marra, which spans over three states including North, Central and South Darfur, is located at a water-rich area that is characterized by mild climate.

On 12 April, the Sudanese army declared Darfur a region free of rebellion following the capture of Srounq area, the last SLM-AW stronghold in Jebel Marra.

JEM CONDEMNS IDPs DETENTION

Meanwhile, the rebel Justice and NEW Equality Movement (NJEM) has denounced the detention of the IDPs in Central Darfur state, demanding the international community and the UNAMID to defend the civilians against what it called “the brutality of the Sudanese security authorities”.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Monday, NJEM spokesperson Adam Abdel-Rahman Yahia said that five IDPs leaders have been detained by the NISS from Jadid market in the locality of Nirtiti following their meeting with Booth.

“The IDPs and the families of the detainees are in a state of acute anxiety and horror in fear of the continued pursuit [by the NISS] against the IDPs leaders and some individuals inside the IDPs camps” the statement read

NJEM warned against the dire humanitarian situation in light of the absence of the humanitarian aid groups, calling on the U.S. government, Amnesty International and all rights group to immediately interfere to locate the detained IDPs and ensure their safety.

It described NISS's move as a dangerous sign that affirms the continued government violations in Darfur, pointing to the suspicious silence of the international community.

The statement further held the UNAMID responsible for the ongoing events in Darfur, accusing the mission of failing to protect civilians.

(ST)

August 1, 2016 (JUBA) – The United Nations has expressed concerns over the renewed clashes between South Sudan's warring factions in the Equatorian and parts of Upper Nile areas, saying these continued actions are in violation of the peace agreement, which the country's main rivals and other parties signed in August last year.

Soldiers from the South Sudanese army (SPLA) jump off the back of a truck while on patrol in the capital, Juba, following the December 2013 outbreak of violence (Photo: Reuters)

“The UNMISS [UN mission in South Sudan] calls on all parties to return to their bases and allow the movement of humanitarian aid to affected areas,” it said in a statement.

According to the world body, tensions persisted in the capital, Juba, but no firearms were found in a search operation conducted at its protection of civilian site over the weekend.

Meanwhile, the United States has warned those taking actions threatening the peace, security, or stability of South Sudan, and those responsible for attacks on civilians or United Nations premises, saying they may be subjected to sanctions under UN Security Council Resolution 2206 (2015).

The US, in a statement issued Saturday, also condemned in the “strongest” terms the continued fighting in Equatorian region and other areas of South Sudan in recent days.

“We call for an immediate halt to combat operations and full compliance with the ceasefire declared on July 11 and in the peace agreement,” said Mark Toner, the deputy spokesperson of the Department of State.

The Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) and the African Union issued similar concerns on the matter.

According to the U.S, the “short-sighted” actions of South Sudan's leaders in recent weeks have exacerbated an already intolerable humanitarian crisis as large portions of the country are facing emergency levels of food insecurity.

“The people of South Sudan should have the opportunity to build their country and pursue their aspirations in peace,” said Toner, further adding, “Instead they are facing the further untold suffering of continued conflict”.

A recent report from the UN gave horrific accounts of civilian killings and a rise in the number of government soldiers in uniform raping and gang raping women and girls who have taken refuge in UN protection of civilian sites.

The world body, for instance, documented about120 cases of sexual violence in South Sudan in the last two weeks.

“Those responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other violations of international humanitarian law - including those who order or incite violence, or encourage or contribute to the commission of crimes - will be held accountable,” said Toner.

Washington, in a statement, also reminded all parties that the peace agreement provides that the Hybrid Court for South Sudan will have jurisdiction over violations of international law committed during the transitional period, including those committed during the ongoing violence.

Last month, skirmishes between force loyal to President Salva Kiir and those allied to ex-rebel leader Riek Machar in the capital, Juba left over 270 soldiers dead.

The recent wave of violence, the UN says, has displaced over 40,000 civilians.

(ST)

July 31, 2016 (YAMBIO) – The governor of Gbudue, one of South Sudan's new states has reappointed the former commissioner of Tombura county, months after his sacking.

Gbudue state governor Patrick Zamoi speaking to journalists at in Nzara airstrip March 4, 2016 (ST)

Patrick Raphael Zamoi's decree re-appointing Charles Babiro Gbamisi as the new county commissioner was read on the state-owned Yambio Fm over the weekend.

Babiro was appointed by former governor, Bangasi Joseph Bakosoro after the 2010 general elections, serving as commissioner of Tombura county for five years before his removal by the current governor in January this year to the dismay of the masses,

Simon Gbiafuko, a youth from Tombura, lauded Babiro's re-appointment, describing the latter as developmental-oriented.

According to Gbiafuko, Babiro did a lot of developmental activities more than any other previous commissioners of Tombura county during his term which includes water network supplying the residential, local electricity using generators to light the town and above all he cooperated and worked together with the community.

“I am very happy to hear the breaking news that our commissioner Charles Babiro has been reappointed to assume his office again because people of Tombura county were not happy for his removal,” he told Sudan Tribune over phone from Tombura.

The re-appointment Babiro, sources say, did not come as a surprise the people owing to his record on effective service delivery in the community, while others claimed the community declined to propose names for the post and wanted Babiro re-appointed.

(ST)

Lam Akol, chairman of South Sudan's main opposition party (AFP/Samir Bol Photo)

August 1, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – Leader of the South Sudan's National Alliance parties and chairman of the Democratic Party (DC), Lam Akol Ajawin, said he has resigned from all his party and government positions to protest government's lack of commitment to the peace agreement.

Akol said the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCISS) is “dead” and will, from now on, join with the “like-minded” to “broaden” an opposition “outside Juba” to tackle the ongoing situation in the country.

“This is to inform the public that I have on the 28th of July tendered my resignation to the National Alliance as Minister of Agriculture and Food Security in the Transitional Government of National Unity (TgoNU) and also as their representative in the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC),” said Ajawin in a press statement he issued on Monday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

He was nominated to the positions by the alliance of 17 political parties in the country.

“These positions were necessitated by the implementation of the Agreement for Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan signed in August 2015. There is no more a peace agreement to implement in Juba. President Salva Kiir has dealt it a final blow with his actions since the first week of jolly culminating in the military attack on the first vice president, dislodging him from Juba and invoking his absence to fill his position with a person of his choice in the name of SPLM-IO. One cannot with a clear conscience serve under such a regime,” he said.

He said he could no longer work with the party of president Kiir in the unity government, charging that President Kiir and his acolytes did not hide their rejections of peace agreement.

“He has been putting obstacle after obstacle on the way of its implementation and violating it with impunity. He cited creation of 28 states, refusing to implement security arrangements, stalling reconstitution of the transitional legislative assembly, preventing the ceasefire and transitional security arrangement monitoring mechanism from carrying out its duty to observe and report on ceasefire violation,” he added.

The opposition leader accused President Salva Kiir of abrogating the August 2015 peace deal, adding that appointing Taban Deng Gai to replace Riek Machar, leader of the armed oppositon faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO), was meant to destroy the peace accord.

“The violent events that took place in Juba in the first week of July were pre-meditated and well planned. The SPLM-IO's small force was provoked into an uneven confrontation,” he said.

“While Kiir's forces hunt for Dr. Riek Machar to get him “dead or alive” they should be reminded that that will not be the end of the story. The genie is out of the bottle and the last laugh will not be theirs. The people of South Sudan will not stand more of a callous, totalitarian and ethno-centric regime that seems to thrive on the suffering of its people,” he added, with the statement he signed as “former” chairman of the DC party.

It is not clear whether or not the leader of the country's largest non-armed opposition party will forge an opposition alliance with the Machar against President Kiir.

(ST)

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The United Nations in South Sudan today condemned unequivocally reports of widespread sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, of women and young girls, by soldiers and unidentified armed men, stressing that such acts constitute grave violations of international human rights law and may be regarded as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

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