Africa

August 30, 2021 (JUBA) – South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has downplayed citizens' demand for him to step down, urging the population to prepare for general elections at the end of the transition period.

"Our final mandate in this process is to hold free, fair and credible democratic elections at the end of the transitional period," he said, while opening the country's national assembly on Monday.

Kiir was referring to long-awaited polls expected to be held in 2023.

The South Sudanese leaders told members of the new parliament to place the people of South Sudan above their party's interests.

Kiir, looking exhausted, said those calling for his exit are “ill” advised.

One of the notable provisions in the revitalized peace agreement is the security arrangement that advocates reunification of command of forces as an institutional attempt to reform the army in a way reflecting all faces of ethnic groups and regions making up the country.

Kiir, however, wants a 60% representation in the command of the unified forces, leaving the remaining 40% to other stakeholders in the agreement, an arrangement the parties, including the main opposition party under Riek Machar's leadership has rejected.

The stalemate has resulted in the delay to graduate troops from the cantonment sites and splitting in Opposition leadership.

Activists say the two leaders are unwilling to work together and will never work together even if they are allowed to stay in office for life. They are people with totally different political ambitions and ideologies with little interest in preserving greater good. Machar advocates democracy while Kiir oscillates between dictatorship and maintaining the status quo, causing brinkmanship and misery.

“These people [Kiir and Machar], even if they are allowed to stay together in power for life, which is what some of them want, and which is what others do not want because they also want to sit on that chair, they will never get together and work together. The only way is to force them out of the chair. They are a pure liability to the country”, a civil rights activist told Sudan Tribune on Monday.

“They were together in power for eight (8) years, what have they done to show that they prioritize the wellbeing of the people? They should just accept they have failed and go,” he added.

The activist said government is responsible for disruption of social media services and deployment of huge security forces to patrol all streets after calls for mass protests against bad governance.

“The continued intimidation and regular arrest of civil right activists, political opponents, and journalists is a clear and obvious proof of the government determined to stay in power”, he stressed.

Meanwhile, Stephan Lual Ngor, a leading member of the South Sudan Patriotic Movement (SSPM) has rejected calls to topple the transitional government and voiced his support for President Kiir.

"President Kiir is the best choice for peace and stability in South Sudan," he told Sudan Tribune on Tuesday, adding that a few numbers of youth-based outside the country and without real political support use social media to disturb the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.

(ST)

August 30, 2021 (JUBA) - A prominent South Sudanese politician has said failed leadership in the young nation has turned the peoples' long-held demands and their hopes into a "nightmare".

Lam Akol (Photo Reutrers)

“Three decades ago, the true demand of our masses long abandoned was revived; two decades later full of hope they decided to have a country; and in the last decade their dreams were turned into a nightmare by a failed leadership. But their hope is much alive”, Lam Akol tweeted on Monday.

The opposition leaders tweet was in memory of the 1991 event in which a faction under Akol, Riek Machar and commander Gordon Koang Chuol, announced they have ascended to power, causing split into a Torit faction under former founding leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), John Garang de Mabior and Nasir faction under over all leadership and command of Riek Machar.

Machar, Akol and Chuol depicted themselves as advocates of secession, democracy, and human rights and branded Garang a "dictator" and someone wanting the south to fight for Sudan's unity.

The split caused destruction of properties and loss of lives as each side wanted to claim monopoly and control affairs of people and forces to gain recognition from the masses and global community.

The leaders, however, rejoined Garang's faction at different times in 2002 and 2003 after talks with Sudanese have started and a provision recognizing self-determination for the people of South Sudan to decide at referendum was included.

However, with the independence of the south, the two leaders pride themselves as among leaders who revived and advocated for secession and Akol celebrates every August 28, the day on which they made the declaration in 1991. He sees himself as a progressive politician and one who would make a positive and meaning impact in the lives of the people, if given the opportunity to propagate and freely sell his vision to the people.

Akol, who contested against the incumbent President Salva Kiir in the 2010 general elections, now heads the National Democratic Party (NDM), a non-violence political entity, but has pervasive influence and armed groups operating in his constituency.

The outspoken opposition leader hopes to ascend to power someday if there is a leveled ground to propagate his policies and talk to the people freely. He believes he could a make significant impact and difference since his popular in his constituency and among young people in the country as well as among educated class except his political competitors and people who see him as the architect behind the 1991 split.

(ST)

The highly polluting fuel has contaminated the atmosphere, water and crops for nearly a century.

Modupe Osunkoya enrolled on her third post-graduate degree because she says there are no jobs at home.

August 30, 2021 (JUBA) - South Sudanese authorities have temporarily blocked access to social media services across the country as part of security measures to abort calls for protests for peaceful regime change in the country scheduled for August 30, 2021.

Leaders of the civil society groups organizing for the mass protest say the plan has not changed but have decided to carry out more consultations with some top security officers, army generals and police services to provide protection to protesters and to ensure people with different agendas and interests do not take advantage to destroy properties and cause havoc and harms.

“The plan has not changed. It is still on course. People will go out, but we have just told them to wait for guidance from the central committee”, a leading activist told the Sudan Tribune on Monday.

Online services have experienced restriction on Saturday after the government ordered telecom companies to block access to social media platforms as a part of measures to curtail mass mobilization for protests through social media platforms.

Nonetheless, activists continued to reach the social media platforms via Virtual Private Networks (VPN).

Activists say the blockage of social media services, shut down of a radio station in Jonglei and arrest of a bishop in Yei County in Central Equatoria motivate their mobilization to protest for freedoms.

A police spokesman has denied any link between the arrest of a bishop, the closure of a radio station in Jonglei and calls for general protests in the country.

On Sunday, Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth warned the public from taking part in the planned "illegal" protests on Monday.

Makuei further urged South Sudanese to support the implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement and the government efforts to move the country forward.

The official Government spokesperson, also, directed the civil service personnel and the public at large to resume their normal duties as usual.

The leaders of the civil rights activists are asking people to take to the street and protest the inability of the government to curb corruption, stop recurring communal fights, and ensuring freedom of expression.

Continued intimidation and arrest of activists, journalists, and political opponents are clear and obvious lack of political will to enforce the key provisions of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement, they say.

(ST)

August 29, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan and Chad Sunday discussed ways to increase joint cooperation to address the security challenges facing the two counties particularly the armed groups in Libya.

Mohamat Idriss Deby Chairman of the Transitional Military Council (CMT) in Chad arrived in Khartoum on a two-day visit. He met with the Head of the Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok.

Also, Deby held a closed-door meeting with al-Burhan, followed by another meeting involving the Sudanese defence and interior ministers and the directors of general and military intelligence agencies.

The Chadian delegation included the foreign minister, minister of public security, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, director of the security agency and AbdelKerim Idriss Deby, Deputy Director of the President's Civil Office.

In a statement released on Sunday evening, the Chadian presidency said that the interim Chadian leader called to deepen the security cooperation based on the signed bilateral and regional agreements.

Deby called for "reciprocal solidarity" between the two countries to face security challenges posed by "the presence in southern Libya of the hordes of mercenaries that might carry out new attacks such as Chad has already experienced," said the presidency.

The statement further stressed that these mercenaries who are "recruited, trained, supervised, armed and financed by foreign powers (...) must not be allowed to leave Libya because they pose a serious threat to the stability and security of both Chad and Sudan".

It was purported that the Russian Wanger militia group trained the Chadian rebel groups in Libya who sought to take power in Chad last April.

The Libyan warring parties hired rebel groups from Chad and Sudan to fight along with their forces. The civil war in the northern African country provided them with an opportunity to survive and rebuild their structures.

The Sudanese presidency said al-Burhan recalled the "great joint security operations" and called to develop it.

He further called on extend this cooperation to the economic sector and supporting social coexistence before underscoring that "there are many cooperation agreements between the two countries that must be activated for the benefit of the people."

When the rebels carried out their attack, Sudan deployed troops on the border areas to prevent them from controlling areas in far eastern Chad near Sudan. The attackers were forced to return to southern Libya.

Musa al-Koni Vice-President of the Libyan Presidential Council visited this week Khartoum and Ndjamena where he agreed with the Sudanese and Chadian leaders to activate a joint security agreement involving Niger.

In his meeting with Hamdok, Deby discussed economic cooperation between the two countries.

Also, the Sudanese Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi discussed with her Chadian counterpart bilateral relations and the need to include neighbouring countries in the international meetings to bring stability in Libya.

(ST)

Food prices are rising, the currency's value is falling and investor confidence is shaken.

August 28, 2021 (JUBA) - Some twenty people are killed and over 20,000 displaced following the intercommunal fighting in Western Equatoria state, according to a statement released by the National Salvation Front (NAS).

Since last July armed clashes have erupted in Tombura County between the Azande and Balanda ethnic groups.

The UN Mission in South Sudan UNMISS deployed patrols to protect civilians but the violence continued in the area.

In a statement extended t the Sudan Tribune the non-signatory NAS said the clashes affected several areas including Yubu, Akpa, Mabenge, Kpatanyayo among others.

"Over twenty Thousand (20,000) people were displaced, and about twenty people killed (20)," said the statement before mentioning the murder of the former Commissioner of Tombura County, Babiro Charles Gbamsi who was killed in his house on 24 August.

NAS which gathers fighters from the two ethnic groups called on the two sides to stop violence adding that the rift will only profit to the "conflict entrepreneurs" in Juba.

The statement further accused the government of President Salva Kiir of encouraging the hostilities the intercommunal fighting.

In return, it hailed the efforts of the religious communities to promote the peaceful resolution of the conflict and UNMISS for providing humanitarian assistance to the affected civilians.

The non-signatory group called on the International Community especially the AU, UN and TROIKA to press the government in Juba not to instigate conflicts among the communities of South Sudan.

On 12 August, UNMISS estimated that over 30,000 people have been displaced and some 500 households are camping in a church compound in Mupoi Payam.

(ST)

Ethiopian Yalemzerf Yehualaw smashes the women's half marathon world record at the Antrim Coast event in Northern Ireland.

August 28, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan has called for dialogue between Algeria and Morocco to resolve their difference and to reestablish bilateral ties.

On 24 August, Algeria cut diplomatic relations with Morocco, citing "hostile actions", but Morrocc rejected the "fallacious allegations".

The Sudanese foreign ministry said deeply concerned about the recent developments between the "brothers" in two northern Africa countries.

"Sudan calls on the two parties to reach a friendly and positive settlement and to turn this crisis into a real opportunity for solidarity and cooperation to achieve common interests," reads a statement released by the ministry.

Bilateral relations between the neighbour have been strained for decades due to the Western Sahara issue.

Also, Algerian Foreign Minister Ramdane Lamamra accused Morocco of using Pegasus Israeli spyware against its officials. Also, he accused Morocco of supporting a separatist group in the Kabylia region.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Arab League, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt in separate statements called for "dialogue" between the two neighbouring countries.

In the same trend, the United Nations Secretary-General encouraged the two Algeria and Morocco to find "a way forward to mend relations". Also, France attached to "to deepening ties and dialogue between nations of the region to consolidate stability and prosperity".

(ST)

August 28, 2021 (KHARTOUM) Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) Saturday pursued dialogue on ways to implement the goals of the December Revolution and reuniting the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) that toppled the former regime.

Last June, Hamdok launched a call to reunite the revolution's political forces and armed groups in order to implement its slogans for freedom, peace, and justice. Except for the SCP and an armed group led by Minni Minnawi, the FFC groups positively responded to his call.

Further, he held a first meeting with the Communists on 12 August to discuss the contentious issues and criticism of the government programmes including the IMF-supported economic reforms.

In a statement issued after his second meeting on Saturday, Hamdok cabinet said that the two sides reviewed the issues related to the cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC), trade unions law, security situation and IDPs in Darfur, census and preparation for general elections, landownership and foreign investments and legal reforms.

"On the ICC, the meeting agreed to hand over the wanted persons to the Court, and to implement the decision of the Council of Ministers in this respect," said the cabinet.

On Darfur, the meeting agreed on the importance to address the security situation and improve the situation of the displaced persons.

The parties also convened that a population census should be carried before the general elections taking into account the demographic changes that resulted from the war.

The Sudanese communists withdrew from the FFC in November 2020 and called to bring down Hamdok's government in April 2021.

The left party did not want to bear the responsibility of the unpopular economic reforms. Also, the communists voiced their opposition to the Juba process for peace it excluded the FFC forces and gave a big role to the armed components.

The government did not develop a plan to address the roots of the problem (in Darfur)," said Siddiq Youssif a leading figure of the party, "Rather it focused on reaching an agreement with the armed groups based on the power and wealth sharing," he stressed.

The prime minister informed the PSC leaders about his decision to form a ministerial committee to review the trade unions law contested by the communists.

The law had been already discussed during the first meeting.

The two sides also discussed the civil service and agreed to avoid the politicization of jobs and.

Regarding land ownership and foreign investments, the two sides agreed to preserve the rights of landowners.

Hamdok "affirmed Sudan's welcome to foreign investments that serve the national interests of the Sudanese people".

Recently the government intervened to cancel a decision by the Northern State taken last April to confiscate an agricultural area of over 40,000 hectares allocated to Bahrain in 2014 by the former regime.

The state government at the time said the land had not been developed by the Gulf state.

From Hamdok office, the meeting was attended by his political adviser Yasir Arman, media adviser Faisal Mohamed Saleh and le cabinet executive director Adam Hiraika.

(ST)

Agnes Sithole became an unlikely hero after her husband of nearly 50 years tried to sell their home.

August 27, 2021 (JUBA)- The U.S. Embassy in Juba issued an alert on Friday to the Americans in South Sudan, warning them to keep a low profile during protests planned on Monday 30 August.

Civil society groups called for peaceful but unauthorized protests across the country to protest violence, mismanagement and corruption in the country by the ruling elite.

"The demonstrations are not approved by the host government. All citizens should exercise caution and be aware of their surroundings, particularly around large crowds, or gatherings,” cautioned the statement.

The embassy further underscored that the planned peaceful protest could turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence with little or no warning.

The statement reminded U.S. citizens that the travel advisory for South Sudan remains at Level 4 due to crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict.

“Do Not Travel due to COVID-19, crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict. The U.S. government's ability to provide emergency consular services to U.S. citizens in South Sudan is extremely limited. U.S. government personnel in South Sudan are under a strict curfew that limits movements to daylight hours,” emphasized the embassy.

(ST)

As Strictly prepares to return to our screens next month another South African dancer has joined the professionals.

A couple who 30 years ago bought an abused chimpanzee are now trying to save a subspecies.

Kenya's Samburu women say selling goats' milk to an elephant sanctuary gives them independence.

The students from an Islamic school in Tegina were abducted by gunmen last May.

A selection of the best photos from the African continent and beyond.

A military confrontation that started 10 months ago in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region is spreading, with serious political, economic and humanitarian implications for the country and the broader region, the Secretary-General warned the Security Council on Thursday.

Nigerian powerlifter Latifat Tijani becomes the first African to win gold at Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.