Africa

Lam Paul Gabriel

April 14, 2021 (JUBA) - The recent changes in the top leadership of the South Sudanese army (SSPDF) are likely to delay the graduation of the unified forces, an official said.

Lam Paul Gabriel, the ministry of defense spokesperson said the sacking of the army chief of staff, Gen. Johnson Juma Okot and replacing him with Santino Deng Wol will affect implementation of the security arrangement.

"The pending tasks on the security arrangement are paused due to the new SSPDF deployments and are expected to be completed by the new army chief," Lam told Xinhua in Juba on Wednesday.

"As far as security is concerned we just received new deployments, the chairperson (Okot) was relieved and now we have a new chief of defense forces who is going to become the chairperson of the Joint Defense Board" he added.

Under the 2018 revitalized peace deal, the Joint Defense Board (JDB) is is the body charged with overseeing security reforms in the country.

The peace deal calls for establishment of unified forces made up of 83,000 soldiers to take charge of security during the three-year transitional period.

According to Lam, the number of soldiers supposed to form the first batch of unified forces to be graduated is unknown after several soldiers from training centers deserted due to lack of food, safe water and medicines.

(ST)

April 14, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The first Sudanese delegation to visit Israel will arrive in Tel Aviv on Friday or Saturday to coincide with the celebration of National Day.

On Tuesday, Reuters unveiled that a Sudanese delegation will visit Israel next week for the first time after the normalization of bilateral relations under the Abraham Accords brokered by the Trump administration.

Government officials in Khartoum confirmed to Sudan Tribune the visit saying it would take place on Friday or Saturday and include representatives of the civil and military components.

"The first official visit to Israel will intentionally coincide with the National Day to symbolize recognition of the State of Israel," said the Sudanese officials who requested anonymity.

The Minister of Justice, Nasr al-Din Abdal-Bari would be part of the Sudanese delegation, which will also include military, security and political officials, added the sources.

The military component of the transitional government was more enthusiastic about the normalization of relations with Israel.

Some political groups in the Forces for Freedom and Change voiced opposition to the contacts between the head of the Sovereign Council and the Israeli Prime Minister.

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan recently reaffirmed that his approach on this matter was guided by Sudan's interest and the need to break the international isolation of the country.

Israel supported Sudan' removal from the list of state sponsors of terrorism and pledged investment of transfer of agriculture technology to the east African nation.

(ST)

April 14, 2021 (EL-GENEINA) - Sudan's Interior Minister Wednesday discussed with West Darfur tribal leaders the implementation of security measures to restore social peace and bring to justice the responsible of the intercommunal violence.

Minister Izzeldin al-Sheikh arrived in El-Geneina on Monday with the head of the Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to inspect the security situation, visit the areas affected by the recent attacks and met with the different social components in the state including traditional and political leaders.

Before his return to Khartoum on Tuesday evening, al-Burhan issued several decisions including the deployment of additional troops to restore security, investigation of attacks, bring the culprits to justice, weapons collection and humanitarian aid to the affected people.

Also, he instructed the interior minister to remain in the capital of West Darfur to oversee the enforcement of all the security measures to end the tribal violence and prevent its resumption.

Al-Sheikh Wednesday held two separate meetings with tribal Quintet Committees of the Arab and Massalit tribes to brief them about al-Burahn's decisions and urged them to collaborate with the state security committee to ensure its implementation.

Speaking to the official news agency SUNA after the meeting, Tajeldin Mohamed Bahrain Massalit paramount tribal leader and head of their five-member committee confirmed their full commitment to all decisions taken to enforce the law, restore the state authority and enhance social peace.

Bahrain reiterated they would fully cooperate with the competent authorities to arrest culprits and collect weapons. He further said they would brief their community about the government's decisions and call to observe it.

For his part, Hamid Aldawai Dabuk head of the Arab five-member tribal committee affirmed their full readiness to implement the decisions of the Chairman of the Sovereign Council to address the situation in El Geneina after the recent violence.

Dabuk further stressed the need to deter the outlaws, expedite the implementation of the security arrangements of the Juba Peace Agreement.

On 12 April, al-Burhan met with tribal leaders in El-Geneina and urged them to contribute to the government efforts to curb tribal violence in the West Darfur State.

Also, he agreed with them to form quintet committees that will be the interlocutors of the security authorities and cooperate with them to arrest the responsible for the attacks and weapons collection.

Over 144 people were killed during the latest clashes between the Massalit and Arab tribe in El Geneina during the first week of April.

All the intercommunal attacks and revenge attacks were triggered by quarrels between individual and murders cases.

(ST)

April 14, 2021 (JUBA) - A Turkish charity organisation on Wednesday distributed food aid packages among vulnerable people in the South Sudan capital, Juba.

IDPs shelter near the UNMISS base in Wau (IOM/Gonzalez 2016)

More than 500 families are to benefit from food packages distributed by the Turkish organization Ab-i Hayat during the Muslim holy month.

While handing over the donation, the Turkish Ambassador to South Sudan, Erdem Mutaf said Islam is a religion of peace and urged people to live in harmony during Ramadan.

"This is a token of love and friendship from the Turkish people. We will continue supporting the people of South Sudan," he explained.

The head of the Islamic Council in South Sudan, Abdallah Braj Rwal, lauded the Turkish charity for supporting the people of South Sudan.

The situation in South Sudan remains dire across the country as almost 7 million people or 60% of the population are struggling to find enough food each day, aid agencies say.

South Sudan has been struggling to recover from five years of a civil war that killed almost 400,000 people, according to reports. A coalition government formed in February last year between President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar is implementing a revitalized peace agreement that is behind schedule, while deadly violence continues in parts of the country.

(ST)

Senegal has successfully reduced HIV but infection remains high among gay men.

The Cabo Delgado region in northern Mozambique is staring at a “large and likely long-lasting” humanitarian crisis, with nearly a third of its population displaced, worsening hunger and rising risk of deadly diseases, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.

Hundreds of students have been abducted in northern Nigeria, leading many schools to close.

Eleven persons have perished in an accident involving a Toyota minibus and a DAF Tipper truck in Alipe near Yapei in the Central Gonja District of the newly created Savannah Region. The Toyota mini bus with registration number AS 2872-20 is said to have veered off his lane and collided head-on with the DAF tipper truck with registration number NR 578.

A level 100 student of the University of Cape Coast has lost her life after being knocked down by a speeding Sprinter bus near the school 39;s Satellite Campus of the Nduom School of Business and Technology.

April 13, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Gunmen killed 7 people who were returning Monday from a weekly market near Geraida, about 100 km south of Nyalaon Monday, the capital of South Darfur state.

"Militiamen wearing military uniform opened fire on a totok tricycle, 2 km south of Graida when people were returning from Saggar weekly market," said the General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees Camps (GCDPRC) in a statement released on Tuesday.

The group which is supportive of the holdout SLM of Abdel Wahid al-Nur further said that 3 others were seriously wounded as a result of the shooting.

A complaint was filed to the police station in Graida and the victims were transferred to the hospital before burying the dead on Monday evening.

The deteriorating security situation and the attacks by militias "supported by a component of the transitional government have created a tragic humanitarian situation, further stressed the statement.

Different reports speak about the growing attacks on civilians and humanitarian groups by uncontrolled elements in Darfur.

On 3 April, gunmen carjacked an MSF ambulance, travelling from the Rokero area of Jabel Marra to El-Fasher Hospital in North Darfur State.

"The passengers, which included a pregnant woman who was being referred to hospital for emergency treatment, had all their belongings stolen and were left by the roadside in a remote location," said the medical humanitarian group.

The national security council decided this week to expedite the deployment of the 12000-troop joint force which includes former rebel groups signatory of the Juba peace agreement.

(ST)

The people of Kramokrom a farming community in the Akrofuom District can now heave a sigh of relief. This follows the Commissioning of a three (3) unit classroom block by the District Chief Executive (DCE) Jonas Maurice Woode to replace the old dilapidated structure.

lsquo;At the age of 17, Karl Marx wrote the following and throughout his life he lived by it: History calls those men the greatest who have ennobled themselves by working for the common good; experience acclaims as happiest the man who has made the greatest number of people happy; religion itself teaches us that the ideal being whom all strive to copy sacrificed himself for the sake of mankind, and who would dare to set at naught such judgments? If we have chosen th .

Muslims across the Bono East Region has begun the observation of the Islamic Ramadan pillar with a call on Ghanaians to continue with the observation of the Covid-19 protocols as it was the surest way to fight and eradicate the pandemic Ramadan form part of the Islamic pillars that mandate Islamic worshipers to fast for 30 days and seek for forgiveness from Allah their maker, during this period Muslims are said to stay without food and water as it is believed that it allows them t .

April 13, 2021 (JUBA) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir has urged the new army chief of staff, General Santino Wol to ensure there is unity within the national army (SSPDF).

South Sudanese president Salva Kiir (AFP)

Speaking during the swearing-in of the newly appointed army chief on Monday, Kiir said security is paramount for peace to hold across the country.

He urged the new army chief to ensure stability in the young nation.

“Santino Wol, you have been brought into this position, and this is a big position among all your peers, because if there is no security, no army, then there is no nation,” said Kiir.

The president, also commander in chief of the army, further urged the army chief to minimize desertions in the military.

The South Sudanese leader on Saturday appointed Wol to replace Gen. Johnson Juma Okot who was sent to Belgium as ambassador.

The newly-appointed army chief will oversee an estimated over 185,000 forces in the country.

(ST)

South Africa's Busiswa Gqulu is using her songs and poetry to overcome gender barriers in the music industry.

April 13, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok has called his Egyptian and Ethiopian counterparts for a closed-door meeting over the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), after the failure of the Kinshasa discussions, a week ago.

In a meeting held from 3 to 6 April in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo Kinshasa, the three countries failed to reach a deal over a four-way mediation to broker a final settlement on the GERD filling and operation.

The Sudanese cabinet in a statement released on Tuesday said the invitation is in line with the Declaration of Principles of 23 March 2015, which provides to hold talks at the level of heads of states or prime ministers if their delegations fail to settle a dispute.

"Since the parties have failed to reach an agreement through direct talks or African Union brokered negotiations, Sudan calls for a closed meeting between the prime ministers of the three countries via video-conference," reads the statement extended to Sudan Tribune.

The statement further said this meeting should take place within 10 days.

The meeting aims to evaluate the stalled negotiations on the GERD, to discuss possible options to break the deadlock and renew the political commitment of the three countries to reach an agreement in a timely manner in accordance with the DoP signed between the three countries.

" It is regrettable that ten years of negotiations have elapsed without reaching an agreement," despite the significant progress made during the meetings mediated by the United States and the World Bank, further said Hamdok.

The three countries have agreed on more than 90% of the agenda of the talks. Among the remaining issues, there are the conflict resolution mechanism, drought and other environmental issues, and data sharing.

Recently, Addis Ababa proposed to exchange data on the filing of the GERD without signing a legally binding agreement.

Ethiopian officials refuse to sign a legally binding agreement fearing that it would allow the downstream countries to prevent the construction of three other dams they plan to build in the future.

So, the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed proposed to start a new process from the scratch, to include a water-sharing deal in the process, or to sign two separate agreements one on the filling and another on the operation of the giant dam.

Sudan and Egypt reject these proposals stressing that any proposal should be based on the 2015 DoP and build on what has been achieved.

They also asserted Ethiopia's right to future development, underscoring that they want guarantees that these projects would not harm the downstream countries.

It is expected that the Sudanese prime minister would reiterate his call for a genuine political will based on the interests of the three countries and their joint destiny.

Hamdok's invitation is seen as the last attempt to reach a legally binding agreement before resorting to the UN Security Council and to avoid further escalations in the region if the parties fail to strike a deal.

(ST)

April 13, 2021 (CAIRO) - South Sudan has approved the importation of poultry products from Egypt, a senior official disclosed on Tuesday.

Egyptian minister of Agriculture, Assayed al-Qasir and his South Sudan counterpart, Josephine Joseph in Juba on April 8, 2021(courtesy photo)

The Egyptian Minister of Agriculture, Al-Sayed el-Qasir said the move comes within the framework of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's policy to open new foreign markets for Egyptian products, as well as to deepen the cooperation between Egypt the East African nation.

El-Qasir reviewed achievements Egypt has so far made in the field of domestic wealth, which, he said, had resulted in the animal health organization's accreditation of 14 areas free of bird flu in Egypt, approval of 16 other new facilities and the arrival of Egypt to self-sufficiency in poultry and the start of exporting abroad.

He further revealed that his country signed a signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with South Sudan to establish an integrated Egyptian farm for agricultural, animal, poultry and fish production.

Egypt was one of the countries that recognised South Sudan's independence on July 9, 2011.

(ST)

The rights of refugees and asylum seekers who have fled Burundi for Tanzania must be respected, experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council said on Tuesday in an appeal to authorities in both countries. 

UN-appointed independent rights experts on Tuesday condemned the killing of more than 50 people by “brutal policing methods”, linked to disputed national elections held in January.  

Tunisia football boss Wadie Jary has knowingly misled sport's highest legal body, suspended club Chebba FC complains.