Sudan Tribune

February 6, 2017 (JUBA) - President Salva Kiir Monday has relieved , Chol Deng Alak, the chief administrator of the disputed area of Abyei, attracting mixed reactions from the natives of the region.

Soldiers on patrol in the contested area of Abyei, which is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan (Photo: Reuters)

According to the order which became public this week, the president has replaced Alak with Kuol Alor Kuol Arop, better known as Kuol Alor Jok as the new chief administrator.

It remains unclear what prompted Jok's relief in less than two year after his appointment. However, observers attributed the move to a local power struggle.

The new chief administrator is already in the area carrying out consultations with different community members and groups to form his administration.

President Salva Kiir, in 2015 removed Kuol Monyluak and appointed Chol Deng Alak as the chief administrator for the oil producing and contested region of Abyei.

Khartoum and Juba failed to implement an agreement providing to appoint a joint administration, as the Ngok Dinka of Abyei say the priority should be for the referendum.

Since Juba appoints a chief administrator from the Ngok Dinka and Khartoum appoints a Misseriya for the administration of the same region.

(ST)

February 6, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, on Monday has relieved a “limited number” of officers in a third action of its kind within a year.

In February 2016, al-Bashir relieved senior army officers including 16 Major Generals.
Also, in 15 July 2016, Sudan's defence minister issued a decision to restructure the chief of staff of the ground forces a day after al-Bashir made major changes to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In a press release extended to Sudan Tribune, SAF spokesperson Ahmed Khalifa al-Shami said al-Bashir “issued a number of decisions to promote several officers from various ranks to the top rank and relieved a limited number of officers”.

He pointed the “changes come within the context of the annual routine work in accordance with the laws and regulations of the armed forces”.

However, al-Shami didn't elaborate on the number or ranks of the relieved officers or those who were promoted.

(ST)

February 6, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Father of a deceased Islamic State (ISIS) sympathizer on Monday has revealed that the twin sisters who flew from Khartoum to join the ranks of the group in Syria have been detained in Libya.

A Sudanese baby repatriated to Sudan after the death of his parents in Libya on Monday 6 February 2017 (ST Photo)

In 2015, two batches including twenty nine students from the medicine and pharmacy departments at the University of Medical Sciences and Technology, several of them holding British passports, travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria.

The two batches were followed by a third group of four girls, including twins Manar and Abrar Abdelsalam.

Al-laithi Youssef, father of Aya Youssef who joined ISIS in December 2015 and was killed alongside her husband, Ahmed Gasm al-Sid has arrived in Khartoum on Monday accompanied y his baby granddaughter.

According to Al-laithi, Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) in coordination with the Red Crescent have orchestrated a complex operation to hand over the baby in Libya, saying they conducted the necessary tests to establish her descent as well as her health and safety.

It is noteworthy that Aya had delivered a baby daughter before she was killed.

Al-laithi, who spoke to reporters upon arrival at Khartoum airport, disclosed that he met with the twin sisters Manar and Abrar Abdelsalam in the Libyan town of Musrata, saying they are being interrogated by the security authorities.

He pointed the twins have told him the story of his daughter's death and when and how she delivered her baby, expressing confidence that the NISS would bring the twins back to their family safe and sound.

The grieving father has described his deceased daughter as “pious and genius”, praising NISS's efforts to bring back his daughter and the rest of the youths who joined ISIS.

“It is obvious that the NISS enjoys wide relations abroad and it employs these relations to secure and protect the Sudanese boys and girls and to bring back those who fled the country,” he said.

In 2015, the Ministry of Interior in Khartoum announced that about 70 Sudanese had gone to join the ISIS franchises, both in Libya and Syria.

However, experts on Islamic groups put the total number of the Sudanese fighters within ISIS at 150 Jihadists, saying that 56 of them had travelled to join the extremist organization from countries other than Sudan.

They say that 35 of them have been killed in Iraq and Syria while 20 others have died in Libya.

(ST)

February 6, 2017 (JUBA) -South Sudan president Salva Kiir had instructed the country's defence minister to execute soldiers who commits human right abuses and atrocities.

President Salva Kiir, (L), accompanied by army chief of staff Paul Malong Awan, (R), waves during an independence day ceremony in the capital Juba, on July 9, 2015 (Photo AP)

The president gave instructions at a religious function held in Yei town on Monday after visiting the region for the first time since conflict broke out in the country in 2013.

“Let us do one thing; we get rid of bad elements among us and we remain clean, pure and perfect," he said.

The South Sudanese leader said he will only be interested in receiving execution reports on soldiers found to have committed crimes.

“From today onward, if such a thing happens, I want them to bring me a report that somebody has committed such a crime and has been shot”, said the president.

South Sudan's image, its president said, will not be tarnished if the order is implemented and it will make the country free of crimes.

In July last year, 121 government soldiers were arrested on suspicion of committing crimes including rape and looting of civilians during clashes in the capital, Juba.

The arrest came after the army announced the establishment of a military court martial meant to try soldiers accused of committing crimes during the clashes that occurred between government forces (SPLA) loyal to President Kiir and the armed opposition faction (SPLA-IO) loyal to the former First Vice President Riek Machar.

The United Nations had, in a report, documented more than 120 cases of sexual violence, including rapes and gang rapes of women and minors that allegedly occurred during renewed clashes that left over 200 dead and thousands displaced.

South Sudan emerged from more than four decades of civil war at the cost of 2.5 million lives lost to gain independence from Sudan in July 2011. The country again slid back into chaos that has further killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 2 million from their homes when Kiir accused Machar of plotting a coup.

The country remains in chaos, despite the signing a peace deal in August 2015.

(ST)

February 5, 2017 (JUBA) – Members of South Sudan's armed opposition faction (SPLM-IO) have warned of what they described as a humanitarian “catastrophic” in Unity state, if aid workers operating in the area fail to respond to needs of the people affected by war.

A view of the Protection of Civilians (POC) site near Bentiu, in Unity State, South Sudan (Photo UN/JC McIlwaine)

The spokesperson for rebels in the area, James Yoach Biding said Koch, Leer and Rubkotna counties were the areas worst-affected by the current crisis.

According to Yoach, those who fled fighting and sought refuge in the bushes for several months, no longer have access to humanitarian assistance, and this has put their lives at risk of famine.

“If there will be no quick humanitarian intervention, the areas of Koch, Leer and Rubkona counties shall have the worst humanitarian conditions record. You know that since last year, government forces devastated these locations by burning down house, looting properties and destroying health facilities,” he told Sudan Tribune.

Thousands of people, aid agencies say, fled their homes in the aftermath of clashes between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those allied to the country's former First Vice-President, Riek Machar.

Yoach said those displaced by fighting lacked food, medicine and other essential items and have now been surviving on wild fruits and leaves for months in the bush.

Members of the armed opposition are now appealing for quick humanitarian intervention especially in remote areas before the situation is out of control.

(ST)

February 5, 2017 (KHARTOUM) -The security apparatus detained for several hours the chairman of the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD), the independent group said in a statement released on Sunday.

The CCSD last week held a set-in outside the health ministry to reiterate their demand for protection, following the murder of a doctor in his private clinic in Sennar town in eastern South Sudan.

The doctor union said its chairman Mohamed Yassen had been arrested from the doctors barracks in Khartoum and held for eight hours at an office of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) in Khartoum North.

The group condemned the arrest of its chairman and rejected the "barbaric manner" of the security service threatening the safety of Dr. Yassen and the other physicians.

According to the statement, Yssaen was released at 09.00pm local time after being ordered to return to the NISS office in Khartoum North on Monday morning, without explaining the reasons for his arrest.

In October and November of last year, the CCSD organised a series of strikes refusing non-emergency treatments to protest the poor working conditions, lack of medicines and protection of doctors after increasing attacks by frustrated patients and their families.

(ST)

February 5, 2017 (JUBA) – The Japanese government has approved the $22.4 million budget it had earmarked for South Sudan's humanitarian and reconstruction assistance through its partnership with international organizations.

JICA

South Sudan witnessed renewed violence in July 2016 when its rival forces clashed in the capital, Juba, killing hundreds of people and displacing thousands.

The incident pegged back the country's nation-building process, less than five years after it gained its independence from Sudan following a referendum.

The humanitarian needs in South Sudan are immense and ever accumulating.

“For our relief efforts to successfully reach those in need, we look to the South Sudanese government's utmost effort to ensure humanitarian access and improve security situations,” the Japanese government said in a statement.

It further added, “Our assistance also goes to essential ceasefire monitors”.

The donation, according to the Japanese envoy to South Sudan, will cater for reconstruction, development and restoration of social fabric, with a view to supporting the nation's efforts to keep the straight and narrow path to peace.

“I wholeheartedly wish that the array of our humanitarian and resilience-building assistance bears fruit and once and for all shines as a Guiding Star for those who endeavour to realize peace and reconciliation in each of their communities,” said Kiya Masahiko.

Under the 2017-2018 projects, the donation will support operations of aid agencies such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), U.N Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), World Food Programme (WFP), U.N Refugee Agency (UNHCR), U.N Population Fund (UNFPA), the U.N Children's Fund (UNICEF), and U.N Development Program (UNDP) and World Health Organisation (WHO), among others.

Japan reportedly provided $13 million assistance to South Sudanese refugees in Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Japan's aggregate assistance to South Sudan since the December 2013 crisis reportedly reached $189million.

(ST)

February 5, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - South Kordofan government Sunday set -up a higher committee for the coordination of humanitarian and development action in the troubled state chaired by the Governor Issa Adam Abakr.

The formation of the committee comes in implementation of a presidential decision to coordinate the humanitarian activities in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan state, said the official news agency SUNA.

After a meeting held in Kadugli with the participation of the state ministries, the Governor Abakr, announced the formation of a technical committee for the humanitarian work chaired by the minister of social affairs and another for the development, besides several other committees for health, education, water, and IDPs.

These technical bodies, which are chaired by the general directors of the concerned ministries, have to facilitate the procedures and the movement of the various aid groups and development organizations to perform their work in the state.

The Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC), last December reviewed the guidelines and directives of humanitarian action in the country. The government body removed all the restrictions on the humanitarian access, and limited the ban to the risky conflict areas, for the other areas the aid groups have only to notify their decision before 48 hours.

Later on, Washington disclosed that decision was part of a five-track engagement process with Khartoum to lift the sanctions. The improvement of humanitarian conditions in the Two Areas if confirmed next July will lead to remove sanctions on Sudan definitively.

South Kordofan governor directed the different committees to develop clear polices and plans, and to tighten coordination between foreign aid groups and the United Nations organizations working in the humanitarian and development fields.

The meeting was attended by the State Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, UN agencies, foreign and national aid and development organizations as well as security and military and police organs.

Sudanese government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North have failed to reach an agreement on a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access. However, the two parties continue to abide by unilateral cessation of hostilities declaration they renews since last year.

According the UN agencies, as of 30 June 2016, the six year conflict in the South Kordofan and Blue Nile displaced around 600,000 civilians.

(ST)

February 5, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir said his government has repeatedly asked Egypt to not support the Sudanese opposition denying that Khartoum is hosting any leaders from the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) meets with Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir in Cairo on 18 October 2014 (Photo: Reuters)

During an interview with the Dubai-based Al Arabiya TV on Sunday, al-Bashir described his personal relationship with the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as “very distinct”.

“However that doesn't preclude the presence of outstanding issues [between the two countries],” he said.

He pointed that their problem is not with President al-Sisi but rather the regime, stressing the “Egyptian intelligence is offering support to Sudanese opponents”.

However, President Bashir didn't identify the opposition groups supported by Cairo or develop his claims.

Al-Bashir went further to say that his government has repeatedly demanded Cairo to stop supporting the Sudanese opposition, denying that Khartoum is hosting leaders from the Muslim Brotherhood.

“We didn't host any Brotherhood leaders in Sudan because our policy is against harboring any hostile activities against any country,” he said.

Relations between Sudan and Egypt have been frosty over the past few years, but they've recently begun to thaw thanks to a series of conciliatory diplomatic gestures.

In October 2014, presidents of the two countries upgraded representation in a joint committee aimed at strengthening bilateral ties.

DISPUTE OVER HALAYEB

Meanwhile, al-Bashir said Sudan will resort to the United Nations Security Council if Egypt refuses to negotiate over Halayeb area.

The Halayeb triangle, which is a 20,580 km area on the Red Sea, has been a contentious issue between Egypt and Sudan since 1958, shortly after Sudan gained its independence from the British-Egyptian rule in January1956.

The area has been under Cairo's full military control since the mid-1990's following a Sudanese-backed attempt to kill the former Egyptian President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak.

Al-Bashir underlined that “Halayeb triangle would remain a Sudanese territory”, saying the area was part of the electoral constituencies during the first Sudanese elections in 1954.

In April 2016, Cairo refused a demand by the Sudanese government to hold direct talks on Halayeb and Shalateen or to accept the referral of the dispute to the International Court of Arbitration.

Egypt has used to reject Sudan's repeated calls for referring the dispute to international arbitration.

The international law provides that the agreement of the two parties is needed to arbitrate a dispute by the tribunal.

Also, the Egyptian authorities have imposed restrictions on the entry of Sudanese nationals into the area.

Sudanese government continued to annually renew a complaint lodged to the UN Security Council over Halayeb.

SITUATION IN LIBYA

Meanwhile, al-Bashir said Sudan recognizes the government of national concord in Libya headed by Faiz al-Sarraj as the legitimate government.

“Any vacuum in Libya will [adversely] impact on the whole region, therefore Khartoum supports the resolution of the Libyan issue away from the conflict” he said
He denied that Khartoum is has provided arms to the warring parties in Libya after the fall of President Muammar Gaddafi.

Sudan is accused of supporting Libyan Islamists government based in Tripoli, as reports say Jihadist fighters from Sudan and other African countries are joining the Libyan chapter of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or Daesh group.

In September, 2014, the Libyan government had expelled the Sudanese military attaché after accusing Khartoum of flying weapons to Islamist rebels in Tripoli.

RUNNING FOR PRESIDENCY IN 2020

Responding to a question about his intentions to run for a third term in 2020, al-Bashir pointed that the 2005 constitution “limits the president to serving only two terms”, saying “I'm now serving my second term”.

He added that a number of leaders might compete to gain the chairmanship of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), saying the party chairman will be the nominee for the presidency.

The NCP Shura Council, in October 2014, choose al-Bashir again to be the party's candidate for the presidential elections of April 2015, in spite of his pledge earlier to not run for the office of President again.

In an interview with the Egyptian weekly, Al-Ahram in August 2016, al-Bashir said he would step down from the presidency and remains away from politics at the end of his term in 2020.

(ST)

February 5, 2017 (JUBA) – Several experts have cautioned over the proposal to place South Sudan under United Nations trusteeship, saying the young nation was not yet at the level that calls for international takeover.

The proposal to put under the U.N for an interim period gained momentum after the renewed clash broke out between the country's warring factions in July 2016, which saw hundreds killed and nearly two million people displaced.

Placing South Sudan under the U.N trusteeship implied the world body will govern the country for a specific period before handing it back to its people.

This proposal came from ex-government officials, citing the worsening security.

Some government officials have, however, dismissed any possibilities of foreigners taking over the country, which gained its independence in July 2011.

“It is our right. It is our country. We fought for it. We achieved the independence through referendum. The people of South Sudan decided for their country. So nobody is better than the people of South Sudan,” South Sudan's presidential spokesperson, Ateny Wek Ateny told Reuters in an interview.

“There are always minority voices that would hope for something totally different from what the majority of people of any given country say,” he added.

Uganda on, Thursday, rejected any move to militarily intervene in the war-torn nation, saying such interference will make the country's security situation worse.
South Sudan broke into conflict in December 2013. The conflict has killed thousands of people and driven more than 2 million from their homes.

Currently, over 200,000 people are still sheltered in U.N camps in parts of the country.

In 2014, South Sudan President Salva Kiir accused the U.N of seeking to take over the country and speculated that is mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) may have pushed his political rival, Riek Machar, to rise up against the Juba government.

EXPERTS WARN OVER TRUSTEESHIP

Remember Miamingi, a South Africa-based law expert, argued that conditions in the young nation are not yet at the requisite level for International Transitional Administration (ITA), but backed calls for government of technocrats.

"Even though I believe that in some extreme cases of state failure ITA might be an appropriate remedy, I intend to argue here that South Sudan is not yet a very good case," he told Xinhua.

Miamingi said international trusteeship succeeded only in countries like East Timo and Kosovo, where warring parties had reached mutually hurting stalemates, and with significant domestic constituencies that were willing to consent to ITAs.

"ITAs should more likely be considered only in the event that a territory contains a true vacuum of political authority; domestic political agents are fragmented to the extent that collective action via UN-facilitated power sharing is impossible; political actors are too violent or untrustworthy, or because they have violated foundational internal norms and covenants," said Miamingi.

According to the law expert, ITAs for South Sudan should be the last resort for an extreme form of limited statehood.

"Other options should be tried first before frog jumping to the other extreme. One such alternative is a technocratic administration of South Sudanese with support where needed, from the international community," he said.

He further added that such technocratic government could be responsible for overseeing the healing, reconciliation and accountability processes, ensuring political and security stability, and providing normative and institutional frameworks for successful transition.

Meanwhile, South Sudan's former deputy defence minister Majak D' said there was urgent need for roundtable conference outside Juba to bring all the country's warring factions to chart a new road map for the war-ravaged nation.

"The first premise to restoring peace is to recognize that the peace agreement has been fractured and for peace to return a fresh break is needed," he told Xinhua.

(ST)

January 3, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese rights defender Mudawi Ibrahim for the second time has gone on hunger strike on Thursday to protest his arbitrary detention, his family said on Friday.

Chairman of the Sudan Social Development Organization (SUDO) Mudawi Ibrahim Adam (www.democracyandsecurity.org)

During the last week of January Ibrahim stopped his hunger strik,e which he began on 22 January, upon the insistence of his family after fears for his deteriorating health. The 59-year -old activist suffers from a heart illness.

Adam was arrested on Wednesday 7 December at the Khartoum University, where he works as an engineering professor.

"We declare that Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim will go on an open-ended hunger strike until the authorities respond to this legitimate demands to put him on trial or release him promptly," said a statement extended by his family to Sudan Tribune on Friday.

"We hold the security and state authorities responsible for any harm that befell him," said the family and called on the civil society groups and political forces to pay particular attention to to advocate for his release.

Ibrahim is detained because of his efforts "for better future for the Sudanese people and the Sudan," stressed the statement.

The family pointed that he had given the authorities until the first of February to put him on trial or to release him, adding that he resumed to strike because he sees it as the only weapon to protest his arbitrary detention.

Last December Amnesty International condemned Madawi's arrest saying it "underscores the government's desperate attempts to extinguish the last embers of dissent in the country".

Ibrahim's arrest came after the detention of over twenty political leader and activists last November. All of them have been released.

Also, His detention followed calls for general disobedience in the country to overthrow the government of President Omer al-Bashir. The virtual campaign for general strike had been launched through the social media by unidentified activists.

(ST)

By Andrew Anderson

The recent decision by President Obama to lift sanctions on Sudan might give cause for hope that the human rights situation in the country might finally be moving in a positive direction.

Sadly, the reality is that the situation is going in the opposite direction and the government of Sudan is currently waging a campaign of violence and intimidation to silence the last voices of dissent. The ongoing violence by government forces, pro-government militia groups and anti-government armed groups forms the backdrop to continued harassment, arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detentions and torture of human rights defenders (HRDs) by Sudanese military and security forces.

In November the government arrested 23 opposition activists, 10 of whom are currently on trial, following a three day stay at home strike organised to protest at the rising cost of living and the cutting of government food subsidies. The government's immediate response was uncompromising confrontation. Speaking to supporters at an event in the east of the country, President Bashir said “We want to tell them that if you want to overthrow the regime, then face us directly on the streets. I challenge you to come out onto the streets. But we know you will not come because you know what happened in the past… This regime will not be overthrown by keyboards and WhatsApp.”. In 2013 more than 200 people were killed when the army and police cracked down on protests against a previous round of subsidy cuts.

Meanwhile the government has shut down independent media and has repeatedly seized the print runs of newspapers prior to distribution. In this way the newspapers have to incur the printing costs while being unable to sell any of the papers. It is yet another way to silence independent or critical voices.

One of those voices is that of Dr Mudawi Ibrahim Adam. Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim is one of the most distinguished human rights defenders in Sudan known for his role in exposing human rights violations in Darfur. He is the founder and former director of the Sudan Social Development Organization (SUDO), which works on human rights as well as water, sanitation and health.

Dr Mudawi is a man who has devoted his life to trying to pull Sudan out of the chaos of war and conflict and to building a peaceful prosperous Sudan. He wrote “I think we have no choice. If we want to live a decent life in our own country we have to continue working with the people, struggling with them. We need the support of the international community. We need to feel that there are people behind us. It is a moral support. It is not tangible but it has a deep meaning in the heart. It has something, even when you close your eyes you see people who you haven't seen, you imagine their shapes, but they are holding your hand continually”.

But now it is Mudawi himself who needs this support.

On 7 December 2016, Mudawi Ibrahim Adam and his long-time driver Mr Adam El-Sheikh were arrested on the University of Khartoum campus and forcibly transferred to an unknown location. On 12 December, Ms Nora Abaid, an accountant from Mudawi Ibrahim Adam's engineering company, Lambda Engineering, was arrested by NISS agents who approached her in an unmarked car. They all continue to be detained incommunicado. Under the 2010 National Security Act (NSA), detainees can be held in custody for up to four and a half months without judicial review.

On 22 January 2017, Dr Mudawi Ibrahim Adam started a hunger strike, in protest of his arbitrary detention since 7 December by the Sudanese authorities. Reports received today describe how members of the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) badly beat him and chained him to the wall of his cell. It seems this is an attempt to force him to end his hunger strike. Mudawi has been tortured before. He has now been detained on at least five occasions by the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) since 2003. He has been threatened and he has been subjected to prosecution on fabricated charges. And yet he has refused to flee his beloved country. He has continued to work peacefully for an end to conflict and respect and rights for all in Sudan.

The government of the United States and other providers of significant development aid must send a clear message to the government of Sudan that the lifting of sanctions is not an unconditional act of benevolence. The government of Sudan must honour its commitments to improve the human rights situation. A starting point would be the release of Dr Mudawi and all those jailed for using their right to peaceful protest.

Andrew Anderson is Executive Director Front Front Line Defenders – the International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, based in Dublin, Ireland

February 3, 2017 (EL FASHER) - Two police officers and an army soldier were killed in an ambush by cattle rustlers outside the capital of North Darfur state on Friday.

A UNAMID peacekeeper during a routine patrol in Tawila, North Darfur.(Photo UNAMID/Hamid Abdelsalam)

A government official said the attack occurred when a joint force was returning to Tawila, 60 km west of North Darfur capital El-Fasher, after recapturing the stolen cattle.

The official source who requested anonymity said on Thursday the armed rustlers had stolen the cattle outside Tawila and headed in direction of Jebel Sirginat, in the northern part of the area.

Following what a force from the army, police and Popular Defence Forces, joint by several villagers tracked the raiders, clashed with them and recaptured cattle stolen cattle.

However, the rustlers attacked the force while it was returning to Tawila and killed a soldier, and two police officers, he said.

Also, the assailants wounded two army lieutenant officers and the owner of stolen cattle, Dawod Bosh.

A local leader Ahmed Suleiman confirmed that some villagers took part in the hunting of raiders.

Suleiman further said the rustlers besides the cattle captured a Land Curser vehicle and motorcycle.

(ST)

February 3, 2017 (JUBA) - The governor of Wau state has condemned the killing of a presidential guard, ordering security organs and military intelligence officers to carry out thorough investigations to arrest the criminals .

Wau state governor Andrea Mayar Acho (ST Photo)

“This is really sad and unfortunate development. What such people are doing is to create a bad name for this state, which is the mother of all the states of Greater Bahr el Ghazal. But we will not allow this. Together with our security organs, our military intelligence, criminal investigation department and all the citizens of this state and those living with us will work together to bring the culprits to account”, governor Andrea Mayar Achor told Sudan Tribune on Friday.

Governor Achor said the incident occurred in Gazira, an area located west of Bahr El Ghazal University and south of the main Joh market in Wau town, the administrative headquarters of the new state.

He identified the deceased as Harbi Ramadan. He was one of the Presidential Guard soldiers and drivers who accompanied the first lady, Mary Ayen Mayardit during her recent visit to Bahr el Ghazal.

Ramadan worked as a driver and security guard for President Kiir's wife. He requested to remain behind when the first lady decided to return to Juba, saying he wanted to take some rest and to see some family members before to resume his work.

The victim was killed while he was returning home after escorting people he invited for a get together evening meal at the family house in Gezira area.

“It was not very late. I don't know the exact time but I heard from the relatives that it was some minutes to 8:00pm. It was not actually dark. People were still moving”, a source said Friday.

(ST)

February 3, 2017 (JUBA)- South Sudan president Salva Kiir has been amused by the visit and donation made by Moroccan King Mohammed the VI, describing him as a "true brother".

“There is no other way I can describe the support we have received from His Majesty the King of Morocco than to say he is a true brother. A brother stands with a brother at all times, whether it is good or bad time. On behalf of the government and the people of South Sudan, I extend sincere him appreciation and thanks for support we have received from the people and government of Morocco headed by His Majesty the king. We pledge our support and cooperation with the government and the people of Morocco in all fields,” said president Kiir after visiting Juba military hospital on Thursday.

President Kiir, together with the King Mohammed VI of Morocco, on Thursday held a last meeting after inauguration of a Moroccan mobile clinic in Juba at Dr John Garang Mausoleum.

The South Sudanese leader, also, said that the two-day visit symbolizes the commitment of the Moroccan King and upholds the values of pan-Africanism and solidity.

King Mohammed VI's visit to South Sudan takes palace after the readmission of his country at the African Union more than three decades after it left to protest the recognition of the independence of the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

Juba in the past supported the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic which was among the first countries to recognise South Sudan Independence. However, Rabat, which plans to forge an anti Saharawi front inside the African Union in order to expel them from the African Union, hopes that South Sudan will join this alliance after it refused to oppose its readmission to the regional body.

Several several southern African countries said opposed to the Morocco reintegration in the African Union and condemned "the occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco".

Information minister and the government spokesperson expressed appreciation of support from the Moroccan King Mohammed VI.

“When His Majesty visited the mobile hospital, he found a young sick man, and he decided to take him and that he should be accompanied by a doctor, he decided to go and treat him and take maximum care until he gets well,” Minister Michael Lueth told reporters after the end of the two days visit on Thursday.

Lueth revealed that the Moroccan King has invited President Salva Kiir to visit Morocco. He did not say when the visit would take place but that it would occur when preparations are completed.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

February 3, 2017 (ADDIS ABABA) - Chairman of the South Sudanese Nuer community in Ethiopia has defected to join President Salva Kiir's government in Juba.

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

The defection of the community chairman, John Jekow, comes after a private meeting with President Salva Kiir in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Kiir was in the Ethiopian capital earlier this week to participate in the 28th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU), which was wrapped up on Tuesday.

Puoch Jal, acting chairperson of the Nuer community on Friday told Sudan Tribune that Jekow flew to Juba on Wednesday along with President Kiir abandoning his post.

The opposition allied Nuer community and Unity state students union in Ethiopia have condemned the defector for meeting Kiir and joining Juba government .

"We can not accept the blood of our people to be betrayed for personal interest," said Peter Thudan, chairman of Unity state students union.

"The government in Juba should instead address the root causes of the conflict and listen to the voices of reason that call for the revival of the peace agreement through a political process instead of resorting to bribing community members which will not help end the conflict" he added.

The Union reaffirmed that the they will firmly continue to stand behind the SPLM In Opposition faction led by former vice President, Riek Machar, until the "objectives of the struggle are met".

"We will not accept those who want to feed on the blood of the innocent people who have suffered and perish in the hands of the regime in Juba" the union said.

NUER YOUTH CONDUCT ELECTION

Meanwhile the Nuer youth Union in Ethiopia on Friday said that it has conducted a successful election and declared Wany Lam as the new chairman the exiled union.

The electoral board of the Union told Sudan Tribune that the election conducted here in Addis Ababa was held in accordance to the election procedures and was fair and free.

"This is the kind of democracy we need. We should not entertain violence as a tool of our social activities," said Lam.

He pledged to serve equally and further vow to unite all Nuer youths of common interest.

"It was in my manifesto that I will unite all youths and I will never allow any politicians to divide us and the organization as political tools" said Lam.

The newly elect is due to shortly make visit to South Sudanese refugee camps in Ethiopia's Gambella region where he will establish a youth coordinator office and further elect a representative who will communicate to make sure the refugees voices are heard.

Lam called on Nuer Youth groups in Diaspora to support the Union in Ethiopia so that it could manage to assist the refugees in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia currently hosts around 300,000 South Sudanese refugees, mainly Nuer who fled home to escape civil war which erupted in December 2013.

(ST)

By Eric Reeves

Among the myriad Executive Orders that President Trump has inherited from the Obama administration is one essentially lifting sanctions on the regime in Khartoum, Sudan. During his last week in office Obama declared there had been sufficient “positive action over the past six months” by the very regime regime the former president had repeatedly accused of genocide—both before and after taking office. Obama used his UN ambassador, Samantha Power, to make the case in detail: during her last press conference, Power declared, falsely, that a “sea change” in improved humanitarian access throughout Sudan justified the administration's decision. She cited one unrepresentative example, even as every humanitarian and human rights organization that has spoken about Power's claim denies its validity. Human Rights Watch declared Obama's decision simply “inexplicable.”

So it falls to the conspicuously dysfunctional Trump administration to decide whether during the upcoming six-month “testing period” Khartoum deserves to see a finalizing of this lifting of sanctions. It can choose to ignore realities on the ground, as the Obama administration did in its assessment of the past six months; or it can take a hard look at what is widely reported from those on the ground and in the Sudanese diaspora. Humanitarian embargoes, imposed by Khartoum, continue to affect many hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in the long-marginalized regions of Darfur, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile. The “sea change” Ambassador Power spoke of is certainly not visible in South Kordofan, where an experienced and highly informed humanitarian wrote to me, declaring: “there's been absolutely no change in humanitarian access. Not a single grain of sorghum nor one tablet of medicine has entered Nuba Mountains from any of the usual humanitarian agencies.”

The new administration can look at compelling evidence that an epidemic of rape continues to be part of Khartoum's genocidal counter-insurgency campaign in Darfur, now in its fifteenth year. It can look at the continuous shelling and bombing of clearly civilian targets in the three regions. It can look at overwhelming evidence that chemical weapons were used in Jebel Marra, Darfur last year—evidence assembled assiduously by Amnesty International. It can look at the rapidly escalating and increasingly violent repression by the regime in suppressing civil discontent—discontent that follows from an economy imploding not because of U.S. sanctions but because of massive corruption and self-enrichment that have always defined what is essentially a kleptocracy. “Shoot to kill” orders have been both given and threatened in the face of rising unrest.

In light of Trumps immoral and badly confused Executive Order on refugees coming to the U.S. from Sudan and six other countries—affecting countless real or potential Sudanese refugees—there is precious little reason for optimism.

Moreover, the Trump administration, burdened by its policy myopia, is unlikely to understand that the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions—particularly financial sanctions—has been undermined by massive money-laundering on the part of French banking giant BNP Paribas, which pled guilty to criminal violations of U.S. financial laws in 2015, primarily because of activities that directly benefited the Khartoum regime. A civil suit filed on Federal District Court (Southern District of New York, Case 1:16-cv-03228-AJN) lays out in highly revealing detail the way in which BNPP served (in the words of the former U.S. Deputy Attorney General) “as a de facto central bank for the Government of Sudan.”

Despite the declaration today (Sudan Tribune, February 3, 2017) by President al-Bashir that the Obama administration lifted sanctions on Sudan because of their “futility,” the truth is that their efficacy has not been tested: BNP Paribas saw to that during their long tenure as “central bank” for al-Bashir and his genocidal regime. Those in the world of Washington-based pundits who proclaim their agreement with al-Bashir only reveal their ignorance of the potency of the U.S. financial sanctions that BNP Paribas so effectively undermined.

The regime in Khartoum has not changed in the 27 years since it seized power in a military coup as the “National Islamic Front.” It continues to wage genocidal counter-insurgencies against the marginalized regions of the country in order to maintain a monopoly on national wealth and power. And the regime has assessed with uncanny skill the willingness—or lack thereof—by the international community to confront the regime over these multiple genocidal assaults—in what is now South Sudan, in the Nuba Mountains during the 1990s, in Darfur beginning in 2003, and now South Kordofan and Blue Nile. If it believes that refusing to acknowledge a cholera epidemic in these regions serves its purposes, it will deny—until facts become so overwhelming as to compel acknowledge of this vast threat to hundreds of thousands of civilians, especially in the eastern regions of Sudan.

The Trump administration looks at once badly confused and dismayingly indifferent to all but major geopolitical events—and here Sudan clearly does not qualify except as a resource for counter-terrorism intelligence, “red meat” for the wolves in the intelligence community that increasingly dominates U.S. foreign policy. Moreover, the odds-on favorite to become Trump's Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Peter Pham, has put himself decisively on record—even before Obama's Executive Order—as strongly favoring the lifting of sanctions against Khartoum.

Congress, which once took Sudan seriously on a bipartisan basis, is presently nowhere to be found in responding to the Executive Order. It was not always so: in July 2004 every member of Congress—in both houses and from both parties—declared that Khartoum was committing “genocide” in Darfur. But the present wait-and-see Congressional attitude only makes more likely a de facto lifting of sanctions (without another Executive Order they will disappear on July 13)—or encourages the Trump administration to believe it can not only lift sanctions but proceed apace with the rapprochement the U.S. intelligence community strongly favors—a supremely callous trade-off in which U.S. favors are given to Khartoum in return for counter-terrorism intelligence—in many cases about the very terrorists previously supported by the regime, which hosted Osama bin Laden during the formative years of al-Qaeda (1992 – 1996).

Just this week Sudanese intelligence General Hanafi Abdallah boasted of Khartoum's important to American counter-terrorism intelligence:

"There is communication between the two bodies and regular meetings. The CIA office in Khartoum is the largest office in the Middle East. Because the United States is aware of the Sudan strategic importance in the region, it has established one of the largest diplomatic missions in the region, even they had to expand their buildings," said Hanafi in an interview with the Khartoum based Al-Sudani newspaper published on Tuesday. (Sudan Tribune, January 31, 2017)

Although the regime lies shamelessly, there is on this occasion little reason to doubt the truth of this statement, which has not been denied by the U.S. State Department. For a long time the Khartoum regime held hostage the opening of CIA operations in the new building and embassy in Khartoum, knowing how desperate the agency was to gain access to what was designed to be the premier listening post in North Africa. The date of the Obama administration's gaining operational permission from Khartoum was never publicized, but clearly—whenever the final terms of the quid pro quo were settled upon—things are humming for the CIA in Khartoum now, and this more than any other factor governs any future decision by the Trump administration concerning reinstating sanctions and Sudan policy generally. And it will be a decision only nominally made by the State Department.

It is hard to be optimistic, with Washington-based pundits lauding Obama's Executive Order, and an incomprehensibly thoughtless Trump administration that gives no sign of heeding Sudan's agony as it pushes for “America First.” This may well be Sudan's darkest hour.

Eric Reeves has written extensively on Sudan for almost two decades; he is a Senior Fellow at Harvard University's François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights

Darfur groups welcome new African Union Commission chairperson Moussa Faki

February 3, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Two Sudanese rebel groups from Darfur region Thursday welcomed the election of Moussa Faki as new chairperson of the African Union Commission.

Faki who last week was picked by the African leaders for the position, vowed to place development and security at the top of his agenda. As former Chadian foreign minister he was involved in the regional efforts to end the Darfur crisis since several years.

In separate statements the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement - Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) extended a warm welcome to Faki and wished him success as the new Head of Africa's executive body.

"The SLM expect him, as a new Commissioner, to use his august office and exhibit more earnest steps to judiciously expedite and enhance AU's efforts in resolving Sudan's long standing conflict particularly in Darfur and the two areas," said Trayo Ali, SLM-MM chief negotiator in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune

JEM's leadership "wishes the best of luck and success to Minister Faki and hopes that his choice contributes to the transition of the African Union to new diplomatic spaces and to achieve (regional) security, stability, peace-building, development and democracy," said Ahmed Tugud Lissan JEM top negotiator.

During his campaign, Faki said that he harboured dreams of an Africa where the “sound of guns will be drowned out by cultural songs and rumbling factories”. He pledged to streamline the organisation during the course of his four-year term in office.

In statements to the Radio France Internationale (RFI) on 23 January, Moussa Faki said that AU needed strong leadership from someone who could “refocus on the basics”, adding that the regional body had only implemented less than 15% of the 1,800 resolutions adopted since 2002.

The African Union is brokering peace talks between the Sudanese government and opposition including the armed groups.

(ST)

By Leonard O. Akwany

Natural hazards such as floods and drought have become more prevalent in the Nile River Basin - as a result of climate and weather changes - resulting in massive disasters which drain communities economically, physically and environmentally.

Wetlands are naturally productive ecosystems which are capable of managing the risk of disasters to communities. They can contain flood water, which helps cushion communities against floods. When there's drought, they release the water which supports livelihoods. Aside from their buffering effects, wetlands also act as water purifiers.

The Nile river basin has a complex system of wetlands in 11 countries, namely; Burundi, DR Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, The Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. These wetlands provide not only physical benefits but also ecosystem services, which sustain the local communities directly or indirectly dependent on wetlands. They supply water for both domestic and commercial use and provide food including fish and wild plants. The wetlands are also home to charismatic birds and wild animals and give authentic aesthetic experiences, which are key to the development of tourism.

The Sudd Wetland, which is the largest freshwater wetland in the Nile Basin and is also one of the largest flood plains in the world, extending up to 130,000 square kilometers during rainy seasons, boasts over 100 fish species, 400 bird species and an important stopover site for water birds including a significant number of migratory bird species.

The Sudd wetland has been designated as one of the wetlands of International importance and has a large natural resource base which supports agriculture, livestock, fisheries and wildlife. Additionally, Sudd Wetland is critical for the basal water flow of river Nile benefiting associated biodiversity and livelihoods, especially of downstream communities.

Despite all the benefits offered by these wetlands, they continue to be heavily fragmented, degraded and reclaimed due to human activities such as encroachment for settlement, conversion into agricultural lands owing to population pressure, grey infrastructural development and poor implementation of policies protecting wetlands.

The continued destruction of wetlands only works to compromise their health and integrity and consequently, are unable to execute their functions as natural buffers against natural disasters.

The Nile Basin Initiative is working towards the maintenance of healthy wetlands and restoration of degraded ones as this is imperative to disaster risk reduction. At the 2016 inaugural Nile Basin Wetlands Forum, which was attended by representatives from 10 member states and other key stakeholders, participants identified a number of challenges. These range from inadequate governance instruments, infrastructural and agricultural encroachment, minimal trans-boundary collaborations within the Nile Basin trans-boundary wetlands and inadequate baseline information.

The possible inspiring interventions proposed include building baseline information, restoration of the wetlands, development of a Wetlands Atlas, wetland management and investment plans, economic valuation of wetlands and their associated resources, enactment of national policies and legislations and re-awakening of dry land wetlands. These interventions would boost wetlands' capability in disaster risk reduction and ultimately build resilience. NBI will be working towards scaling and replicating these interventions in trans-boundary wetlands and wetlands of regional significance.

Nile Basin Initiative in collaboration with German Development Agency (GIZ) is implementing a programme under the theme of Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Ecosystem Services of Wetlands of Trans-boundary Relevance in the Nile Basin. The main goal of this programme is to strengthen the technical and institutional capacities of riparian States and other stakeholders for sustainable management of these wetlands for benefits stated herein.

Strategically NBI Wetlands work is anchored on The Wetlands Management Strategy developed in 2013 and focused on providing direction on sustainable utilization of Nile Basin Wetlands. Additionally, Nile Basin Initiative Wetlands work is geared towards supporting the riparian states meet their obligations under Ramsar Convention, Convention on Biological Diversity, Climate Change Adaptation and Sustainable Development Goals.

Finally, NBI is establishing a NileWet Network Platform as regional forum linked to Ramsar convention to provide a platform for collaboration between governments, technical experts, international NGOs, local communities and private companies working on wetlands in the Nile Basin for desired critical mass in working towards enabling healthy River Nile Basin wetlands for disaster risk reduction and general Nile Basin wetlands sustainability.

The writer is a Regional Wetlands Expert at Nile Basin Initiative Secretariat

February 2, 2017 (KAMPALA) – The Ugandan government has ruled out any move to militarily intervene in the South Sudanese conflict, saying its involvement could worsen the country's security situation.

Ugandan Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Henry Oryem Okello (C) speaks to the press after a meeting with President al-Bashir in Kartoum on 20 June 2016 (ST Photo)

Uganda's deputy foreign affairs minister, Henry Okello Oryem said interference in South Sudan's issues would be opposed by the country's leaders.

"I don't think it's a good idea," Oryem told Reuters on Wednesday.

"That's a colonial mentality. If an attempt was made to have trusteeship in South Sudan, then I think even the [Riek] Machar's side would resist it and fight it," he added.

South Sudan broke away from neighbouring Sudan in July 2011 after a referendum.

The Ugandan army joined the conflict in South Sudan soon after it began in December 2013, fighting on President Salva Kiir's side against rebels led by Riek Machar, the nation's ex-first vice president.

The Ugandan presence helped prevent the capital, Juba from falling into rebel hands. Ugandan troops pulled out late last year.

In August 2015, an internationally brokered peace deal restored some calm, although that broke down in July last year with heavy fighting between the rival forces in Juba, after which an injured Machar managed to flee to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Minister Oryem, however, said Uganda was misunderstood by the international community when it intervened in South Sudan after violence broke out in December 2013.

"We've told them we are not going to go back," he said, adding "Uganda has no more interest in sending its troops and boys to South Sudan."

South Sudan has experienced violence since December 2013 when political disagreements between President Kiir and Machar saw the nation split along ethnic lines. Tens of thousands of people have since been killed and millions displaced in South Sudan's worst violence since its independence.

(ST)