Africa

August 18, 2016 (TORIT) – James Lomilo, a teacher at Hope for South Sudan primary school in Eastern Equatoria state was on Monday killed and his body dumped in a forest.

The map of Eastern Equatoria state in red

The deceased, an eye witness said, was last seen on Sunday afternoon after church service in Kapoeta town.

The decaying body [of Lomilo] was found some meters away from the school in the forest near to the school premise in Kapoeta town, said Peter Lopeyok.

Police have reportedly launched investigations into the murder.

The school head teacher, Jenifer Losike Lokai described the Lomilo as a punctual and humble teacher in his profession.

The late was one of the full time trained teachers in Hope for South Sudan School in for over three years,” she stressed.

Police officers on duty at the school, however, declined to comment on the matter.

(ST)

August 18, 2016(BOR) – Over 900,000 SSP was saved by Jonglei state government after a screening exercise, involving removal of ghost workers and absentees from payrolls.

Jonglei state governor, Phillip Aguer speaks during the independence occassion July 9, 2016 (ST)

The process, an official told Sudan Tribune, started three months ago.

According to the state secretary general, Mawut Achiek, not less than 250 employees whose names were found on payrolls, but not presence at work places, were screened.

“We are saving 300,000 SSP. This had been going to individuals' pockets in the state. We have also identified not less than 250 ghost names. These are people, who are no longer there, or they had never existed and there is no scientific evidence to proof their employment in the first place”, Achiek told reporters in the state capital, Bor.

The state government, he said, inherited a huge workforce when the province was controversially divided into four states, namely Fangak, Eastern Bieh and Boma.

The other three states went away with workforce of less than 3,000 employees in total, leaving new Jonglei state with over 5,000 employees alone, stressed Achiek.

Meanwhile, the state government said it was not determined to fully reduce the workforce to a reasonable number that would easily be manageable financially.

(ST)

Reporting that 650 children have been recruited into armed groups in South Sudan since January, the United Nations Children&#39s Fund (UNCEF) called today for an immediate end to recruitment and an unconditional release of all children by armed actors.

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August 18, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's National Council for the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (NCDDR) revealed that 4718 former rebel combatants have been demobilized in 2015 while 4,003 others were integrated into the civic institutions.

Members of the Sudan Liberation Army disembark from their vehicle in Susuwa, north Darfur, May 15, 2006. (Reuters)

Sudan's Council of Ministers on Thursday has approved the NCDDR's 2015 report presented by the Minister of the Presidency Fadl Abdalla.

In press statements on Thursday, the Council of Ministers spokesperson, Omer Mohamed Salih said the disarmament and demobilizations are basic requirements for achieving peace, saying the process was funded by the Ministry of Finance, Zakat (ulms) Chamber besides foreign funding from Japan and Spain.

He pointed the ex-fighters have been accommodated in agricultural, mineral and water harvest projects, saying the Council of Minister hailed the NCDDR efforts to integrate the combatants into the civil life.

In 2013, Sudan and South Sudan agreed on joint cooperation in the areas of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, community security projects and control of small arms as well as promoting peace building between border communities.

Last December, the government said it has completed the first stage of a plan aimed at collecting heavy weapons from Darfur.

Speaking to the parliament in February, minister of interior Ismat Abdel Rahman, said the proliferation of armaments in Darfur remains "a security worry". He further pointed that millions of small arms are in the hands of Darfur citizens.

The Sudanese army and its allied militias have been fighting a number of armed movements in Darfur since 2003.

(ST)

August 18, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese government has welcome a decision by the government of neighbouring Sudan, from which the young nation seceded in 2011, not to be one of troops contributing countries to be deployed as a regional protection force.

A SPLA soldier stands in front of a vehicle in Juba on December 20, 2013. (Photo Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)

The Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour Tuesday reiterated his government's decision to not take part in the UN-backed African force that would be deployed in Juba. But he expression Khartoum's willingness to participate in any regional mechanism to mediate or reconcile the warring parties.

South Sudan's Presidential advisor on Security Affairs, Tut Kew Gatluak, told Sudan Tribune that the government has not yet received the names of the countries in the region which have expressed readiness to contribute troops and so would not be able to comment on media reports about countries suspected to contribute troops to be deployed to the country.

“We have not received the names of the countries in the region which will contribute troops. There were only allegations which we cannot confirm and make comments on them because they are not official,” he said.

“But yes, we have now heard that two countries, Uganda and Sudan, will not contribute troops. Such decisions are sovereign decisions and we welcome them,” Gatluak added.

The comments come after several government officials in Juba said the government would not have welcomed the return of the Sudanese army in any capacity in the country, equating it to invasion.

Recently, Sudanese officials disclosed that they declined a Western request to approach directly the South Sudanese parties in order to end the conflict.

Khartoum hosts many South Sudanese politicians who are asked to not to exercise political activities against Juba government.

(ST)

August 18, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - United Nations Secretary-General,Ban Ki-moon, Thursday has urged the Sudanese government and rebel groups to resume talks to reach a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access agreements in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

Ban Ki-moon (Photo UN)

Last week, four groups from the opposition umbrella Sudan Call including the National Umma Party (NUP) and three armed groups; Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N), Sudan Liberation Movement - Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) had signed the Roadmap Agreement for peace and dialogue brokered by the African Union.

The peace plan provides that the Sudanese governments and rebel groups should engage in talks to reach agreement on a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access before the Sudan Call forces join the government-led national dialogue.

However, on Sunday following six days of talks in Addis Ababa, the armed movements and the government negotiating teams failed to conclude a deal on the security arrangements and humanitarian access prompting the mediation to suspend the talks indefinitely.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Thursday, UN Secretary-General Spokesperson said Ban Ki-moon was disappointed that the Sudanese parties failed to reach an agreement on a cessation of hostilities in Darfur and the Two Areas.

The UN chief has strongly urged the government and the armed groups “to resume negotiations, abide by the Roadmap Agreement, and refrain from any attempt to escalate the conflict in Darfur and the Two Areas”.

“He reiterates that there can be no lasting alternative to a negotiated settlement and stresses that a cessation of hostilities is the first, indispensable step towards achieving this goal,” the statement added.

The Secretary-General expressed appreciation for the important role played by the African Union High-level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) which brokers Sudan's peace, the hybrid peacemaking mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and his Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan to bring about a lasting peace in Sudan.

The Sudanese army has been fighting SPLM-N rebels in Blue Nile and South Kordofan since 2011 and a group of armed movements in Darfur since 2003.

(ST)

August 18, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – South Sudanese opposition faction led by the former First Vice President, Riek Machar, said they have cut off Taban Deng Gai, the new First Vice President, from all the areas controlled by the opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO), including from its headquarters of Pagak in Upper Nile region.

“Honourable Taban Deng Gai will not set foot in the SPLM/SPLA (IO) controlled areas across the country, including the General Headquarters of Pagak,” said James Gatdet Dak, official spokesperson for Machar, the leader of the opposition faction, SPLM-IO.

“Let him deceive President Salva Kiir in Juba by claiming that he is also a leader of the organization called SPLM/SPLA (IO). He may get away with the deception in Juba because the two of them seem to be so desperate and are comfortable with mutual deception. The President may not bother to ask him about who is actually in charge of the SPLM-IO controlled territories in the country, including the General Headquarters, Pagak. But the reality is that he is alone leader with no grassroots support or base. He is a defector to President Kiir,” he added.

He said Gai can only visit President Kiir's controlled areas, adding he is in reality part and parcel of the faction led by the President after his recent defection from the SPLM-IO.

Dak added that a directive was already issued by the leader of the SPLM-IO, Riek Machar, dismissing and cutting off Gai, not only from his previous contacts with the SPLA-IO army, but also with the civil administrations of the SPLM-IO in the states and counties they control.

He said Machar is in full control of the civil administrations and the entire army of the SPLM-IO faction, and that Gai only "defected" with his bodyguards and some of the SPLM-IO politicians “who were only after positions in the government and not for the reform agenda in the country.”

SURRENDER NOT COHESION

Dak also described the current working relationship between the new First Vice President, Gai, and President Kiir as based on “surrender and conspiracy to avoid reforms in the country” but not about the claimed cohesion in the presidency.

“Their working relationship now is based on the fact that Honourable Taban Deng Gai has surrendered while President Salva Kiir has embraced him for a mutual conspiracy to avoid reforms and accountability in South Sudan. It is about compromising and abrogating the August 2015 peace agreement. So it is never based on cohesion to do the right thing as they claimed,” he claimed.

The opposition leader's spokesman was responding to comments from the presidency that their working relationship had gone well without Machar in the implementation of the peace agreement.

He further argued that with the current situation to destroy the peace deal by scrapping its important provisions, the country would never implement reforms, further claiming that the two leaders have already begun to dismantle some of the mechanisms that are crucial for ensuring that reforms are implemented.

The declaration to immediately begin integration of SPLA-IO, although Gai has no force to integrate, he said, is an indication of the desire to avoid implementing security sector reforms which was necessary before the amalgamation of the forces can take place.

For instance, Dak further argued that Gai has surrendered to President Kiir the position of the speaker of the transitional national legislative assembly which was very crucial for driving the reform agenda among the lawmakers in the country.

This came after President Kiir insisted that he was the one to select the speaker of parliament. Previously, Riek Machar wanted the position to be contested by the two factions and the winner takes it.

“See how he has surrendered the position of the speaker. We in the opposition wanted to contest for this seat because it is crucial for driving the needed change and passing reform laws in the parliament. We would have won the speakership position if it was contested democratically. We had huge support from within President Kiir's members of parliament who wanted us to spearhead the change. This is the reason President Kiir did not want democratic election for the position. But now Honourable Taban Deng Gai has simply surrendered this important position. It means he is not for change but only interested to maintain the status quo,” he said.

“We will not however become magnanimous at the expense of scrapping provisions in the peace agreement and nipping reforms in the bud. We will ensure that the situation is corrected and the country goes for reforms in various sectors in order to move forward,” he added.

He also said Machar remains the legitimate First Vice President of South Sudan, despite his recent “illegal” replacement by President Kiir.

The opposition leader has reportedly relocated to another neighbouring country after a month of fighting with President Kiir's forces who reportedly hunted for him in the bushes around Juba, following clashes in the capital which involved his small number of forces.

Dak claimed that Machar was relocated for his safety and in order to have access to the rest of the world and the media.

(ST)

August 18, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudanese national army, known as the Sudan People's liberation Army (SPLA), has denied any connection to the death of up to 46 people, including Commissioner of Mayendit county in Unity region. 30 others were injured in an attack.

Brigadier General Lul Ruai Koang, SPLA spokesperson, is seen at a containment site outside of the capital Juba on April 14, 2016. (AFP Photo)

“The SPLA forces in the area have nothing to do with these allegations. We heard about them but when we contacted our forces and verified, we found out they were not a party to that incident. It was just a smear campaign by anti-peace elements and those who would like to tarnish the image of the SPLA for political reasons," said SPLA spokesperson, Brigadier General Lul Ruai Koang when reached to comment on the development on Thursday.

The military officer, however, confirmed that Mayendit county commissioner and 45 others were killed in an attack carried out by armed elements on 8 August. He did not identify the group and under whose command and areas in which they operate in the region.

Local officials claimed that attackers wearing SPLA uniforms attacked Rubkuai, the administrative headquarters of Mayendit during which they killed 46 people including the commissioner.

Sources claimed about 24 SPLA soldiers and 22 civilians including the commissioner and two women were killed in the incident in which about 6,430 heads of cattle were also taken by the attacking force.

The attackers came from Koch county in neighbouring Northern Liech State. This occurred after the government-appointed Koch county commissioner, Gordon Kuony, asked the Southern Liech government for reinforcement from Northern Liech authorities in response to repeated skirmishes.

It was not clear whether Koch county commissioner had joined the opposition faction led by Riek Machar, former first deputy to President Salva Kiir.

(ST)

August 18, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Two Darfur groups have attacked the African Union High Implementation Panel- (AUHIP) which brokers Sudan's peace talks and accused it of siding with the Sudanese government.

JEM leader Gibril Ibrahim (C) speaks at the opening session of Darfur negotiations flanked by SLM-MM leader Minni Minnawi in Addis Ababa on 23 November 2014 (Photo courtesy of AUHIP)

After a series of talks in Addis Ababa between 9 to 14 August, the Sudanese government, Sudan Liberation Movement–Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) failed to sign cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access agreements in Darfur.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the AUHIP said the obstacles in the negotiations arose when JEM and SLM-MM “re-opened numerous issues that had previously been agreed and others which contradicted the Roadmap Agreement”.

The Panel further said the rebel groups refused “balanced options” the mediation proposed on the location sites of fighters and mechanisms for the monitoring of humanitarian assistance.

“While the Government accepted those proposals, the introduction of new issues by the JEM and SLM-MM, inevitably broke the negotiations,” emphasized the AUHIP.

In response, JEM and SLM-MM stressed they entered into these negotiations in good faith and were prepared to make every effort towards reaching an agreement on cessation of hostilities, saying the government didn't share their commitment to achieve an agreement.

Also, they regretted that the AUHIP had incorrectly blamed them for the failure of talks, “while vindicating the Government”.

“The AUHIP's statement was incorrect, however, due to the fact that they did not take the opportunity to fully discuss with SLM-MM and JEM proposals and modifications made by them to the most recent draft agreement before adjourning the talks or before releasing its statement,” said the two groups in a statement extended to Sudan tribune on Thursday.

The statement pointed that JEM and SLM-MM were prepared to move the negotiations forward and conclude a reasonable agreement, saying the government, however, insisted upon unreasonable positions regarding the disclosure of forces, humanitarian mechanisms, and the release of POWs.

“Additionally, the Government insisted on referencing selective resolutions irrelevant to the cessation of hostilities agreement,” read the statement which was signed by SLM-MM Chief Negotiator Trayo Ahmed Ali and JEM Chief Negotiator Ahmed Tugod Lissan.

“Instead of making efforts to budge on the government's intransigent positions, the mediation adopted the government position with regard to POWs, [fighters] locations, humanitarian mechanisms and arbitrary selection of [African Union] resolutions and blamed the parties that demonstrated the highest degree of flexibility and objectivity,” they added.

JEM and SLM-MM added they have demonstrated their good faith “not only by our signing of the Roadmap Agreement, but also by our having twice declared six-month unilateral cessation of hostilities with our colleagues in the Sudan Revolutionary Front”.

“We have remained continuously willing to sit with the Government of Sudan to negotiate a cessation of hostilities for the benefit of the people of Sudan, and we engaged in this last round of talks in the hope that we would conclude such an agreement,” read the statement.

The two groups pointed that the government negotiating team insisted on making the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) the basis for negotiations, saying the cessation of hostilities talks has nothing to do with the DDPD.

“That was one of the barricades that prevented the conclusion of a cessation of hostilities agreement,” said Ali and Lissan.

JEM and SLM-NN underlined they remain committed to the process and hopeful that further negotiations will move forward successfully.

“We look forward to not only swiftly achieving a cessation of hostilities agreement, but also to promptly move forward with the implementation of the Roadmap Agreement,” the statement further reads.

The Sudanese army and its allied militias have been fighting a number of armed movements in Darfur since 2003.

Doha facilitated the Darfur peace negotiations which resulted in the signing of the DDPD by the Sudanese government and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) in July 2011. Also, a dissident faction of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) joined the DDPD in April 2013.

Since several years, JEM led by Gibril Ibrahim and the SLM-MM led by Minni Minnawi have engaged in peace talks with the government under the auspices of the African Union.

However, SLM-AW led by Abdel-Wahid al-Nur is not part of the African Union mediated peace talks. The rebel group rejects negotiating a peace agreement with Khartoum government, unless the government militias are disarmed and displaced civilians return to their original areas.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

August 18, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – An Ethiopian court on Monday charged 23 South Sudanese refugees over the premeditated slaying of 10 Ethiopian civilians in Gambella region, where tens of thousands of South Sudanese refuges are currently sheltered.

In April, a vehicle belonging to Action Against Hunger, a non-governmental organization, which was being driven by an Ethiopian employee, killed two South Sudanese children around Jewi refugee camp in Gambella.

The vehicle was on humanitarian mission.

But in retaliation, a group of South Sudanese refugees attacked innocent Ethiopians who reside around the camp, killing 10 of them yet they had no connection with the incident.

According to contents of the charge sheet readout by prosecutors in Ethiopia's high court on Monday, the perpetrators planned to attack in advance and carried out “gruesome” murder in reprisal for the tragic car accident.

“On April 21, they used sticks and shovels to carry out gruesome killings," read the sheet.

"The 10 victims were all innocent Ethiopian civilians who were only employed as construction workers at the site,” it added.

The dead included two Ethiopian women and eight men who were working around the camp. The incident led to riots have around camp, retaliatory attacks and more casualties.

The 23 South Sudanese defendants appeared in court on Monday and their next hearing is due to resume on 13 October.

Gambella currently shelters more than 270,000 South Sudanese refugees of whom over 221,000 of them have arrived following the conflict which erupted in their home country in December 2013.

The April killings come on the heels of the violent cross-border raids carried out by ethnic Murle gunmen from South Sudan who killed 208 people.

The gunmen also abducted over 100 Ethiopian children and looted over 2,000 livestock.

Weeks later, dozens of the kidnapped children were recovered and returned home after South Sudan deputy Defense Minister who is also member of Murle tribe; David Yaw yaw in collaboration with regional administrators and clan leaders made negotiation with the abductors.

Earlier before negotiations start, Ethiopian defense forces were deployed at the common border to carry out cross-border military operation to rescue the abducted children.

(ST)

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