Africa

May 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Leaders of Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-MM) would arrive in Doha on Monday to discuss with the Qatari mediation the peace process in the region.

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)

Last January, the Qatari Deputy Prime Minister, Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Mahmoud met in Paris with the leader of JEM Gibril Ibrahim and SLM-MM leader Minni Minnawi on their request to discuss their demand to open the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) for discussions.

The two sides agreed to continue their discussions in Doha late this month.

Earlier this month, Ibrahim told Sudan Tribune that they intend to ask Qatar for joining the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) led by Thabo Mbeki in order to have a united framework for negotiating a number of issues on Darfur and the comprehensive peace in Sudan.

However, the Sudanese presidency rejected the armed movements' proposal describing it as “an attempt to circumvent the (AUHIP-proposed) roadmap which was not signed by the two armed movements”.

In a press statement extended to Sudan Tribune Sunday, SLM-MM said a senior delegation from the movement headed by Minnawi would arrive in Doha Monday within the framework of the ongoing consultations with the Qatari mediation.

The statement pointed that the visit is part of the continued “consultations on the vision of JEM and SLM-MM on how to achieve a just and comprehensive solution that addresses the root causes of the Sudanese crises in general and in particular the Darfur issue and to unify the international [mediation] efforts and create an enabling climate to move forward the stalled peace process”.

It added that the government doesn't have a true will to achieve peace, saying the “comprehensive peace is a strategic choice that the SLM-MM wouldn't abandon and will seek to achieve by all means including negotiations to end the totalitarian regime, stop the war and build a state that is based on equal citizenship”.

“The regime speaks about peace while its warplanes kill children in Heiban and burns villages [in south Kordofan] and its militias carry out massacres in Darfur's peaceful villages such as the recent incident in Azirni in West Darfur” the statement read.

The SLM-MM renewed its commitment to support the Sudanese people demands to achieve the comprehensive peace, democracy and the state of law.

The Doha brokered the Darfur peace negotiations resulted in the signing of the DDPD by the Sudanese government and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) in July 2011. JEM which had initiated the process rejected the deal.

The two groups have engaged in peace talks with the government under the auspices of the AUHIP. However, several rounds of talks between the two groups and the government in Addis Ababa have stalled and no progress on the pending issues was made.

JEM and SLM-MM call for opening the DDPD for negotiations, saying some issues were ignored or not fairly treated, but Khartoum rejects such request.

(ST)

May 29,2016 (JUBA) – A tribal informal advisory body for the South Sudanese President, Salva Kiir, the Jieng [Dinka] Council of Elders (JCE), has revealed that President Kiir recently acted in accordance with their proposal to appoint presidential advisers.

South Sudan president Salva Kiir arrives at Khartoum Airport on 3 Sepember 2013 (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

But they added that one of their recommendations to create a new position for a presidential assistant, besides the two vice presidents, was not yet acted upon by the President.

Justice Ambrose Ring Thiik, the chairman of the tribal Dinka organization, the Jieng Council of Elders, revealed to Sudan Tribune that he and his group had recently recommended to President Kiir positions and names of individuals for appointment as presidential advisers.

President Kiir actually appointed 10 presidential advisers, but nobody was aware that the positions and names were proposed to him by the JCE.

But Thiik, a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Sudan, revealed that they recommended former deputy speaker, Daniel Awet Akot, to become the presidential assistant, but was instead appointed as presidential advisor for military affairs.

He however said the Dinka Council of Elders welcomed the appointment of the rest of the presidential advisers despite the minor change on the particular case of Daniel Awet Akot.

Speaking in an interview on Wednesday with Sudan Tribune from Wau town of the newly created Wau state, or Western Bahr el Ghazal state, Ambrose Riiny Thiik, who heads the JCE, said the council welcomed the appointment of presidential advisors but had preferred Daniel Awet Akot as assistant president.

“The council welcomes and thanks the president on the appointment of the advisers. It was one of our [JCE] proposals to ensure nobody is left out,” he proudly revealed.

“We proposed the creation of the post of presidential assistant and Daniel Awet Akot was one of the people we proposed to be appointed as a presidential assistant,” said Ambrose in response to the question asking what the JCE thought of the appointment of the presidential advisers.

“But it is okay he is appointed if this is how the president sees it.”

The Jieng [Dinka] Council of Elders is a self-appointed body of intellectuals and senior politicians from the Dinka ethnic group, where President Kiir hails. They represent all Dinka major clans in Greater Bahr el Ghazal and in Greater Upper Nile regions.

JCE, according to their objectives, works for the interest of the Dinka ethnic group as well as for the national interest of the nation. It has been however blamed for some of the seemingly negative decisions President Kiir had allegedly made in the past.

The Council's leadership in the past, for instance, revealed that they were behind the proposal of the controversial 28 states, which the President decreed into being on 2 October, 2015, in violation of the August 2015 peace agreement as they also attempted to annex to Dinka inhabited states lands from other neighbouring communities.

The Council members were also known for opposing the peace agreement, preferring to militarily crash the forces of the current First Vice President, Riek Machar.

The agreement is silent about presidential advisers and has not provided for their sharing, leaving the matter to the parties to agree on how to maintain the posts and how to fill them.

The JCE's chairman, however told Sudan Tribune that the matter was a prerogative of the president to appoint the presidential advisers unilaterally, including individuals he wanted.

“The appointment of the advisers falls within the prerogative of the president and it should not be a big deal. They will be advising him in his capacity as the president and so it is him to decide who to appoint as his advisor. It cannot be a general issue,” Thiik explained.

He did not however explain as to why his JCE group proposed a position for Presidential Assistant which is not stipulated in the IGAD-brokered peace deal which ended 21 months of civil war.

(ST)

Niger battles multiple terror threats

Five United Nations peacekeepers are killed and another is seriously injured in an attack in central Mali.

Up to 700 migrants are feared drowned in a series of shipwrecks off the coast of Libya in the last few days, the UN refugee agency says.

Zoo officials shoot dead a gorilla after it grabbed a four-year-old boy who fell into its enclosure in the US city of Cincinnati.

Five United Nations peacekeepers were killed in an ambush in central Mali earlier today, with another &#39blue helmet&#39 seriously injured, according to preliminary information reported by the country&#39s UN mission, which deplored the &#8220heinous act of terrorism&#8221 as all the more shocking because it occurred on the day set aside for the global community to honour UN peacekeepers.

May 28, 2016 (EL-FASHER) - Gunmen riding camels on Saturday shot dead a Sudanese soldier during a pursuit of the fleeing cattle raiders outside Tawilla locality, 30 km west of El-Fasher, capital of North Darfur state.

A cattleman walks with cows before they are slaughtered at an abattoir near Khartoum on 26 March 2011 (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

The armed men who looted a number of cattle from Tabit area in Tawilla clashed with the security forces that were hunting them.

The dead soldier was killed during the clashes.

The Commissioner of Twailla County Adam Yagoub Gadid told Sudan Tribune on Saturday that the security forces managed to recover the stolen cattle, adding that the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) soldier was killed during the operation.

Gadid regretted their failure to arrest the raiders despite tracking them for a long distance, adding that the police identified them.

He further said that the incident occurred at 02:00am on Saturday morning

However, the commissioner stressed that security situation in Twailla is stable and better than it was in the past, saying that they established a number of police stations to reduce crime.

Last March, a group of heavy armed men riding three four-wheel-drive vehicles looted over 20 heads of cattle in Al-Galabat area located north of Tabit

(ST)

May 28, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudan's armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) under the leadership of First Vice President, Riek Machar, has commended the council of ministers of the transitional government of national unity (TGoNU) for finally recognizing the presence of SPLA-IO forces in Greater Equatoria and Greater Bahr el Ghazal, saying it is a giant positive step in the implement of the security arrangements in the country.

SPLA-IO chief of general staff, First Lieutenant General Simon Gatwech Dual (C), with members of JMCC from SPLA-IO, Juba, 28 May 2016 (ST Photo)

Earlier, former government under the leadership of President Salva Kiir, vowed not to allow opposition forces to assemble in the two regions, arguing that they had no forces in there.

However, in a “heated” debate of the council of ministers on Friday, the cabinet finally approved to allow opposition forces to assemble, and their cantonment sites with names to be identified by the Joint Monitoring Ceasefire Committee (JMCC), a body that monitors implementation of the ceasefire and security arrangements per the August 2015 peace agreement.

Media official of the First Vice President, Machar, said the leadership commended the positive step despite previous delays.

“The leadership of the SPLM/SPLA (IO) commends this positive step by the new cabinet in recognizing the presence of our forces in Greater Equatoria and Greater Bahr el Ghazal regions,” said James Gatdet Dak, opposition leader's spokesperson.

“It is important that our forces in the two regions should be cantoned in accordance with the implementation of the security arrangements,” he said.

JMCC was directed on Friday by the cabinet to immediately begin to identify locations and names of the cantonment areas for the opposition forces in Greater Equatoria and assess the level of opposition forces in Greater Bahr el Ghazal in order to locate cantonment areas as well.

Reacting to the development, General Dau Aturjong, Deputy Chief of Staff for Training in the command of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA-IO) said the decision of the cabinet, if implemented "without reservations and agitations, would be the only way the country could return to stability".

The top armed opposition commander described initial attempts to deny the national outlook of the movement a clear demonstration of lack of commitment on the government side to implement the agreement.

He said it was not logical to deny the presence of armed opposition in the two regions when they know they have politicians and army commanders in the cabinet and in the joint command.

Commenting on the other contentious issues such as the status of the 28 states, Dak
also expressed hope that will as well be resolved in the next cabinet meetings in accordance with the peace agreement which is based on the current 10 states.

“I think it is important that all the parties in the agreement respect the terms of the peace deal and stop the unnecessary feet dragging in the implementation. Time is of essence,” he said.

He revealed that the reconstitution of the national parliament and provision of vehicles for the newly appointed ministers were part of the Friday's cabinet agenda for resolution, but added that they were not discussed because a large amount of time was consumed on deliberations on cantonment of opposition forces in the two regions.

SPLA-IO FORCES NOT RESPONSIBLE

Dak dismissed accusations that the opposition forces could be responsible for the ongoing killings of people on the roads in Greater Equatoria.

Michael Makuei Lueth, minister of information in President Kiir's faction in the cabinet on Friday told reporters that armed men who lynch people on the roads claimed to have belonged to the SPLA-IO.

But Dak said their forces are disciplined and would not target civilians on roads, but added that it was best that they should be cantoned in order to identify who the killers were.

“These could be criminals taking advantage of the fact that SPLA-IO forces have not been cantoned in Greater Equatoria region,” he said.

International partners and donors seem to have attached the condition of releasing funds for the new government on progress of implementing the peace agreement, forcing the parties to comply.

Observers however say it may take time for the donors to have full confidence and begin to provide financial assistance.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

May 28, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – More Ethiopian children who were abducted by a South Sudanese militia group have been recovered and safely returned to their home.

Ethiopian troops carrying some of the recovered children abducted by Murle armed men, 11 May 2016 (Facebook photo)

The president of Gambela region, Gatluak Tut said seven more children were brought back to the region from where they were kidnapped last month.

The number of children so far freed from South Sudanese abductors has reached 63.

Their release comes after South Sudan's deputy defense minister in collaboration with regional administrators and clan leaders made negotiations with the Murle tribesmen.

Tut said efforts to bring back all the kidnapped children would further be strengthened.

“The agreement between Ethiopia and the South Sudanese government to collaborate in resolving the problem peacefully will guarantee the return of the children and looted cattle” he added.

Officials say at least 60 more children are still missing and their release according to sources is being difficult as unidentified demands of abductors have not yet met.

It is feared that abductors could trade the children to other communities with the exchange of cattle.

A military official, who preferred anonymity, told Sudan Tribune Saturday that Ethiopian defense forces will “certainly carryout punitive military operations” should abductors refuse to free the remaining children.

Ethiopian forces are already in South Sudan to rescue the children but have not yet carried out military action, giving ongoing negotiations a chance to peacefully settle problems.

Critics accused Ethiopia's government of doing little to immediately rescue the children.

“How could a border of country which prides it self as a militarily strong could be so porous to an extent that thousands of foreign armed men invade the nation” Biniyam Daniel, a politician based in Addis Ababa told Sudan Tribune on Saturday.

“Where were the Ethiopian security forces, the Air force while they kidnap them and cross the border on foot? Why haven't they acted in time?” he added.

Last month, an estimated 2,000 attackers from South Sudan's Murle tribe armed with machine guns, raided 13 villages in Ethiopia's western region of Gambela and killed 208 Ethiopian villagers, abducted over 140 children and stole at least over 2,000 cattle.

Gambella region is a shelter for over 280,000 South Sudanese refugees who fled to Ethiopia to escape the conflict that broke out in the young nation in December 2013.

(ST)

May 28, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Ethiopia's Minister of Information and Communication Getachew Reda said the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is almost 70% complete.

The Grand Renaissance Dam is under construction on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia. (Photo AFP/William Lloyd-George)

In an interview with the Saudi-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper Friday, Reda said that 50 percent of construction work and most civil engineering projects were complete.

“When turbines are installed, 70 percent of the project will be complete” he added

Commenting on Egyptian reports that Ethiopia seeks to buy time until the consultancy firms complete the impact studies, Reda said the work of the firms has nothing to do with the construction of the dam but to see whether it harms interests of the Nile basin partners or not.

“The dam will not harm the interests of Sudan and Egypt," he said, stressing that the people of all three Nile basin countries would benefit from it.

“But if some [parties] believe that they will be harmed by it, then this is not Ethiopia's problem,” he added.

The Ethiopian minister underscored that his country doesn't want to buy time, saying their side didn't promise to stop construction work pending the completion of technical studies.

Last year, the three countries had selected two French and Dutch consultancy firms to conduct technical studies on the impact of the dam on the downstream countries – Sudan and Egypt.

Reda stressed that Sudan had earlier said the dam would serve its interest and “we say the dam wouldn't harm the interests of Sudan and Egypt” he added

“The dam became a reality that couldn't be changed but the peoples of the three nations would benefit from it” Reda pointed out

Commenting on whether the low water levels of the Blue Nile this year had resulted from the building of the dam or not, the minister said the river water is running normally, pointing that his country didn't do anything to divert the waters.

“It would be impossible for us to stop the water flow because this is against nature. The [Blue Nile's] poor water revenue for this year was due to the drought that hit the region” he said

The Ethiopian minister said the water levels would return to normal once the environmental conditions were improved.

The multi-billion dollar dam is being constructed on the Blue Nile, about 20 kilometres from the Sudanese border, and has a capacity of 74 billion cubic meters, and is expected to generate electrical power of up to 6,000 megawatts.

Egypt is concerned that the dam could reduce its quota of 55.5 billion cubic meters of the Nile water, while the Ethiopian side maintains that the dam is primarily built to produce electricity and will not harm Sudan and Egypt.

(ST)

May 28, 2016 (JUBA) - The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in South Sudan said it was due to receive 37 new explosive detection dogs as part of an increase in the presence of such dogs throughout the world's youngest nation.

A sniffer dog in South Sudan (UN courtesy photo)

UNMAS, in a statement, said the explosive detection dogs regularly support the UN Police to conduct searches of protection of civilians' sites, cargo and entry points.

The dog will further will help detect prohibited or hazardous items, all of which are swiftly removed by UNPOL so that internally displaced people and others under the protection of the UN mission in South Sudan remain safe from harm.

Currently, UNMAS reportedly has six explosive detection dogs that focus on entry point control and cargo searches.

“In 2015, 19,781 vehicles, 13,587 bags and 970 buildings were searched using these teams,” said UNMAS in a release.

According to UNMAS, on arrival, the dogs will be transferred to temporary kennels in Gumbo, Juba, where they will be acclimatized and paired with future handlers.

“Once the dogs are settled they will be paired with expert handlers who will complete additional training tailored specifically to South Sudan,” further said the UNMAS release.

UNMAS, however, stressed that while some of the dogs will remain in Juba to work at the UN Thom Ping base, UN House, the protection of civilians' sites and at the UN airport, many would be transferred to Bentiu, Bor and Malakal.

The dogs, it stressed, are working animals and have been specially trained to perform the roles they will undertake.

“They are safe and friendly animals and have been screened for illness and disease and received the necessary vaccinations,” further reads the UNMAS statement.

“The welfare of the dogs is of prime importance to UNMAS, as is the safety of the communities within which they will be working,” it added.

(ST)

May 28, 2016 (JUBA) - A senior South Sudanese government official said time should be given for the country's newly formed Transitional Government National Unity (TGoNU) to evolve, at the expense of justice for victims of the atrocities committed during its conflict.

United Nations Security Council meeting which unanimously adopted resolution 2228 (2015) extending the mandate of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) June 29, 2015 (UN Photo)

Daniel Awet Akot, a presidential advisor on military affairs, said it was time for the international community to open a new page in relations with Juba and support the implementation of the peace agreement instead of advocating for the establishment of a hybrid court.

Akot said President Salva Kiir took many steps in the implementation of peace accord and it was time to thoroughly follow by ending "a vestige of the Cold War between foreign countries with varying political, security and economic interests in the young country."

“The priority now is the need from the international community to stand with the transitional government of national unity and provide the necessary support to be able to establish itself and function. The second priority is to encourage the parties to build trust and to demonstrate willingness to work together as a team then the time for the rest will come,” Akot told Sudan Tribune Saturday.

“Establishing the court now when the agreement itself has not been implemented is not a priority. It will derail the process”, he added.

A senior diplomat at the country's foreign affairs ministry separately told Sudan Tribune that he prefers implementation of the peace accord remains first priority.

“I think those calling for establishment of hybrid court now are like people trying to put the cart before the horse. It will not work. Establishing the court now implies that officials on both sides who have issues to answer before the court, and who are in the government will not be happy and if they are not happy, it will affect the process”, said the diplomat, who preferred anonymity.

Gordon Buay, a South Sudanese envoy in United States, said establishing a court now “would create chaos” in the country.

“Establishing a hybrid court now will not foster reconciliation. It would increase the level of anarchy, because the parties to the conflict are now in the government. The best way to handle this is to allow them implement the peace agreement”, Buay said Thursday.

His comments came in response to a report by the Enough Project, which advocated for establishment of a hybrid court to try officials who committed atrocities during the war.

The US-based Human Rights Watch said the transitional government of national unity, should ask the African Union to promptly establish the hybrid tribunal envisioned in the August 2015 peace deal to try serious crimes in South Sudan.

“National authorities should also investigate and fairly prosecute human rights violations. The UN peacekeeping mission should also report publicly on the abuses and the government's response,” it said in a report issued Tuesday.

According to the rights body, South Sudan government soldiers carried out a wide range of often-deadly attacks on civilians in and around the country's western town of Wau.

The soldiers, it alleged, killed, tortured, raped, and detained civilians and looted and burned down homes in the attacks.

Abuses in the Western Bahr el Ghazal region reportedly took place during government counterinsurgency operations that intensified after a peace deal was signed last year.

The attacks, the rights body stressed, underscored the need for the national unity government to take immediate steps toward accountability for crimes by all warring parties since the start of South Sudan's conflict in mid-December 2013.

(ST)

May 28, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Members of Sudan's Troika have condemned the Sudanese government's aerial bombardment of civilians in Kauda and Heiban area of South Kordofan including the bombing of St. Vincent Elementary School on 25 May.

Sudanese President Omer Hassan al-Bashir (AFP Photo/Ashraf Shazly)

The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-M) said the government warplanes dropped barrel bombs on Heiban area on 1 May, killing six children from one family.

The movement pointed that it filed a complaint to the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Leila Zerrougui demanding an official investigation on the Heiban incident.

Also, SPLM-N has earlier said it is making contacts with the French Bar Association to file charges against the Sudanese government on behalf of the victims' families.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune Saturday, the Troika countries, including the Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States held the Sudanese government responsible for protecting all its citizens, saying they were appalled by its aerial bombardment of civilians in Kauda and Heiban.

“We urge all parties to end the violence and allow immediate humanitarian access to those in need. We believe that the Roadmap presented by the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel represents the way forward” read the statement

In written statements extended to Sudan Tribune Friday, SPLM-N secretary general Yasser Arman condemned the indiscriminate aerial bombardment of civilian areas in South Kordofan and warned that the dropped bombs also "hit Sudan's unity and lead to tear the national fabric".

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

SPLM-N Spokesperson Arnu Ngutulu Lodi, Saturday reported fresh clashes with the Sudanese army in Alzraq area, adding that a Sudanese Antonov plane bombed Uru area southeast of Heiban with 10 incendiary barrel bombs but there was no casualties among civilians in the area.

Also, Lodi said that a Sudanese military Antonov on 26 May dropped 12 barrel bombs on Um Serdiba area in Um Dorain County with killing 12 cows.

He further said that in a separate air strike on 24 May an Antonov bombed Shawry area in Heiban County with six barrel bombs causing fear and panic among the civilians.

Meanwhile, the Troika countries expressed deep concern over the government's de facto expulsion of the Head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan Ivo Freijsen last week.

The statement stressed that the government's move contributes to the increasingly difficult environment to address humanitarian needs in Sudan particularly as the humanitarian situation remains critical, with over 5.4 million people in need of assistance.

“We fully support OCHA's mandate in Sudan and call on the government to review this latest decision, and lift restrictions on the timely delivery of humanitarian assistance to all Sudanese affected by crisis and conflict” read the statement

Last week, the Sudanese government declined to renew a stay permit for Freijsen but denied to describe the move as de facto expulsion saying the latter was appointed for an interim period and should be replaced by a permanent official.

A Sudanese official told Sudan Tribune under the cover of anonymity that Freijsen continued to "issue subjective and inaccurate reports about the humanitarian situation in Sudan" besides his repeated allegations that the government doesn't allow access to the needy population.

He added that Freijsen issued undocumented reports on government bombing of civilians in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Jebel Marra besides accusations on restrictions imposed by the Khartoum government on humanitarian workers.

(ST)

Senegal's Mohamed Diame scores as Hull City defeat Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 in the play-off final to win promotion to the Premier League.

Sierra Leonean striker Alhaji Kamara scores for DC United, three months after being cleared of a heart defect.

By Julius Uma

May 26, 2016 (JUBA)- Removal of key Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) has contributed to a 14% reduction in time taken to import goods from one East African country to another, a recent independent evaluation of the NTBs trade programs within East Africa has shown.

Containers stationed at the Kenyan port of Mombasa (Getty Images)

It currently takes only 26 days from 33, to export goods from each of the East African Community (EAC) nations, hence a 20% reduction in the time taken.

The independent evaluators based their findings on NTBs program valued at US$ 7.89 million across the EAC partner states, supported by TradeMark East Africa (TMEA).

The programme, it said, identified 112 NTB's and had resolved 87 of them by the time of the evaluation was done.

According to the report, the enactment of The EAC Elimination Act positively impacted on the NTBs programme.

The Act seeks to empower the second clause under Article 13 of the Customs Union, which aims at establishing a legal mechanism for identifying and monitoring removal of NTBs.

Establish in 2005, the Customs Union, through its Protocol, subsequently agreed to strive towards the removal of internal taxes and non-tariff barriers on intra-EAC trade.

“This is a significant milestone in the growth and development of EAC. Non-Tariff Barriers remain an obstacle in growing prosperity in the EAC region,” acknowledged Frank Matsaert, the CEO of TradeMark East Africa (TMEA).

TMEA, he said, invested around US$7.89 million in the NTBs project and total programme benefits are expected to be in the range of US$35-45 million at constant trade volumes.

“A reduction of NTBs will invariably lead to more trade in the region, which is ultimately our goal, of growing prosperity through trade,” added Matsaet.

A reduction of transit transport time, the report says, has led to reduction in cost of transporting goods in the region. For instance, it adds, NTBs reduction has contributed to the reduction in cost of transporting a 40 foot container from Mombasa to Kigali, from US$6,500 in 2011 to just US$ 4,800.

This, evaluators estimated, generated a saving of approximately US$7 million on the Mombasa-Kigali route.

“Similarly, inland transportation times from Dar es Salaam to Kigali dropped considerably, now to 3.5 days,” it was noted.

The time taken to export from Uganda has successfully reduced from 35 days in 2010, to less than 30 days in 2015.

Moses Ahabwe, a Uganda trader, admits that the removal of NTBs has tremendously increased regional trade by unlocking economic potential through, increased physical access to market, enhanced trade environment and had generally improved business competitiveness in East Africa.

“Any increase in trade activities contributes to increased economic growth, a reduction in poverty and subsequently increased prosperity,” he told Sudan Tribune.

Statistics from Uganda's trade ministry show that the conflict in South Sudan had negatively affected trade in the country. Very traders were willing to take goods to South Sudan due to insecurity, which affected Uganda's exports.

Commodity prices also shot up due to the devaluation of the local currency, South Sudanese Pound, which has gravely impacted on the transport sector in the country.

The most affected are importers of food items and general household goods who have to deal with sharply increased prices to bring in goods from neighbouring Uganda, Kenya and Sudan. Many investors have left local and regional businesses collapse, while unemployment has increased.

Formal exports to Sudan reportedly earned Uganda $80.83 million in financial year 2012/13, $236.28 million in 2013/14 and $308.54 million in 2014/15. Similarly, informal exports for Uganda stood at $127.6 million in financial year 2012/13, $125.3 million in 2013/14 and 113.67 million in 2014.15, which showed why South Sudan is Uganda's biggest trade partner.

South Sudan, which recently joined the EAC, is a big beneficiary of Northern Corridor and will gain from various interventions that have increased the corridor efficiency. In South Sudan, TMEA is working with National Monitoring Committee to implement NTBs elimination strategy. As part of the move, however, the various NTB's which used to be encountered along Nimule-Juba border, such as check points, have been eliminated, in addition to Police and customs officers trained on integrity and transparency and a communication plan developed for the sustainability.

William Deng, a South Sudan wholesale businessman, says removal NTBs has contributed to reduction in time taken to import goods from East African countries.

Analysts, however, argue that elimination of NTBs still remain a great challenge to, not only regional trade and integration, but also a subject that partner states grapple with in the quest of growing trade within the regional bloc. Despite this fears, the widely held view is that elimination of NTB's to trade remains priority for TMEA in reducing the costs of trade in EAC and increasing efficiency of EAC corridors.

(ST)

May 27, 2016 (BENTIU) - At least 53,200 children in South Sudan are vaccinated at internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps in Bentiu, capital of Unity state and Malakal, capital of Upper Nile state, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

A South Sudanese child is vaccinated for measles as part of an MSF campaign in 2011 (Photo: Avril Benoit/MSF)

The vaccination was in response against an increased number of measles cases in the two oil producing states of Greater Upper Nile region. The joint humanitarian response occurred after sever suspected cases of measles reported in the United Nations Protection of Civilians (PoC) sites in Bentiu and Malakal.

IOM said vaccination campaign targeted children less than five ears of age, living in both camps. The campaigns vaccinated nearly 45,900 children in Bentiu and 7,300 children in Malakal, reaching over 90 percent of the target children.

The campaigns were implemented in collaboration with International Medical Corps, International Rescue Committee, Médecins Sans Frontières, UNICEF, WHO and World Relief.

“The success of these campaigns is due to intensive social mobilization, effective collaboration and leadership of the Health Cluster. But routine immunizations should be strengthened both within and outside of PoC sites to reduce the likelihood of further measles cases, especially among children,” said IOM Migration Health Emergency Coordinator, Dr. Andrew Mbala.

Measles is a transmittable disease that can become life threatening if complications, such as pneumonia, arise. Children and displaced populations living in crowded areas are particularly vulnerable to outbreaks of measles and other contagious diseases.

Another IOM Health Rapid Response Team is currently on the ground in Yirol East and West counties to provide measles vaccines for another 46,900 children under five. Health actors have reported 31 suspected measles cases in the two counties this year.

IOM's primary health care clinics in Bentiu and Malakal, as well as in Renk clinics are providing regular vaccinations against common diseases, such as tuberculosis, cholera and polio.

Last week, IOM had also vaccinated 575 children through routine vaccinations.

South Sudan Ministry of Health and Health Cluster have reported around 1,321 suspected measles cases have been confirmed early this year in South Sudan.

(ST)

May 27, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudan People's Liberating Movement-North (SPLM-N) Secretary General, Yasir Arman has denied there is a rift at the heart of the opposition coalition ''Sudan Call'' after a recent meeting between the leader of the National Umma Party (NUP) Sadiq al-Mahdi and the African Union Chief Mediator Thabo Mbeki.

Malik Agar, SRF leader (L) and Sadiq al-Mahdi NUP president shake hands after the signing of Paris Declaration on 8 August 2014 (ST Photo)

Earlier this week several newspapers in Khartoum published statements allegedly attributed to the NUP Secretary General Sara Nugdalla slamming the SPLM-N for objecting a meeting between al-Mahdi and Mbeki to discuss the opposition's rejection of a peace plan the latter proposed last March.

In written statements extended to Sudan Tribune Friday, Arman said the SPLM-N didn't object the meeting but interacted positively and made some proposals together with other opposition groups.

He disclosed that the meeting was held under the request of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP), adding that al-Mahdi and NUP leadership are on a continuous and direct contact with the SPLM, and Sudan Call leaders.

''Al-Mahdi enjoys our respect and we are consulting each other to strengthen joint action''. He further added they are in almost daily contact with the NUP leadership.

Arman further pointed an accusing finger to the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) and the government controlled newspapers, saying they are behind these fabricated statements "to cover the failure of the dialogue" conference in Khartoum.

He further said they have no problem with the African Union mediation.

"The SPLM-N does not have a fight with the AUHIP and ready to meet them, but we will not accept to join (the government controlled dialogue process in Khartoum),'' he stressed.

Last March, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), NUP, Sudan Liberation Movement - Minni Minnawi (SPLM-MM) and the SPLM-N rejected a Roadmap Agreement brokered by the mediation and signed by the Sudanese government.

The peace plan provides to hold a cessation of hostilities, that Khartoum had longtime rejected, and to open humanitarian access to reach civilians in the war affected areas. However, it ignores some confidence building measures included in a previous roadmap endorsed by the AU Peace and Security Council in September 2014.

So, the opposition groups demand to hold an inclusive pre-dialogue meeting in order to discuss a package of conducive environment measures of the AUPSC decision 465. Also they criticize the Roadmap Agreement for endorsing the ongoing dialogue process in Khartoum as basis for the national constitutional dialogue process they call for.

The rebel leader also admitted that the ongoing multi front military campaign launched by the Sudanese army on their positions in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states is the largest military attack since 2011.

However, he said they inflected unprecedented losses on the Sudanese army, pointing that Khartoum hoped at least to retake the control of the SPLM-N controlled areas in the Blue Nile State, but they failed to achieve this goal.

On the other hand, he condemned the indiscriminate aerial bombardment of civilian areas in South Kordofan and warned that the dropped bombs also "hit Sudan's unity and lead to tear the national fabric".

The SPLM-N recently organized a campaign against the bombing of civilian-inhabited villages locations in the rebel held areas.

(ST)

May 27, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudanese army (SPLA), has denied reports that its forces detained captives, including civilians, in shipping containers which many times resulted to death a result of suffocation.

SPLA soldiers sit at the back of a pick-up truck in Malakal, Upper Nile state January 12, 2014. (Photo Reuters/Andreea Campeanu)

The report released by Amnesty International on Thursday said dozens of detainees were held in dire conditions in poorly ventilated metal shipping containers at Gorom area.

However, Brigadier Lul Ruai Koang instead accused the Amnesty International of violating protocol and SPLA's chain of command when it directed its concerns to the commander of the Tiger Battalion, General Marial Chinuong, instead of to the President, General Salva Kiir or to the minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, Deng Alor Kuol.

“First and foremost, Gorom is not a detention facility but a refutable Military Training Center,” Koang said.

He said the SPLA had 62 SPLA-IO prisoners of War detained in a different facility but were all released between July and September 2015.

“Before concluding, SPLA would like to point out insufficiencies and lack of leadership demonstrated by the Author of the Report. The report was based on faulty information leading to a release of a shallow document that completely lacks substance,” he added.

The SPLA, he said, urged the people of South Sudan, the region and the international community to disregard the report and consider it as a piece of paper laden with unsubstantiated stories.

“Finally, SPLA urges the highest authority/body governing Amnesty International to be more careful, rigorous and thorough in the appointment of regional directors before its well- built image is tarnished and credibility compromised,” he said.

(ST)