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August 7, 2021 (JUBA) – A South Sudanese civil society entity has urged the leadership of the armed opposition movement (SPLM/A-IO) to cease military confrontations and resolve their grievances peacefully.

South Sudanese civil society activist Edmund Yakani (The Niles/File)

On Saturday, forces of the former SPLM-IO chief of staff, General Simon Gatwech Dual and those allied to First Vice President Riek Machar clashed in Magenis area of Upper Nile State, with each side claiming victory.

“Community Empowerment for Progress Organization strongly condemned the negative development and it is unfortunate situation. This act of fresh clashed among the conflicting factions of SPLM-IO constitute violation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement 2017,” CEPO said in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune Sunday.

The civil society entity also appealed to the leadership of the conflicting armed opposition factions to take responsibility to dialogue and find immediate solutions to their misunderstandings.

“This negative development that undermines the process for transitioning the situation across the South Sudan from violence to peace is clear demonstration of some political and military leaders' lack of will for implementing the signed Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan,” the statement further noted.

Edmund Yakani, an activist, said the primary responsibility of implementing provisions of the revitalized peace agreement remains in the hands of the parties that signed the September 2018 accord.

He urged the conflicting factions of the armed opposition group to cease hostilities.

“Protection of civilians and human rights should not be compromised by any one of the conflicting parties in Magenis,” Yakani explained.

He echoed calls for the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to immediately intervene and resolve divisions in the country's main opposition movement.

On August 3, the SPLM/A-IO military command under the Chief of General Staff First Lieutenant General Simon Gatwech Dual denounced the leadership of Machar and appointed the former as the new interim chairman of the armed opposition movement.

The decision to oust Machar, it said in a declaration, emerged after several members held a three-day meeting at Magenis area in South Sudan's Upper Nile state.

But Machar's office, in a statement issued on Thursday, said the three generals who met at Mangenis do not constitute the military command leadership of the SPLA-IO.

The SPLM-IO also reiterated its commitment to the full implementation of the peace agreement in letter and spirit, urging other parties to the accord to do the same.

In September 2018, the warring factions in South Sudan's civil war signed a revitalized peace agreement to end the country's civil war. The peace accord stipulates that there shall be a transitional government formed after eight months of the pre-transitional period.

(ST)

August 7, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese government on Saturday said "deeply concerned" about the eruption of clashes between SPLM-IO factions near the border with South Sudan and dismissed accusations of harbouring splinter leaders in Sudan.

Forces loyal to First Vice President Riek Machar and a splinter group led by Lt-Gen Simon Gatwech Dual clashed in the Magenis area of the Upper Nile State on Saturday.

In a statement issued about the clashes, Paul Lam Gabriel said that Lt Gen Dual and Lt Gen Johnson were evacuated to Sudan.

"The SPLA-IO leadership request the Sudan Government to maintain its neutrality by keeping the two in Sudan and not to allow them to come back and cause more insecurity in the area," Gabriel added.

In response, the Sudanese foreign ministry dismissed the presence of the splinter leaders on its territory and stressed Sudan's neutrality.

"South Sudanese stability is a strategic objective for its government," said a statement released on Saturday evening.

"The Government of Sudan is closely monitoring the situation at the site of the clashes, as it is adjacent to the southern border of Sudan, and will not allow any armed activity inside Sudanese territory by any party against the other," further added the statement.

Since the collapse of the al-Bashir regime, this is the first time that a South Sudanese party to the revitalized peace agreement accuses Khartoum of backing armed groups in South Sudan.

Besides its commitment to follow-up the peace implementation process in South Sudan, the Sudanese Prime Minister is the current chair of the IGAD bloc which brokered the peace agreement.

Several South Sudanese armed groups were linked to the Sudanese army before South Sudan independence as they fought against the historical SPLA.

(ST)

August 6, 2021 (JUBA) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir is not sponsoring the defection of key members of the armed and non-armed opposition in a bid to bolster and consolidate his rule in the country, a senior official clarified on Friday.

South Sudan's minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin, on 13 September 2011 (ST)

In an interview with Sudan Tribune, Presidential Affairs minister, Barnaba Marial Benjamin said Kiir's acceptance of the nominees of the main opposition movement into key positions shows his commitment to the peace process.

“His excellency the president of the republic, general Salva Kiir Mayardit is the man of peace, and everyone knows this. He has no hand, no role in whatever that you hear and read in the media. Those media reports are internal issues of the concerned parties”, he explained.

Marial assured members of the opposition of the commitment of the president and the government to fully implement the September 2018 revitalized peace agreement.

“His excellency the president of the republic is on record expressing his personal commitment and that of the government to a full implementation of the revitalized peace agreement. He has instructed the chief of defense forces to make necessary preparation with the minister of defense and veteran affairs so that in the cantonment site are passed out," stressed the minister.

He added, "This commitment as you are aware was a collective decision of the presidency which includes the president, the first vice president, and all the other deputies and peace partners”.

The top presidential aide was responding to media reports making statements attributed to key opposition figures pointing fingers at the government as sponsoring defection of key military members.

The co-chair of Joint Defense Board (JDB) Lt. General Gabriel Duop Lam, convened a security briefing on Friday in response to a declaration ousting Machar from his position by his predecessor, Simon Gatwech Dual who installed himself as the interim leader deputized by Johnson Olony in Magenis area of Upper Nile state on Tuesday.

“The SPLA-IO would like to point out that the incident that is happening in Magenis is related to the incidences that happened in Maiwut, Kajo Keji, Maban, and Lieng due to encouraged and sponsored defections from the peace partner. This was evident in the recorded conversation of the former SPLA-IO Spokesperson, Brig. Gen. William Gatjiath Deng”, Lam said in a statement.

On August 3, the SPLM/A-IO military command under Dual denounced the leadership of Machar and appointed the former as the new interim chairman of the armed opposition movement.

The decision to oust Machar, the splinter group declared, emerged after its members held a three-day meeting at Magenis area in South Sudan's Upper Nile state.

But Machar's office, in a statement issued on Thursday, said the three generals who met at Mangenis do not constitute the military command leadership of the SPLA-IO.

(ST)

August 7, 2021 (JUBA) - The top opposition military leadership in South Sudan said Friday it recognizes the legitimacy of the country's first vice deputy in the coalition government, describing ousting as the creation of the peace partner.

The military leadership issued a statement saying its component of the Security Mechanisms under the leadership of Lt. Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam, the Acting Chief of General Staff, and the Co-Chair of Joint Defense Board had sighted with concern Kitgweng Declaration on 3rd August 2021 by the Former Chief of General Staff, Gen. Gatwech Dual, whom it said was already relieved of the command of the SLA-IO forces and appointed as Peace Advisor to the President.

The SPLA-IO leadership in the Security Mechanisms met on 6th August 2021 in Juba and issued resolutions supporting the decision of the political bureau of the movement. The meeting applauded what it described as a patriotic move of the Sectors and Division Commanders to openly denounce the Kitgweng Declaration and pledging unwavering support to Riek Machar Teny as the legitimate leader.

This, according to the statement, “proves that the failed the coup attempt is zeroed to only a few elements in Magenis, who succumb to pressure from the enemies of peace”.

It argued that delay of unification of forces was the creation of the unnamed peace partner, pointing fingers at a fraction of President Salva Kiir, a key partner in the peace deal.

“The SPLA-IO would like to inform the people of South Sudan, the Region, and the International Community that the delay in the unification of Command and the graduation of the forces are not failures of the SPLA-IO but the peace partners”, the statement reads in part.

The top armed opposition officials argued that the incident that Kitgweng declaration was inspired by incidences that happened in Maiwut, Kajo Keji, Maban, and Lieng.

These developments, he said, were encouraged and sponsored defections from the peace partner.

“This was evident in the recorded conversation of the former SPLA-IO Spokesperson, Brig. Gen. William Gatjiath Deng”, said Lam in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Friday.

It declared affirm support of the Command to the decision of the Political Bureau in a meeting held on 4th August 2021, saying military leadership remains subordinate to the civilian rule of the movement under the leadership of its Chairman and Commander in chief of the group.

“The SPLA-IO denounce and condemn the Kitgwang Declaration in the strongest term possible and stand behind under the able the leadership of the SPLM/A-IO, Chairman and Commander in Chief Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon”, it further stated.

It assured its supporters and the South Sudanese public that it is in full command and control of all the forces in its 8 sectors and the divisions and remains committed to the implementation of the Transitional Security Arrangement and reserves the right to self-defense when aggressed.

(ST)

August 7, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Deadly fighting erupted in North Darfur state between former rebel fighters and Arab armed men on Friday, as each party accuses the other of igniting the fighting.

Clashes between the Gathering of Sudan Liberation Forces (GSLF) and the Arab tribes took place in Kalogui near Tawila locality southeast of El-Fasher the state capital on Friday morning.

There is no official statement about the number of human casualties, as eyewitnesses say three were killed and ten others wounded. Also, Taher Hajar GSLF and a member of the Sovereign Council stated that seven of their fighters had been killed.

On Friday evening, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo and the leaders of former rebel groups that signed the Juba peace agreement held a meeting to discuss the situation and formed a committee to investigate the causes of the bloody violence.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the GSLF of Tahir Hajar said its combatants were heading to a site of a joint force in Tabet when the Arab tribesmen ambushed them.

For its part, the Coordination of Arab tribes stated that the GSLF fighters from the Zaghawa tribe attacked them to revenge some people killed recently following a difference over land ownership.

An investigation committee headed by Mohamed al-Hassan, a member of the Sovereign Council arrived in El-Fasher on Saturday and held a meeting with the North Darfur security committee.

In order to secure the agricultural season, the governor of North Darfur state Nimir Abdel Rahman On July 4 formed a joint military force including the army, the Rapid Support, the General Intelligence Service, the police and the movements that signed the peace agreement

(ST)

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A ceasefire in Tigray on humanitarian grounds is needed now more than ever if a massive aid operation across frontlines is to succeed, the UN’s emergency relief chief said on Friday.

Rapidly spreading violence in Mali is threatening the State’s very survival, the UN independent expert on the human rights situation in the country said on Friday. 

August 5, 2021 (JUBA) - Heavy flooding has displaced at least 30,000 civilians in Ayod county of South Sudan, a United Nations relief official said Thursday.

A heavily flooded area in a remote part of South Sudan (Getty)

Arafat Jamal, acting humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan told reporters in the capital, Juba that persistent rains have washed away crops forcing women and children to survive on grass.

"One of the most moving and shocking things for me is when someone threw pieces of grass on the ground and said this is what we have to eat," he explained.

Jamal, who visited Ayod county, further disclosed that some homes in both Unity and Jonglei states have been submerged and several food crops have been destroyed.

"Floods are nothing new but what is different is that we are truly in the age of climate change and climate catastrophe and what we are seeing now is that floods are coming in regularly and at a higher intensity than before," he said.

The top UN official said the displaced people also lack clean drinking water.

According to UN Children Fund (UNICEF), some 8.3 million people in South Sudan presently need humanitarian support, a much higher number than the levels seen during the country's last civil war.

(ST)

August 5, 2021 (JUBA) - South Sudan has shut down The Sudd Institute, a leading think tank, days after a coalition of civil society activists launched a campaign calling for change in the country.

Southern Sudanese police in a convoy on the streets of Juba (UN photo)

The institute's acting Managing Director, Augustino Ting Mayai said the board met and passed several resolutions in response to the current situation and would update the public on the progress being made with authorities.

“The institute's board has met and passed several resolutions in response to the current situation. The board chair will communicate those to the public and the Institute's domestic, regional, and international partners in the next 24 hours”, Mayai said Thursday.

"The institute remains closed, but discussions with the authorities are ongoing and forthcoming. There is a mutual understanding that the Institute's role is critical for the country," he added.

Mayai also dismissed earlier reports that he was arrested by security agents as false.

"I was only summoned by the authorities on Monday to answer questions related to the Coalition's link to the Sudd Institute," he stressed.

The researcher urged the public to refrain from inflaming what he described as “an already tensed situation by drawing conclusions based on hearsay”.

Founded in May 2012, The Sudd Institute is an independent research organization that conducts and facilitates research and training to inform public policy and practice, to create opportunities for discussion and debate, and to improve analytical capacity in South Sudan.

(ST)

August 5, 2021 (ADDIS ABABA) - Ethiopia declined Sudan's offer to broker a negotiated settlement to end the armed conflict in Tigray and allow humanitarian access to the troubled region.

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok who chairs the East African bloc of IGAD proposed to mediate between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

Several leaders in the region and the international community support the offer which the Sudanese premier had also discussed with the two parties and Eritrea which was not very enthusiastic about the idea.

Commenting on a report the Sudan Tribune published Thursday, Billene Seyoum, Spokesperson of the Prime Minister Office told reporters that Sudan should first resolve the border dispute with Ethiopia before being entrusted for such mediation.

"The relationship with Sudan is a little bit tricky because the level of some leaders has already been eroded particularly with the Sudanese army incursions into Ethiopian territory," Seyoum said in a press briefing held on Thursday.

"Trust is the basis of any negotiation and any mediation, as well. So that element needs to be thoroughly addressed before Sudan could be entertained as a credible party in terms of facilitating such kind of negotiations," she stressed.

Sudanese officials say they believe that the continued armed conflict near its eastern border would affect the country as a result of the restrictions on humanitarian access to the northern Ethiopia region.

The United States voiced her support to the Sudanese initiative but Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed did not meet USAID Administrator Samantha Power during a one-day.

Power only met with the Ethiopian Peace Minister Muferihat Kamil who briefed her about the humanitarian aid his government provides to the civilians in Tigray.

"I once again called for a cessation of hostilities and unfettered humanitarian access," she tweeted before leaving in Addis Ababa.

(ST)

August 5, 2021 (JUBA)- South Sudan's First Vice President Riek Machar convened on Thursday an emergency meeting and dismissed claims that he had been ousted and replaced by the armed opposition (SPLM-IO) chief of staff, General Simon Gatwech Dual.

The development follows what appears to be a power struggle within the leadership of the country's main opposition movement after Dual opted to stay out of Juba, preferring implementation of all provisions of the 2018 revitalized agreement, such as the security arrangement.

Dual, a long time ally of Machar, attributed his dissatisfaction to the inability of the SPLM-IO leader to visit troops in the countryside and urged the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to release the SPLM-IO leader to go and brief the armed opposition fighters on the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.

The decision by the SPLA-IO chief of staff to stay out of Juba was interpreted by the government and some of those in Machar's inner to mean Dual was opposed to the implementation of the peace deal.

In a meeting held on Tuesday in Magenis in Upper Nile State, high ranking military figures in the armed opposition movement, including Gen. Gatwech, Gen. Johnson Olony Thubo, and Gen. Thomas Mabor Dhoal all agreed to oust Machar and replaced him with Dual.

The group claimed Machar no longer represented the interests of the movement.

On Thursday, however, Machar dismissed the declaration, saying “The declaration is intended to derail the formation of the unified command, graduation, and the deployment of the unified forces, which remain an outstanding priority after the conclusion of the reconstitution of the national legislature,"

Dual's decision to suspend the group's chief of military intelligence General Dhiling Keah following allegations of misconduct over accusations of planning to defect to President Salva Kiir's side polarized the leadership and dampened relations between the two leaders in the movement.

Machar overturned suspension escalating the power struggle within the group.

In June, President Kiir appointed Dual as a presidential advisor on peace upon nomination by Machar, but he (Dual) declined the offer, challenging the legal basis of the position to which he was appointed in the peace deal.

He also questioned the legitimacy of the group, pointing to recent decisions in which he removed and replaced Dual, putting him outside military structure after appointment into an advisory position.

“The three generals who met in Magenis do not constitute the SPLA-IO leadership of the Military Council. The Military Council is composed of the Commander-in-Chief, Chief of General Staff and his deputies, commanders of the nine sectors, and commander of the General Headquarters,” the statement reads in part.

“At the time of the declaration, Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual had already been relieved from command and appointed as Presidential Advisor for Peace. However, the Military Council does not make the political decisions of the movement but the Political Bureau or the National Liberation Councils in the absence of the National Convention," it added.

The leadership also assured the members of the movement and the people of South Sudan in general that the “situation is under control”.

The meeting also discussed the constant harassment, arbitrary arrests, and detention of the movement personnel by security organs linked to the factions under President Salva Kiir, particularly In Juba and other towns in the country.

It “discussed and condemned, as a matter of principle, the arbitrary detention of some members of the People's Coalition for Civil Action, as this group was exercising its constitutional right of freedom of speech, expression, and association even though the SPLM/A (IO) does not necessarily agree with the content of their message.”

“In light of this, the Political Bureau demands the immediate release of these detainees,” the communique stressed, adding that the meeting “discussed the blatant violation of the power-sharing agreements in the Administrative Areas.”

Meanwhile, the armed opposition movement reiterated its commitment to the full implementation of the peace agreement in letter and spirit, urging other parties to the accord to do the same.

In September 2018, the warring factions in South Sudan's civil war signed a revitalized peace agreement to end the country's civil war. The peace accord stipulates that there shall be a transitional government formed after eight months of the pre-transitional period.

(ST)

August 5, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - El-Obeid Court in North Kordofan state Thursday sentenced to death six members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for the killing of student protesters two years ago.

On July 29, 2019, six students were shot dead by the RSF militiamen as they dispersed angry protests in the capital of North Darfur state over food and fuel shortages and high inflation.

The death sentence did not include one of the RSF recruits who took part in the killing of protesters many of whom were wearing school uniforms. The court found that was a minor under the age of 18 when he committed the crime.

The SRF militia which operates under the command of the Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council Mohamed Hamdan Daglo Hemetti is widely accused of recruiting children, also they are accused of committing widespread brutalities and grave human rights violations in Darfur and South Kordofan.

The Public Prosecution had charged the Rapid Support personnel under Articles 21, 130 and 186 of the Criminal Code, related to criminal participation, premeditated murder and crimes against humanity.

On 24 May, a Sudanese court sentenced to death an RSF officer for the killing of a protester during the brutal breakup of the pro-democracy sit-in in June 2019.

The militiamen carried out a vehicle-ramming attack on the protesters.

The huge amount of videos and pictures taken during the attacks on the pro-democracy protests helped to identify the authors of atrocities committed by the militiamen.

Hemetti resists the integration of his militiamen into the national army.

On Thursday, the RSF announced that it completed the second human rights training session for its forces implemented by the Geneva Institute for Human Rights.

(ST)

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