Africa

September 6, 2015 (JUBA) - South Sudanese government said Sunday it was reaching out for assistances from the government of neighbouring Sudan from which the young nation seceded in 2011, to help implement the regionally brokered and internationally backed peace deal with armed opposition under the leadership of former vice president, Riek Machar.

South Sudanese president Salva Kiir (L) and his Sudanese counterpart, Omer Hassan al-Bashir, attend a press conference at Khartoum airport on 4 November 2014 (Photo: AFP/Ashraf Shazly)

South Sudan's foreign minister, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, on Sunday said Russian foreign ministry will organize a meeting between Sudanese and South Sudanese foreign ministers to discuss ways to support the implementation of the deal.

“We are also asking the region, particularly those countries which have played a significant role in the mediation of the resolution of the conflict to stand with us and provide their support in any capacity. We expect Sudan as one of the countries which played a very important role in the mediation to play another positive role in the implementation,” Marial said in an exclusive interview with Sudan Tribune on Sunday.

The government, he added, affirmed full commitment to implementing the compromise peace agreement, despite reservations and called on the people to stand with the president Salva Kiir who signed the deal on 26 August.

Marial said he received an invitation from the government of Russia to travel to Moscow for a discussion on bilateral relations with Sudan on matters related to cooperation agreement and implementation of the peace deal.

“Our relations with Russia have been recording tremendous movement towards developing strategic relations and both of us would like to build on this beginning for the benefits of our people and the two countries in number of areas,” he said.

He described the role of Russia in trying to reconcile the views of the two countries on a wide range of post secession issues as “act of a very important friend.”

The top diplomat revealed the meeting between him and Sudanese minister of foreign affairs, Ibrahim Ghandour, was being arranged by the Russian minister of foreign affairs of Russia, Seje Labrov.

The meeting, according to him, will be held for two days from 9 - 11 September during which the discussions will be moderated by the hosting official on a wide range of post secession issues.

One of the issues he expected to be discussed is how the government of Sudan would help in the implementation of the recently signed peace agreement with the rebels.

Russia is the chair of the United Nations Security Council this month of September and urged the two parties to respect the ceasefire or face sanctions.

(ST)

September 6, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's foreign ministry said its mission in Geneva is making intensive efforts to abort moves by the United States at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to relegate Sudan to agenda item 4 which means that human rights situation in the country requires the world's attention and monitoring.

A general view of participants during the 29th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 3 July 2015 - (UN Photo)

Sudan's foreign ministry spokesperson, Ali al-Sadiq, has vehemently criticized Washington for seeking to move Sudan back to agenda item 4, stressing that Sudan's mission in Geneva would coordinate with the friendly nations within the UNHRC to resist the U.S. attempts.

“This is not the first time that some western countries target Sudan and seek to move it back to the square of trusteeship,” he told reporters on Sunday.

Al-Sadiq stressed that Sudan and its allies are capable of refuting any claim by the U.S., pointing to efforts made by the government to improve human rights conditions “away from the misleading fallacies by parties hostile to Sudan”.

In November 2013 the then Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti offered rare praise of the U.S. disclosing that it had played a significant role in the UNHRC's resolution which kept Sudan under agenda item 10 of technical assistance for another year, despite attempts by some parties to move Sudan back to agenda item 4 of monitoring.

Last week, media reports said that Washington has embarked on moves within the UNHRC to move Sudan back to agenda item 4 which allows intervention under chapter 7 of the UN charter.

The US representative announced during a procedural session at the UNHRC that his country intends to lodge a draft resolution to relegate Sudan to agenda item 4 which provides for appointing a special rapporteur for human rights in the country.

Observers say that Washington's move was intended to put pressure on Khartoum particularly as agenda item 4 allows for international intervention in the country's internal affairs on issues pertaining to human rights.

It is worth mentioning that recent reports of international rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have accused the Sudanese army and its allied militias of committing war crimes in the conflicts areas.

This week, a Sudanese rights group, the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) sent a letter to the members and observer states of the UN Human Rights Council saying that human rights situation in Sudan continue to deteriorate, and marked by harsh political repression and continued impunity.

"Over the past four years in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, the Sudanese government has engaged in indiscriminate and targeted aerial bombardment of civilian areas, killing and wounding hundreds, if not thousands, of civilians," said the ACJPS.

The group further urged the different delegations "to support the development and adoption of a strong and responsive resolution on Sudan under agenda Item 4 at the 30th session of the Human Rights Council in September".

(ST)

September 6, 2015 (JUBA) - South Sudanese president Salva Kiir has unexpectedly warned officers of the army of punitive actions against them if they continued to violate ceasefire in the peace agreement he signed on 26 August with the former vice president, Riek Machar, revealing that there are some of his officers whose actions aimed at derailing the peace deal by taking advantage of reservations of his government over the accord.

SPLA soldiers, from the 2nd Battalion pose at the SPLA headquarters in Nyang, in the county of Yirol East, on February 15, 2014 (Photo AFP/Fabio Bucciarelli)

He said people who pretended to be loyal to him and his government were behind the ceasefire violations.

“There are people who want to take advantage of our genuine concerns and reservations. They are pretending to be conducting themselves as nationalists and they aren't acting with loyalty. These people are coming out, and any officer, no matter what position of service, showing lack of discipline will have to answer,” president Kiir told a tribal Jieng [Dinka] Council of Elders on Sunday.

“We have signed the peace [agreement] and we have to show our commitment, so that we are not portrayed as not interested in ending this war. They want to turn our people against us. We have to observe ceasefire requirements,” said the head of state in his first public reaction on ceasefire violations.

President Kiir made the comments admitting sabotage by some of his officers two days after the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) reported that government's attack helicopters attacked rebel positions on the west bank of the Nile near Malakal, capital of the oil-rich Upper Nile state.

Also the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) led by former vice president, Machar, alleged that they destroyed a number of war barges and gunboats which attacked their positions.

However, government spokesman, Michael Makuei Lueth, in an indirect refusal of the claim said one of the war barges exploded when a careless soldier lit a cigarette causing the explosion.

But president Kiir in his remarks said the barges came under attack by the rebel forces when they attempted to cross opposition controlled areas in Jonglei and Unity states.

US secretary of state, John Kerry, also called the South Sudanese leader on phone on Thursday, urging him to order forces to stop attacking rebel positions.

Kiir also told members of the Dinka elders, his tribesmen that the world was working to isolate his government unless they abided by the ceasefire and fully implement the peace deal with the armed opposition faction led by Machar.

“There are people in this country and in the region who are working to isolate us from our people by portraying themselves to be the ones who care about them and they are the ones who feel the suffering of our people more than us whom they have elected,” he further lamented.

“That was why they designed the peace [agreement] in the way that if we reject, they then go around the world and say look, they have rejected to sign the peace to stop the war and continue to claim they represent the people they have refused to stop the war and to end the suffering of their people,” he added.

The president, according to a presidential aide, made the remarks at his residence on Sunday during a meeting with some members of the Dinka council of elders who visited him to update him on the outcome of the meeting they held on Saturday where they discussed how they could reconcile and harmonise with the president their views which opposed key provisions in the peace deal.

President Kiir faces a division within his government as some senior political and army officials have been rejecting and criticizing the peace deal, with fears that they could be the ones that encourage ceasefire violations to try to spoil the implementation of the IGAD Plus compromise agreement.

United Nations Security Council is working on a US-led draft of sanctions that would be imposed on party seen to be violating the ceasefire or spoil implementation of the peace agreement.

Observers say Juba made a diplomatic mistake when president Kiir refused to comply with the 17 August deadline to sign the IGAD compromise peace agreement, making him a troublemaker in the eyes of the international community, while the opposition leader, Machar, came out as peace maker and earned respect in won the diplomatic manoeuver when he complied and signed the agreement unilaterally.

(ST)

September 6, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's interior ministry and police officials from the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) on Sunday have discussed the situation in the contested area of Abyei.

Ethiopian peacekeepers patrol the outskirts of the disputed Abyei town that straddles the border between Sudan and South Sudan on 16 September 2013 (Photo: Reuters/Andreea Campeanu)

The deputy director-general of police, Lieut. General Omer Mohamed Ali has discussed with the UNISFA senior police adviser, Mohamed Suraji, the security situation in Abyei in the presence of the Abyei dossier official at Sudan's police, Maj. General Salah al-Din Nur al-Dai'm, and the head of the general-directorate of international relations, Maj. General Abdallah al-Amin al-Shingaiti.

The police press office has quoted Nur al-Dai'm as saying the meeting aimed to coordinate efforts and to ensure complementarity of roles between the two sides in order to achieve security and stability in the area.

He said the two sides reviewed efforts and tasks carried out by the UN Police (UNPOL) to maintain security in accordance with Abyei Protocol, adding the meeting urged all parties to speed up the establishment of the Abyei police force to carry out its functions and duties to achieve security in the region.

The South Sudanese side refuses the establishment of a joint administration and a police force in line with the 20 June 2011 agreement. Juba propose to go beyond this deal and hold the referendum on the future of the region.

However, the police official added the two sides agreed to establish a link between Sudan's police and the UNPOL in Abyei to control any security breaches in the area.

According to Nur al-Dai'm, Sudan's police promised to provide assistance to the UNPOL at the federal and state levels in order to carry out its duties.

Abyei was scheduled to hold a referendum to determine the fate of the border region in January 2011. However the vote was suspended because the two countries continue to disagree over the participation of the Misseriya nomads in the process.

UNISFA's establishment came after the government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) reached an agreement in Addis Ababa, to demilitarize Abyei and let Ethiopian troops to monitor the area.

Composed mainly of Ethiopian troops, the 5,000 strong force was established following the seizure of Abyei by the Sudanese army in May 2011 after clashes with the southern army (SPLA) in the area.

The operation has been tasked with monitoring the flashpoint border between north and south and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid, and is authorized to use force in protecting civilians and humanitarian workers in Abyei.

(ST)

September 5, 2015 (JUBA) - South Sudan's president, Salva Kiir told the United States Secretary of State, John Kerry that "spoilers" could take advantage of the absence of a joint command council of senior military officers of the rival forces and derail the swift implementation of the peace agreement brokered by regional and international players.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir voices his reservations before signing a peace deal in the capital Juba, South Sudan Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015. (Photo AP/Jason Patinkin)

"Yesterday [Thursday] John Kerry called me and said they are very concerns that our forces are not respecting the ceasefire. I told him I have declared a permanent ceasefire and our forces have been given clear instructions to respect the ceasefire and they have complied. The reports of violations in the media are committed by the rebels," an aide quoted the South Sudanese leader telling the country's vice-president, James Wani Igga.

The rebels, Kiir claimed, attacked dispatched barges before the ceasefire was declared.

"They have been attacking these barges going to their initial destination. They were going to Malakal with normal supplies but the forces of Riek Machar attacked them and they only fought back in self-defense, but now these forces have been recalled”, he added.

President Kiir, his aide said, told Kerry he was committed to the full implementation of the deal, but reportedly feared such efforts could be derailed if a joint command was not immediately established to carry out monitoring and verification mechanisms on ground.

The official admitted Kiir was aware of the presence of some elements in his cabinet and in the army who are opposed to the deal, citing the army chief of staff, Paul Malong, who reportedly defiantly and disrespected the president at a consultative meeting held in Juba.

"Yes, it is true this incident occurred but it has been resolved. You know we are humans and there are times when it becomes difficult to control our emotions. This was what happened”, he said.

Another leading member of South Sudan's ruling party loyal to president Kiir admitted there were different views about the peace deal, but that they were being persuaded to forego their views and support the decision of the president to implement the accord.

"It is evident that the peace process has divided our people and even the armed forces", said the senior official, who declined to be named citing fear of reprisal from military and security agents whose heads remain opposed to key provisions of the agreement.

Most of the military officers, their generals and security officers have, from the very start of the peace process reportedly received every single step with suspicions and mistrust.

There is another group, probably a minority, of military personnel who, in fact, have openly declared them to be enemies of the peace process, he told Sudan Tribune.

But president Kiir, according to the information minister, Michael Makuei Lueth, said his government was forced by overwhelming global pressure to sign the deal because there were no options left since his political and economic allies and friends in the region were also overwhelmed with the international pressure on them owing to the nation's conflict.

Lueth told the state-owned SSTV Friday that the president made the remarks while addressing the council of ministers' meeting he chaired after signing the deal on 26 August.

(ST)

September 5, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - The Food Programme (WFP) on Friday called for an urgent support to its humanitarian air service saying they are in need of $10 million to maintain vital aid link operational in Sudan's Darfur region.

The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) preparing to undertake a mission delivering aid. (Photo UNDP/Nicolas Meulders)

"Without the necessary financial assistance, the Programme's ability to deliver food assistance to millions of people in the region, as well as to provide the air transportation that enables aid workers to reach them, could be seriously compromised," said WFP spokesperson Bettina Luescher at a press conference in Geneva on Friday.

Luescher further said the Service is underfunded and without $9.9 million in financial support, it will have to close down by the end of September.

From January to June 2015, the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) flew 20,000 aid workers to areas that were previously unreachable by other means particularly in Darfur region.

"WFP is urging donors to come forward to make sure the people in Darfur and other regions can continue to receive the assistance they need. Without the Service, people will suffer," said Luescher.

Since the beginning of this year, WFP has helped three million people in Darfur region receive badly needed food assistance.

last July Germany provided 2.5 Euros to support WFP activities in Darfur. 500,000 Euros of the German grant were allocated to the Humanitarian Air Service.

The current situation reminds a severe financial hardship the UNHAS in Darfur faced in 2008.

(ST)

September 5, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The chairman of the Reform Now Movement (RNM) Ghazi Salah al-Din al-Attabani warned of a “decisive response” should Sudanese authorities continue imposing restrictions on his party in the wake of arrests targeting RNM members this week.

RNM leader Ghazi Salah Eddin Attabani speaks in a press conference held in Khartoum on 30 August 2015 (Photo ST)

On Saturday, RNM spokesman confirmed the release of their four members but on the condition that they report daily to the security services.

Al-Attabani had called for their release and stressed that they broke no laws adding that they are exercising their constitutionally guaranteed rights.

RNM leading figures along with their supporters arrived at the downtown bus station in Khartoum on Thursday carrying anti-government signs and loudspeakers and started making a fiery speech against the government.

Plain clothed security officers quickly stepped in and arrested four RNM members who were named as RNM chairman in Khartoum state Khaled Nouri, his deputy Ja'afar al-Sadiq, politburo member Sami Abdul-Wahab and Nagi Imam who is charge of students and youths sector in the party.

Ghazi said that authorities "arrested four brothers who carried out this symbolic work in order to draw attention to the reality of the crisis when they speak to people in a public place”.

He cautioned that RNM would respond decisively if the government continued to restrict their activities.

The former presidential adviser accused the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of backtracking on earlier pledges related to political freedoms and creating a conducive atmosphere for the national dialogue.

RNM splintered from the NCP in October 2013 after a reform memorandum submitted to the government by prominent leaders in wake of deadly government crackdown on demonstrators protesting lifting of fuel subsidies.

(ST)

September 5, 2015 (JUBA) – The South Sudanese national football team defeated Equatorial Guinea by a single goal in its first ever competitive match played Saturday.

South Sudan national football team during a past tournament [©AFP]

A number fans interviewed by Sudan Tribune described the victory as “historic” for a country that has for several years been in conflict.

"The victory for Bright Stars by beating overwhelmingly favorites Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in their AFCON 2017 qualifying match is historic,” said James Okech.

Atak Lual, who plays for Al-Ahli Shendi in Sudan, broke the deadlock in the 51st minute. It was the first competitive match played in South Sudan and the country's first win in a major tournament.

“Fantastic win Bright Stars, you have done your country proud,” said a local media on its social media site, referring to the national team by it official name.

“Bravo brother (goal scorer) Atak Lual. You saved and served the nation and we will always continue to save and serve this nation. It ours and we must keep on giving all what it needs from us. Let's look forward to serve this country in every capacity whenever, wherever and forever,” Noble Arem Riak, an ardent fan posted on facebook.

“I am really happy for being at the stadium to witness how sports can unite us,” said another.

The Bright Stars now have three points and can qualify if they win their remaining fixtures.

According to the latest Federation of International Football Association (FIFA)- Coca-Cola world rankings, South Sudan is placed at 198 while Equatorial Guinea stands at 63.

(ST)

September 5, 2015 (JUBA) – Civilians who sought protection at the United Nations mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) base in the country's capital, Juba have been given 24 hours to leave their premises after missing the deadline set for them to register and be relocated to designated areas, the world body announced on Saturday.

People gather at a makeshift camp for displaced people at a UN compound in South Sudan's capital, Juba, on 22 December 2013 amid fears for further violence (Photo: AFP/Tony Karumba)

Of the 473 foreign nationals at the camp, 241 accepted to relocate from a protection-of-civilians (PoC) site at the mission headquarters since 27 August to locations in Juba Yambio and the Makpandu refugee settlement in the Western Equatoria state. 233 refugees, mostly from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia declined to leave the compound.

"With the change in the security situation in Juba, the majority of the foreign nationals have since left UNMISS POC sites to return to their homes in the communities in Juba,” UNMISS said in a statement it issued on Saturday.

“Most of [them] have remained in the UNMISS site even though there are no longer protection concerns to justify their continued stay in the Mission's camps,” it added.

The outbreak of the conflict in South Sudan in December 2013 triggered an influx of hundreds of local and foreign nationals into UNMISS camps across the country. More than 200,000 South Sudanese are sheltering in six PoC sites established by UNMISS, including in Juba, Bor, Bentiu, Malakal abd Wau.

The UN peacekeepers are mandated to protect civilians under imminent danger in South Sudan.

“The mission wishes to emphasize that the deadline to participate in the relocation process was 1 September and there will be no extension to allow the foreign nationals to stay any longer on UNMISS premises. The PoC site where the remaining 233 foreign nationals are staying will be closed on Monday 7 September,” UNMISS stated.

UNMISS said it provided, in collaboration with other UN agencies, the foreign nationals with alternative places to which they can relocate within South Sudan. The foreign nationals were reportedly given multiple opportunities to obtain asylum-seeking certificates from the Government of the Republic of South Sudan that would enable them to remain legally in the country while their applications for refugee status are reviewed.

Those who refused the offers, it said, have to vacate the premises “immediately and peacefully.”

"Their continued stay beyond the deadline will not be condoned,” it further stressed.

Sudan Tribune was unable to reach any of the foreign nationals asked to leave the premises.

(ST)

September 5, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - The Italian government has granted 600,000Euros to fund a food and nutrition project in eastern Sudan which will be implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Photo of a Beja tribesman in eastern Sudan (Jeffrey GettlemanThe New York Times)

In a statement released on Thursday 3 September, the Italian Development Cooperation office in Khartoum said the project will address to the food and nutrition needs of rural families in areas affected by natural disasters in Kassala and Red Sea states.

"The Integrated Food Security and Livelihoods Project (IFSLP) will target 7.500 households (45.000 people) from four localities, including Telkok and Rural Aroma in Kassala State, and Sinkat and Derdub in Red Sea State," said a statement extended to Sudan Tribune.

“The rural poor in Eastern Sudan, particularly in Red Sea State, are not among the communities targeted for humanitarian funding under Sudan's Humanitarian Response Plan, despite the protracted crises that they face,” said Abdi Jama, head of FAO office in Sudan.

The project will introduce climate-smart agriculture technologies to transform and reorient agricultural system to support food security in the two states which are affected by the climate change.

"These activities are designed to increase access to local food by boosting agricultural and livestock production, which is an important way to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition for local families and communities" said the statement.

The Italian Development Cooperation has focused its interventions in Eastern Sudan since the signature of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005 and implemented several health and rural development projects..

“We are aware of the critical situation in the Kassala and Red Sea States. This is the reason why strengthening the livelihoods of rural communities is a priority for the Italian Development Cooperation. We are happy to deepen the collaboration with FAO to fight food insecurity and malnutrition in Eastern Sudan,” says Italian Ambassador to Sudan, Fabrizio Lobasso.

(ST)

September 5, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's minister of finance, Badr al-Din Mahmoud, said the visit of president Omer al-Bashir to China has set a solid ground for a new breakthrough in relations between the two countries particularly with regards to the economic aspects.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, September 1, 2015. (Photo Reuters/Parker Song)

Bashir and his accompanying delegation including ministers of foreign affairs, oil and transport among others arrived in China on Monday to participate in celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Mahmoud told the official news agency (SUNA) on Saturday that the agreements signed with the Chinese government would contribute positively to the mobilization of the Sudanese economy.

He said that he discussed with his Chinese counterpart ways for trade, economic and financial dealings between the two nations, saying China will offer new preferential loans that would be allocated to increasing production and exports.

The Sudanese minister disclosed they agreed to promote banking cooperation between the two countries and to use the Yuan in settling financial transactions and scheduling Sudan's debts.

He pointed that a joint committee would convene in Khartoum soon to discuss ways for economic cooperation between the two countries.

Mahmoud added that the Chinese leadership is keen to push forward cooperation in gas and oil besides addressing Sudan's debts through increasing production particularly in the oil domain.

He revealed that they agreed to establish a joint maritime line company, saying the foundations of the partnership would be set during the coming few days.

“Also among the gains achieved during the visit [of Bashir] was the agreement to buy new trains [from China] and to maintain the broke trains,” he added.

Mahmoud further stressed they completed the agreement pertaining to financing the rail road linking Port Sudan to Ed Damazin besides linking Sudan to Ethiopia.

China has been Sudan's largest foreign investor particularly in oil and telecommunications after western firms shunned the East African nation due to conflicts and sanctions.

HIRE-PURCHASE OF SHIPS AND PLANES

Meanwhile, the Sudanese minister said they agreed with China to lease seven ships and two aircrafts through the hire-purchase.

“The two planes would remain registered under the name of the Chinese company until the ownership is being transferred to Sudan airways,” he said.

He pointed the ships and the aircrafts will arrive in Sudan within a few days accompanied by technical teams.

Mahmoud added that an agricultural agreement covering areas of agricultural technology and manufacturing has been signed during the visit, stressing it would promote agricultural cooperation between the two countries.
“It [the agreement] would positively impact on increasing production and productivity for some important crops,” he said.

The minister pointed out that the understandings with the Chinese side covered industrial cooperation in the various fields besides the continuation of cooperation in the mining sector and the establishment of a free-trade zone in the Red Sea.

“Security and military industry cooperation would push forward relations between the two nations,” he added.

(ST)

September 5, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - A group from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) affiliated with Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) Saturday has blocked the main road linking Khartoum state to the Northern state for several hours and looted passengers' property.

RSF troops in camouflage and draped with ammunition show off the spoils from a major clash with the rebel (JEM), in Nyala 13 May 2015 (Photo AFP/Ashraf Shazly)

Eyewitnesses told Sudan Tribune that RSF on Saturday morning blocked the highway near Al-Gaili oil refinery, 25 kilometres north of Khartoum, adding they forced the vehicles to stop and stole passengers' property.

The same eyewitnesses said that a police patrol unit passed by the incident's scene but was unable to confront the RSF, stressing the heavily armed militiamen continued to disrupt the traffic for several hours without intervention from any government authority.

They added that the angry RSF also attacked restaurants and shops near Al-Gaili area and embarked on looting their property and merchandise without being stopped by any party.

The Sudanese government didn't comment on the incident.

RSF continued to block roads and loot passengers' property whenever the government fails to pay their financial accruals.

Late last year, the militiamen also blocked the same road to protest against the delay in the payment of their monthly salaries.

The RSF, which is widely known as the Janjaweed militias, were originally mobilized by the Sudanese government to quell the insurgency that broke out in Sudan's western region of Darfur in 2003.

The militia was reactivated and restructured again in August 2013 under the command of NISS to fight the alliance of rebel groups from Darfur region, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states following joint attacks in North and South Kordofan in April 2013.

(ST)

September 5, 2015 (JUBA) – South Sudan's army chief of staff, Gen. Paul Malong Awan, on Saturday requested the United Nations and United States of America to monitor the permanent ceasefire till regional countries set up a military observers' team.

In this photo taken Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, a government soldier stands in the oil-rich town of Malakal (Photo AP)

The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) said the UN and U.S. can monitor the declared by President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar ten days ago but both sides continue to trade accusations of violations without being verified by independent monitors.

“The SPLA called upon the members of the international community, particularly the UN and the U.S. to provide a joint monitoring and verification mechanism,” the SPLA spokesperson Col. Philip Aguer, told reporters when he read a statement signed by Gen. Malong in Juba on Saturday.

“This interim joint monitoring and verification from the UN and U.S. will help fill the gap created by IGAD compromise peace agreement,” said Aguer.

President Kiir signed the agreement on August 26, nine days after his former vice-president turned rebel leader Machar and former detainees leader Pagan Amum inked the agreement in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

On 27 August President Kiir who was followed by Machar a day later, declared a permanent ceasefire. But both sides continue to accuse each of carrying out attacks.

The SPLA said the rebels attacked military ships travelling to Juba to Malakal this week, denying claims that they carried out attacks on the rebel positions.

“It is worth stating clearly that these ships left Juba before the peace was signed and never attacked any rebel held area along the way,” said Aguer.

“By the time the President signed the agreement, the ship had already covered more than 80% of the journey from Juba to Malakal,” he added.

The SPLA chief described the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) mediated peace document as “flawed” when it comes to the creation of the ceasefire monitoring and verification team.

“It is therefore important that this gap is closed by having an interim monitoring mechanism in place,” the statement added.

"The existing IGAD MVM shall transition to become the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM), responsible for reporting on the progress of the implementation of the Permanent Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements (PCTSA); says the peace deal.

It further provides that the CTSAMM shall be chaired by a representative of IGAD, adding that representatives from the warring parties and South Sudanese parties and civil society groups as well as the AU, China, EU, Troika, and UNMISS, shall participate in the monitoring mechanism.

SPOILERS OF PEACE

The SPLA did not blame the SPLM-in-opposition led by Machar but pointed an accusing finger at the splinter rebel commanders that declared defection from the mainstream rebel group.

“There are spoilers of peace and it is a well unknown fact that part of the rebels of Riek Machar publicly said they will not honour the agreement,” said Aguer.

The SPLA calls upon those groups to join the IGAD mediation o address their grievances and give peace a chance,” he added.

(ST)

September 4, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese political forces participating in the national dialogue on Friday admitted that the internal political process will not meet the expected success without the participation of the armed opposition groups.

3rd meeting of the national dialogue national assembly in Khartoum on Thursday 20 August 2015 (Photo - SUNA)

The ruling National Congress Party (NCP), the opposition Popular Congress Party (PCP) of Hassan al-Turabi rejected an African Union plan aiming to bring the holdout rebel and political groups to participate in the national dialogue through the organization of a preparatory meeting outside Sudan on the matters related to the process.

"The non-participation of armed movements will hamper efforts to achieve the desired success," said the chairman of the National Democratic Forum and member of dialogue coordination body Faisal Yassen who pointed to "the need to hold the pre-dialogue conference".

"We do not mind even if the preparatory conference is held in (the rebel stronghold of) Kauda" which is the capital of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N) controlled areas in South Kordofan.

"We are not afraid of the preparatory conference," he further stressed.

The Sudanese government says the dialogue should be prepared and held by Sudanese inside the country without foreign intervention, arguing that previous initiatives didn't bring peace or stability to Sudan and the international community didn't implement its pledge in support of the signed deals.

The president Omer al-Bashir further accused Western countries of supporting rebel and opposition groups and using it to topple his regime.

But observers say the government is confusing the Sudanese street by insisting on its international isolation and the imposed international sanctions despite the secession of South Sudan.

Further, the leader of the opposition National Umma Party (NUP), Sadiq al-Mahdi refuted the government refusal of international participation in the dialogue process saying they just want through the pre-dialogue meeting to end war and to agree on the confidence building measures creating a healthy environment for the internal process.

Speaking in a talk show at Radio Omdurman, Yassen said the dialogue body will meet the diplomatic foreign missions in Khartoum to brief them on the ongoing preparations for the dialogue which is scheduled for 10 October.

He also said they are ready to meet the armed groups and al-Mahdi stressing on the need to involve him in the political process saying his NUP cannot be ignored.

Yassen said the last August communiqué of the Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) which insists on the need for the pre-dialogue meeting, is "not entirely negative".

The problem of absence disturbs school systems and ends in the students' dropping out of school.

However, a leading member of the National Liberation and Justice Party (NLJP), Ahmed Fadel who co-signed the famous 5 September agreement with the AU High Level Implementation Panel on the national dialogue said the African roadmap "opens the door for foreign intervention".

Fadel further called on the government to "urgently undertake diplomatic initiatives to address the risks of the AUPSC decision and to cut the road for such initiatives".

NLJP leader Tijani al-Sissi last Wednesday criticised the AUPSC's decision on the national dialogue and accused the African body of interfering in Sudan's internal affairs.

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The United Nations envoy facilitating efforts to restore peace in Libya said today that real progress was being made as the participants wrapped-up the latest round of the political dialogue process, which has been taking place in Geneva.

Wrapping up a four-day mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Kyung-wha Kang, called strongly today for creative ways to reignite donor engagement and ensure that one of the world’s most protracted crises does not “fall off the humanitarian radar.”

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the appointment of Major General Muhammad Tayyab Azam of Pakistan as the Force Commander of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).

A lack of funding in Sudan could have serious repercussions on the ground, the World Food Programme (WFP) said today, warning that the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service, which serves as a vital aid link in the country, needs nearly $10 million to remain operational.

The human rights situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) is far better than it was at the height of the conflict in late 2013 and early 2014, but is still a cause of anxiety for both the country’s own inhabitants and the United Nations, the world body’s human rights chief said today.

Hissène Habré Trial to Resume

(Dakar, September 4, 2015) – The trial of the former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré on charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and torture will begin in earnest on September 7, 2015.

Expand Share The long-awaited trial of Hissène Habré, was adjourned almost as soon as it was opened, as an outburst from the former dictator of Chad caused a scene in the courtroom.

When the landmark trial before the Extraordinary African Chambers in the Senegal court system formally opened on July 20, Habré had to be removed from court after an outburst. Habré’s lawyers then refused to appear and the trial was adjourned, giving new court-appointed lawyers time to study the case.  

“After 25 years of campaigning and 45 days waiting patiently, the survivors will finally get their day in court,” said Reed Brody, counsel at Human Rights Watch who has worked with the victims since 1999. “Hissène Habré may try to create more disturbances, but he does not get a veto on whether he should be tried, or if the victims get justice.”

Habré has refused to communicate with the court-appointed lawyers, and it is expected that he will try to have them taken off the case. The president of the court, Gberdao Gustave Kam, has made clear, however, that in keeping with Senegalese law and international practice, the lawyers are needed to safeguard the rights of the accused and the integrity of the proceedings.

Habre is accused of tens of thousands of political killings as well as systematic torture during his rule, from 1982 to 1990. The trial is the first in the world in which the courts of one country prosecute the former ruler of another for alleged human rights crimes.

Habré is standing trial before the Extraordinary African Chambers in the Senegal court system. The chambers were inaugurated by Senegal and the African Union in February 2013 to prosecute the “person or persons” most responsible for international crimes committed in Chad between 1982 and 1990, the period when Habré ruled Chad. Judge Kam, of Burkina Faso, president of the Trial Chamber, will hear the case along with two senior Senegalese judges.

The trial is expected to last two months, with about 100 witnesses and victims expected to testify.

“If I get a chance to look Hissène Habré in the face, I will do it without fear,” said Fatimé Sakine, 53, a secretary who was subjected to electroshocks and beatings during 15 months in prison from 1984 to 1986 and who is in Dakar for the trial. “I want to know why we were kept rotting, why so many of my friends were tortured and killed.”

“This case is a milestone in the fight to hold the perpetrators of atrocities accountable for their crimes, in Africa and in the world,” Brody said. “It's taken many years, and many twists and turns, but in the end a group of tenacious survivors have shown that it was possible to bring their dictator to justice.” 

Topic

• International Justice
• Torture

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