Africa

The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending the freedom of the press today denounced the recent killing of a Somali news editor.

September 15, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – South Sudan's former vice-president, Riek Machar, arrived to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, to meet with president Omer Hassan Al Bashir, his spokesperson, has revealed on Tuesday evening.

President Omer al-Bashir receives South Sudanese former vice-president and leader of the SPLM-in-Opposition, Riek Machar and his wife Angelina Teny in Khartoum on 10 August 2014 (ST)

“Comrade Chairman and Commander-in-Chief of SPLM/SPLA, Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon, has left for the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on Tuesday evening. He will meet with president Omer Hassan al-Bashir,” said James Gatdet Dak, spokesperson of the opposition leader, in a statement he issued on Tuesday evening.

Dak said Machar is also expected to meet with the Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni in the Sudanese capital. President Museveni has arrived in Khartoum on Tuesday evening too.

He said the trio will discuss issues related to the implementation of the peace agreement signed between Machar and president Salva Kiir in August and promotion of mutual relations between their parties.

Machar, according to his spokesman, will lead a 20-member delegation including senior members of his party.

The armed opposition leader and his delegation, who crossed into Ethiopia on Tuesday from their headquarters of Pagak in South Sudan, was picked from Makot Airport in the western Ethiopian regional town of Gambella by a presidential jet belonging to the Sudanese president.

(ST)

September 15, 2015 (JUBA) - South Sudanese president, Salva Kiir, has on Tuesday announced that his government would fully implement the recently signed peace agreement, but said will continue to maintain his reservations in the course of implementing the peace deal he signed with his rival and former deputy, Riek Machar.

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir (seated) signs a peace agreement in Juba, August 26, 2015. (Photo Reuters/Jok Solomu)

Kiir further expressed hope that IGAD Plus mediation will someday understand his reservations, predicting that it will be difficult to implement some of the provisions of the peace agreement.

“It is our hope, however, that as the implementation of the Agreement gets underway, the IGAD mediators and partners and the friends of South Sudan will take more objective view to reservations that I articulated prior of my signing the Agreement on 26th August 2015,” said president Kiir in his first time address to the nation on Tuesday, 20 days after he signed the peace deal.

He described the peace deal as the most “divisive” peace accord in the history of the country and the African continent at large.

Kiir who inked the deal on 26 August, 9 days after his rival Machar signed the same document, however directed his government's political and military institutions to implement the agreement, explaining that by appending his signature he was fully committed.

“With that signature I had fully committed myself and the government to the peaceful implementation of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan,” he said.

“All the institutions of the government in the country shall be bound by this Agreement and shall be expected to carry out the functions stipulated for them therein.”

He reminded that the peace agreement had already been endorsed by the country's council of ministers and ratified by the national legislature and therefore the document has become a law to be implemented.

“I believe you are all aware that the National Council of Ministers has already endorsed and adopted the agreement and that the National Legislature has already ratified this agreement as well. And in my capacity as the commander-in-chief of the SPLA I have already issued a ceasefire order for SPLA troops to stop any military offensives in the conflict zones unless in self-defence,” he added.

The South Sudanese leader who signed the peace deal under heavy international pressure and threats of sanctions on him and his country, said he demanded unity of the people of South Sudan, adding “I assure you the full commitment of the government to respect the permanent ceasefire which I have declared and the full implementation of the agreement which I have signed.”

President Kiir last week admitted that his forces had violated the ceasefire and warned officers of punitive measures unless they stopped attacking the opposition forces led by Machar.

He called upon the citizens of the country to provide support for the implementation of the peace agreement to end the suffering.

The head of state, who was expected to shed light on the dire economic situation in the country, however said he “purposely left out” in his speech a portion of economic matters because, according to him, it would only “spark debate without solution.”

Kiir, in an attempt to show unity against potentially adverse effect of western threats with sanctions, urged his audience to stand united in the face of latest foreign policy challenge.

"The people of this country are patient with anything, unless their lives are put under threat, in which case we come out and stand united to confront the threat at the root," he said.

"With our faith in God and the will of our people, we will surmount all difficulties,” he added.

The president said that his administration seeks to "strengthen unity" with other neighbouring countries, saying that he did not want to create enemies in relations with other countries.

He described claimed interest with which citizens allegedly followed his state of address in their own houses as a demonstration of unity that revealed togetherness to face threats to the country.

FAILS TO TACKLE ECONOMY

Meanwhile, the South Sudanese leader failed to outline how his government was prepared to tackle the deteriorating state of the country's economic.

“I did not mention anything about economy, not because it escaped my mind, but I did not want to talk about it. I left it [economy] purposely because even if I bring it to the table it will be just a decision without solution,” said president Kiir.

The South Sudanese pounds weakened during the war against the United States dollars, the hard currency needed to import essential food items from abroad. The market responded positive when the peace was signed, but the exchange rate of dollar hiked in the last two weeks, further pushing up prices of commodities in markets.

(ST)

(ST)

Full Text:

Statement from President Salva Kiir to the nation on the peace agreement

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

September 15, 2015 (TIGRAY, ETHIOPIA) – Eritrean armed opposition groups and Thousands of Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia on Sunday vow to jointly launch armed struggle against repressive government in the Red Sea nation.

Refugees wait to be registered at Shagarab refugee camp in eastern Sudan, often the first point of entry for Eritreans fleeing oppression in their homeland (UNHCR)

While celebrating the 54th anniversary of the start of the armed struggle for independence, Eritrean refugees and members of exiled opposition groups vowed to jointly step up military attacks against government in Asmara led by President Issaias Afreworki.

Tens of thousands Eritrean refugees' attended the event which was held at refugee camps in the northern Tigray region near the Eritrean Border.

Prominent Eritrean singers who fled to Ethiopia to escape repression have staged show during the event which also attracted over 3000 members of the Diaspora including scholars.

Speaking to Sudan Tribune, organizers and participants accused Afeworki-led government and its ruling party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) of hijacking the struggle for freedom, Justice and democracy and imposing misery to the people.

They further accused the president of turning the tiny nation into a one-party state and into one of the most repressive nations in the world to systematically secure grip on power.

“President Issaias has stood against his people. He has turned the country into a pariah state whose citizens are being forced to flee in mass to escape atrocities” Tewolde Tesfazgi, one of the participants told Sudan Tribune.

29-year old Tesfazgi, who arrived at Adi-harush refugee camp nearly a year ago, said he was ready to join the armed struggle, stressing that military action was the only option to ensure the democratic rights of the Eritrean People.

He accused the president of failing to keep his words to reform the constitution despite previous promise.

In a joint statement the Eritrean participants pledged to oust the dictatorship and build a country that lives in harmony with its neighbours.

The Eritrean long struggle for independence officially started in September 1961 after the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Silase dissolved the federation established by the United Nations.

Eritrea won its independence from its Southern neighbour, Ethiopia, in 1991 after a referendum on self-determination.

Another participant who asked anonymity told Sudan Tribune that he fled to Ethiopia after government agents killed his older Brother.

“Few armed men came to our house in the middle of the night and took him away. After two months we heard he was dead.”

According to him the deceased was accused of spying for opposition groups operating in Ethiopia.

“I feel that the decades long struggle for freedom was for nothing,” he added, calling for all peace loving Eritreans to join their hands together in the struggle against "the tyrannical regime".

The refugees expressed gratitude for the friendliness treatment that they are being provided in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia currently hosts an estimated 200,000 Eritrean refugees.

Eritrea had long been under fire by human right groups who accuse the reclusive nation of committing gross human rights violations including executions, imprisonment, disappearances, harassment and intimidation.

In June 2015, a report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea unveiled gross human rights violations with some of these violations, possibly constituting crimes against humanity which could subject Eritrean officials to indictment at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

According to some of the report's findings, extra-judicial killings, torture (including sexual torture), unlimited national service and forced labour are being aggressively continuing in breach to government's promise for democracy made following independence.

Eritrea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has dismissed the UN panel's allegations as “unfounded and devoid of all merit” which aimed to undermine their country's sovereignty and progress of the country.

(ST)

September 15, 2015 (GUIT) - South Sudanese rebels have disputed pro-government claims that they were repulsed from Guit county in Unity, a day after capturing the area.

South Sudanese rebels pictured in Jonglei state on 31 January 2014 (Photo: Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)

Brig. General Hoth Chuol, a commanding officer in the area, told Sudan Tribune that their forces withdraw voluntarily without engaging government in any battle.

He the decision was to ensure effective implementation of the recent peace agreement.

“We have always respected the ceasefire, but the government has been in an offensive since the day our chairman Dr. Riek Machar Teny signed the peace agreement on August 17. We only responded to the aggression by pro government,” he said.

Chuol said the rebels made their position very clear after their commander-in-chief signed the peace deal and has instructed troops to remain in their respective territories.

“We have never attacked them, they are the ones on offensive. We have learned [from] within the government of Salva Kiir [that] there is much division between politicians and senior militarily officers and this has clearly indicated [why] they attack us,” he said.

He said the armed opposition were forced to sign the peace because of the ongoing suffering of the people of South Sudan, adding they could liberate the country in months.

“It is very clear that we have never hired foreign troops in this senseless conflicts. This has indicated that we are powerful and a capable army. We are dedicated to the peace [agreement] because of our ordinary civilians who go on beds with empty stomachs,” stressed Chuol.

NO REBEL KILLED

Meanwhile, the rebel official dismissed as untrue claims by the army spokesperson that eight armed opposition soldiers were allegedly killed in Sunday's clashes in Unity state.

The two rival factions have, in the aftermath of last month's peace accord, traded counter accusations of each side violating a permanent ceasefire amid threats for sanctions.

(ST)

September 15, 2015 (NEW YORK) – In a letter addressed to the South Sudan's former vice president, Riek Machar, the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki Moon, has commended the opposition's leadership for signing the peace agreement to end the 20-month long civil war in the country, assuring that the world body will work closely with the parties in implementing the deal.

Ban Ki-moon (UN)

The top UN chief, in the letter's copy extended to Sudan Tribune from New York on Monday, also confirmed invitation of the armed opposition leader, Machar, to a high-level meeting of heads of state at the UN's General Assembly.

“Excellency, I wish to commend you for the leadership you have demonstrated in signing the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan…The United Nations stands ready to work in close partnership with you, the other signatories, and the future Transitional Government of National Unity, to ensure the successful implementation of the Agreement and consolidate peace in South Sudan,” partly reads the letter, dated 10 September, addressed to Machar and signed by the UN secretary general.

“In this connection, I have the honour to invite you to a High-level meeting on South Sudan, to be held on 29 September 2015 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., in the margins of the seventieth session of the General Assembly. The meeting will be held at the Heads of State level with the aim of galvanizing the international community's support for the implementation of the peace agreement,” it reads.

The summit is expected to discuss needs of the would-be formed transitional government and pressure and support the world leaders and governments should provide in implementing the deal.

South Sudan's armed opposition has acknowledge receipt of the invitation, adding that Machar will lead a high-level delegation to the summit.

President Kiir's government also revealed that the head of state may not be leading the delegation and will instead delegate his deputy, James Wani Igga, to represent the government in the meeting.

The two warring parties signed the deal on 17 and 26 August to end the war which erupted on 15 December 2013, when internal political debates within the leadership of the ruling SPLM party over reforms turned violent.

Tens of thousands of people have died so far, hundreds of thousands forced to seek shelter under protection of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and millions more displaced internally and to the neighbouring countries of Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.

United Nations warned it will impose arms embargo and targeted sanctions on individuals or parties that will be seen to be spoiling the implementation of the agreement.

(ST)

Families on the run often surviving brutal attacks in Nigeria are now threatened with the lack of food, water and deadly epidemics in neighbouring Cameroon, where they have sought refuge, the top United Nations humanitarian official in the region said today.

The United Nations envoy for Libya announced on Sunday that consensus has been reached by the parties on the main elements of a political agreement aimed at resolving the ongoing crisis.

The United Nations peacekeeping chief today announced that following reports of alleged sexual exploitation and abuse, seven peacekeepers serving with the UN mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) have been repatriated, while nine have had their payments suspended.

September 7, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – Eritreans in North America are planning to stage a major rally in support of a report by the Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea (CoIE) which accused the Red Sea nation of committing gross human right violations.

According to Eritrean opposition news outlets, the demonstration will be held later in September in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New York, coinciding with the UN General Assembly meetings which will convene from 15 September - 6 October, 2015.

The CoIE which is tasked to investigate all alleged violations of human rights in Eritrea is due to report its findings to the General Assembly in October this year.

In June 2015, the CoIE released a 485-page report on Eritrea's human rights situation.

The report unveiled gross human rights violations in the reclusive East African nation.

Some of these violations, it said may constitute crimes against humanity which could subject Eritrean officials to indictment at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The UN inquiry then held the regime in Asmara responsible for systematic, widespread and serious human rights violations that have created a climate of fear.

“Information gathered through the pervasive control system is used in absolute arbitrariness to keep the population in a state of permanent anxiety,” the report, adding “It is not law that rules Eritreans but fear”

The report added a large proportion of the population is subjected to forced labour and imprisonment, and hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled the country.

Organisers of the planned rally called upon all Eritreans in North America to attend the event and show their support for the CoIE report.

It also appealed to them to raise their voices together “for Justice, Liberty and a Democratic Eritrea”

After the UN report was issued, Eritreans overseas held a number of demonstrations in support for the CoIE. However, many other government supporters who were angered by the report, held a protest rally in protest against its findings.

Members of the CoIE were also threatened and intimidated by supporters of the Eritrean government up on arrival in Geneva for meeting late in June.

The commission of inquiry and its members were insulted as enemies of the Eritrean government.

Eritrean embassies across the world were then accused of being behind the acts of intimidating individuals and entities.

The three-member commission is chaired by Mike Smith (Australia), with Victor Dankwa (Ghana), and Ms. Sheila B. Keetharuth (Mauritius), who also serves as the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea.

The Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea was established by the UN Human Rights Council in June 2014 to conduct an investigation of all violations of human rights in Eritrea, including: extrajudicial killings; enforced disappearances; arbitrary arrest and detention;
torture and inhumane prison conditions; violations of freedom of expression and opinion; freedom of association and assembly; freedom of religion and belief; freedom of movement; and forced military conscription.

(ST)

September 7, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Inflation rate in Sudan appeared poised for reaching single digit figures before the end of the year with the announcement today it dropped from 14.1% in July to 11.3% in August.

FILE - Men wait to buy meat at the market in Khartoum, Sudan (REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

The 2015 budget has a target inflation rate of 25% while the IMF projected 12.4% by year-end.

The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBoS) said that 13 states witnessed inflation rate declines compared to last year with the largest being in North Darfur (-63%) and lowest being Red Sea (-1.8%).

Gezira state however saw its inflation rate going up year over year by +7.3%.

Sudan has been struggling with double-digit inflation since secession of the oil-rich south in 2011 but it has succeeded in bringing it down from a high of 46.8% in July 2014 to 25.6% in November of the same year.

The East African nation which became a net importer of oil after the partition is benefiting from the sharp drop in crude prices worldwide weak demand and rise in supplies.

Ordinary citizens however continue to complain from cost of living increases that impaired their access to basic commodities.

(ST)

September 7, 2015 (NYAL) - South Sudanese rebels in Payinjiar county of the oil-rich Unity state have accused pro-government forces of launching another offensive against their bases on Monday evening through river Nile.

Soldiers from the South Sudanese army (SPLA) on guard in Bentiu, the capital of South Sudan's Unity state on 12 January 2014 (Photo: Reuters)

The new attack came after several attempts by government troops to recapture rebels controlled areas along the Nile in Upper Nile and Unity states despite the permanent ceasefire came into effect on 29 August as declared by President Salva Kiir and armed opposition (SPLM-IO) leader, Riek Machar, after signing of the peace agreement.

Payinjiar county commissioner John Tap Puot told Sudan Tribune that a huge convoy of South Sudanese army (SPLA) have attacked their bases along the Nile at 5:00 pm. He said the government forces were repulsed and being chased towards Shambe port, south of Taiyar port.

“Yes, our forces have clashed this evening with convoy loaded with armed forces coming from Jonglei, toward our direction. We have repulsed them back from where they started their journey,” Puot said.

He further said that government forces were using two barges and several gunboats when they started attacking their locations on Monday.

However, commissioner Puot said there was no reported causalities on their side, but claimed a huge loss on forces loyal to president Kiir when they exchanged fire.

He blamed the failure to respect the ceasefire on South Sudanese president Kiir whom he said either blessed the ongoing violations by his forces or lost command control of his forces.

GUNSHIPS ATTACKS IN UPPER NILE

Meanwhile, Captain Paul Malieth, an opposition spokesperson for rebel army's Special Division One under the overall commands of Major General Johnson Olony, has accused government forces for bombarding civilians populated areas of Owaji, Lelo and Tangbuong in another oil-rich Upper Nile state on Monday between 3:00-4:00pm.

“We condemn this in [the] strongest terms possible the barbaric attacks by pro-government [forces] on our positions through use of gunships,” he said.

He called on IGAD and the wider international community to put pressure on president Kiir's government to respect the permanent ceasefire and implementation of the peace agreement.

(ST)

September 7, 2015 (JUBA) –Authorities in South Sudan's Western Equatoria state declared on Monday a night curfew after unknown gunmen shot to death four people.

Western Equatoria's information minister Charles Kisanga (ST/File photo)

Charles Kisanga, the state information minister said efforts were underway to arrest the suspects.

"The WES government can confirm reports that four civilians were killed and two wounded critical (including one year baby boy) by unknown gunmen around Yambio town over the weekend,” he explained in a press statement.

According to Kisanga, the gunmen on Friday night attacked Asanza area by storming into houses and killing a police officer identified as Abraham.

"[He] was killed with his wife and [the attackers] tried to kill his mother and two children but they managed to escape their room which was set ablaze,” said the minister.

Western Equatoria was considered one of the peaceful regions in South Sudan. But in June, clashes erupted between the army, cattle keepers and local communities leaving scores dead. The state assembly speaker was last month also killed by gunmen.

In the latest cases of targeted killings, however, the attackers burnt remains of those killed.

"Also on Saturday afternoon a lorry returning from Nabiapai market was stopped with automatic fire and it was looted when the occupants fled for their lives to nearby bushes. Although no one was hurt in the ambush people lost all their goods and some people were still missing hours later,” Kisanga said of a separate incident.

On Sunday night within the capital, Yambio, the suburb of Hai Timbiro was attacked by unknown gunmen. A woman only identified as Naatiyo, who was killed together with her daughter (Hipai) of 14 years. Hipai attended Young Angels Primary School, Kisanga said.

"Also a baby boy of one year was shot in the hand, breaking the hand while a third woman the mother of the child escaped with a lot of bullets wounds making her condition critical,” he added.

The minister, however, said the state authorities have to act on the insecurity situation.

“The Government further after meeting of the state security committee, has now ordered patrols at night of the state capital, Yambio, by joint organised forces and a curfew is being declared to start immediately and to come into effect every day at 10 pm and run to 6 am in the morning,” said Kisanga.

“The targeting of innocent children and the act of killing and burning of victims is very deplorable and there is no excuse at this time to commit any such crime by any armed group whatever their motives are,” he added.

(ST)

September 7, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – A Sudanese presidential assistant has accused Uganda of orchestrating a meeting in Addis Ababa last month between the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) and the Sudanese rebel groups.

Sudan Call leders pose outside the AUPSC building in Addis Ababa on 24 August - (Photo ST)

Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid, who is also the deputy chairman of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), said the meeting had been organized by Uganda's representative to the AUPSC. Describing the move as a ‘unilateral act', Hamid further stressed that it set a precedent for violating the AU charter.

He said the Sudanese government had officially demanded an explanation.

In an interview with the Turkish news agency Anadolu published Monday, Hamid said that the AUPSC's meeting with the rebel and opposition groups would have “negative repercussions as manifested by dealing with rebel and hardline groups that are playing havoc with peace in many countries.”

Sudanese opposition leaders held a meeting with AUPSC on August 24, on the eve of a session during which the 15-member body heard a report by Thabo Mbeki on his efforts to facilitate the dialogue process in Sudan.

At the conclusion of that session, the Council called for a national dialogue preparatory meeting on the issues related to the process and procedures between the government and the opposition groups in Addis Ababa.

Among those who attended that meeting were al-Sadig al-Mahdi, Head of the National Umma Party, and Malik Agar, Chairman of Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF), a coalition of rebel groups, including three movements from western Sudan region of Darfur and the SPLM-North which is fighting the government troops in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

Last March Khartoum turned down an invitation by the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) for a pre-dialogue meeting with its rivals. That stance was read by the opposition as “backing off” from an African roadmap that the NCP had endorsed in September 2014.

Hamid denied any disagreements between his government and the AUPSC, which had mandated the AUHIP led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki to mediate between the Sudanese parties.

While describing Khartoum's relations with the AUPSC member states as ‘generally good', the Sudanese official pointed an accusing fingers at Uganda, which had strained relations with his government.

He interpreted the PSC delegate's absence from the hearing of the opposition groups as an indication that the meeting ‘was not official”. However, he called for “denouncing this precedent which can open the doors for armed rebels and terrorist organizations to have access to the African Union premises”.

The African Union is trying to rescue a faltering dialogue launched by President al-Bashir early last year, but was boycotted by the major political and armed opposition groups, in protest against al-Bashir's rejection of their preconditions.

In August 2014 the AU extended the mandate of the AUHIP and tasked it with the facilitation of the dialogue process, in addition to his mediation between Khartoum and Juba, and between Khartoum and the SPLM-N rebels.

The opposition groups say they are not opposed to holding the dialogue inside the Sudan. However, they are insisting that a pre-dialogue meeting be held abroad, under an African patronage, to create conducive environment for the dialogue.

On its part, Khartoum is still insisting that any discussions related to the political process should be held inside the Sudan and offered to guarantee the safety of the rebel leaders in case they accept to attend.

At its meeting on August 25, the AUPSC allowed mediator Mbeki 90 days to file a report on ‘the engagement of all Sudanese stakeholders in the efforts to hold serious, all-encompassing national dialogue as contemplated in the road map'.

(ST)

September 7, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's government has distanced itself from the arrest of the Sudanese journalist, Waleed al-Hussein al-Dood who was detained by the Saudi authorities more than a month ago.

Al-Rakoba website logo

According to the Sudanese non-governmental Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) network, al-Dood, founder of the independent news website Al-Rakoba, was taken by security agents on July 23rd from his home in the city of al-Khobar and was transferred to the city of Dammam.

Rights groups and activists are concerned that Khartoum was behind al-Dood's arrest and that Riyadh could actually send him back to his home country.

However, Sudan's ambassador to Riyadh, Abdel-Hafiz Ibrahim, told Al-Sudani newspaper on Monday that the Sudanese government has nothing to do with the detention of al-Dood.

“There is no coordination between the Sudanese and the Saudi authorities on extraditing Waleed al-Hussein,” he added.

He added that al-Dood was arrested for violating regulation and laws of the Saudi Kingdom.

It is worth mentioning that JHR pointed out that al-Dood told his family that he is being well-treated and that his immigration status is not in question.

Meanwhile, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) coordinator for the Middle East, Munir Zaarour, has asked Sudan's Jorunalists Union (SJU) about al-Dood's conditions.

In a phone conversation, he demanded the secretary of freedoms at the SJU, Mohamed Abdel-Gadir, to seek to release al-Dood or bring him to a fair trial if he had violated the law.

But SJU's secretary of membership affairs, Merghani Younis, told the SudaniNet website that al-Dood is not a member of the SJU, saying he might be a blogger but not a registered journalist.

He pointed to ongoing efforts to establish a council for rationing and organizing internet blogging and providing the necessary legislations and controls.

The editorial board of Al-Rakoba has called upon the Saudi authorities to release al-Dood , asking them not to send him back to Sudan and to allow him to select another country if the Kingdom decided to expel him.

Al-Rakoba started off in 2005 as a discussion forum but has eventually transformed into a news website that carries stories and op-eds that are fiercely critical of the Sudanese government.

The website has attracted wide readership even inside Sudan despite intermittent government moves to block it.

(ST)

September 7, 2015 (KHARTOUM) -The Sudanese government has announced that the foreign minister, Ibrahim Ghandour, will head its delegation to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meetings late this month in New York.

United Nations Headquarters (UN Photo)

Last Month, Sudan's deputy UN ambassador Hassan Hamid Hassan affirmed that president Omer Hassan al-Bashir would lead Sudan's delegation to the UN annual meeting dedicated this year to sustainable development.

Also, Bashir's name appeared on a provisional list of speakers at the summit but several Sudanese officials said in subsequent statements that the government has yet to decide on his participation in the meeting.

A senior Sudanese diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Sudan Tribune Monday that Ghandour would head Sudan's delegation to the summit which will convene on September 19 th. He added that the delegation will be comprised of nine members.

He said the delegation intends to bring up several issues in the UNGA meetings including the economic sanctions imposed by the United States on Sudan and maintaining its name on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism besides the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Bashir and several other Sudanese officials.

Sudan is on the US list of countries supporting terrorism since 1993 and also subjected to economic sanctions since 1997.

According to the diplomat, those issues will be discussed with several regional and international blocs and organizations within the UN including the Arab ministers, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the non-aligned countries and the Group of 77.

“Sudan will seek to mobilize support for its position regarding those issues in the UN,” he added.

The senior diplomat stressed that Africa's foreign ministers would lead intensive moves on the sidelines of the UNGA meetings to promote the African Union (AU) decision ordering member states not to cooperate with the ICC.

The Sudanese president closely escaped being arrested and being turned over to the ICC while attending an AU summit in Johannesburg last June.

Bashir's attendance drew widespread controversy both inside and outside South Africa given his status as an individual wanted by the ICC for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide allegedly committed in Darfur since 2003.

(ST)

September 7, 2015 (JUBA) – South Sudan's government has hired war-planes from the government of neighbouring Uganda and have continued to bomb rebel held positions, defending the action as a move to regain territories from the rebels and push them farther in order to secure airport in the oil-rich Upper Nile state's capital, Malakal.

Soldiers from the South Sudan army (SPLA) patrol the streets in the Upper Nile state capital, Malakal, on 21 January 2014 (Photo: AFP/Charles Lomodong)

A senior official of the government said the air strikes and ground attacks against positions of the rebels was to secure the route government hired planes take when landing in Malakal, saying this was to minimize danger to planes passing over rebel-held territories.

“Fighting jets conducted air strikes on the rebel positions west of Malakal airport on Sunday and again Monday. The rebels are occupying the west bank on the other side of the Nile River. The landing aircrafts pass over these places which are occupied by the rebels. To secure the landing of these aircrafts, you must be sure of the safety of the aircrafts, crew members and the passengers,” a national cabinet minister told Sudan Tribune under the cover of anonymity on Monday.

The official who defended the activities of the government forces claimed opposition forces were hostile to aircrafts passing over the areas under their territories to land at the airport in town, saying in June, two months ago, the rebels shot at UNMISS aircraft carrying supplies, mistaking it to be government's hired plane that carried troops to the frontline.

“Last time they shot even at UNMISS plane which has no government officials. From the information we obtained during the clearance, the UNMISs told us it was to be used for normal supplies of non-military items. It was the forces of Johnson Olony and the rebels of Riek Machar which carried out this attack in June. This is the mistake which cannot be allowed to repeat itself if there is a way to do that,” he said in defense of the attacks on rebels.

The attacks on positions held by the armed opposition forces on the west bank of the River Nile with helicopter gunships launched from Malakal airport have allegedly caused damage to the runway and delayed the use of the airport by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in ferrying supplies, officials and residents said on Monday.

In Juba, South Sudan has also directed UNMISS not to be using Juba airport in the evening hours, allegedly to allow helicopters to do some exercise, but officials close to the decision making said this was to conceal the movement of attack helicopters from Juba to Malakal in the evening hours.

Multiple residents and eyewitnesses of Malakal town told Sudan Tribune on Monday during a series of interviews that the air attacks were carried out as part of preparations to facilitate the movement of the government forces to cross the Nile River using gunboats with amphibian tanks and other heavy weapons. This is to attack the opposition held territories in the west bank of the Nile despite government claims of commitment to full implementation of the ceasefire, they claimed.

Officials in Malakal said citizens have confused because the national government in Juba continued to launch attacks against the rebels while at the same time senior officials speak publicly of respect to ceasefire and implementation of the peace agreement.

“People are confused as to what is happening. The national government in Juba is talking about ceasefire and commitment to the full implementation of the peace agreement which the president has signed with the rebels to end the conflict, yet the area has been witnessing military confrontations,” a state government official told Sudan Tribune from Malakal town.

The government forces on Thursday and Friday last week , according to the source and confirmed by multiple military sources, crossed the Nile River to the west bank of Malakal airport on the side of the river in violation of the ceasefire. They are presently occupying two strategic positions in Alelo and Ditang previously held by the opposition forces before the ceasefire was declared on 29 August.

The objective of crossing to the other side of the river, sources say, is to secure the airport for airplanes landing in town with returning senior government officials from Juba and elsewhere in the state.

Colonel Philip Aguer, spokesperson of the South Sudan army (SPLA), said he was not aware of the development and called on the United States and the United Nations to fill the gap created by lack of monitoring mechanisms.

The military officer cited a statement issued by the chief of general staff of the government forces, Paul Malong Awan, as evidence of the commitment of the government forces to observe ceasefire.

“The statement issued by the chief of general staff calling on the United States and the United Nations to fill the gap created by lack of monitoring mechanism shows the commitment of the army command. The essence of the statement is that if there is any independent body to monitor the ceasefire the army is ready and welcoming anybody that will fill the gap to assure the transparency in the implementation of the ceasefire. On our side, we have complied,” Aguer told reporters on Monday.

However, early this week, Aguer appeared on South Sudan TV (SSTV), saying that government attack helicopters will escort war barges that cross rebel controlled territories in Unity and Jonglei states in their movement to Upper Nile state.

The accusation of attack of the government forces on rebel positions came a day after president Salva Kiir admitted that his forces had been violating the ceasefire and warned of punitive measures against any military officer who would not comply with his orders instructing the army's chief of general staff to observe the ceasefire.

President Kiir's comments hinted a division within his government over the peace agreement as some senior political and military officials have defied his orders while the president seems to be reluctant to act to discipline the officers he did not mention by name.

MONDAY ATTACKS

South Sudan's armed opposition led by former vice president, Machar, said government forces in the fifth consecutive days had attacked their base on Monday morning in violation of the ceasefire.

“Today around 11:00 am, the government forces launched counter military assaults on our position in Warjuok in Upper Nile state. The heavy shelling started this morning followed by a raid from infantry forces from the SPLA/Juba faction on our bases,” partly reads a statement issued on Monday by the rebels military spokesman, Colonel William Gatjiath Deng.

“This move came after the two Ugandan helicopters gunships used by South Sudan government had dropped random explosives and chemicals on our positions in Panyinkang, Tunja and Nyijuat Payam at 12pm yesterday. Today, the infantry forces were sent to dislodge our forces in the said mentioned areas,” he added.

He said the ceasefire violations demonstrated lack of commitment to peace by the government.

(ST)

September 6, 2015 (BOR) - The ministry of youth and culture in South Sudan's Jonglei state has organised a public awareness campaign on the newly-signed peace agreement, starting from 7 September.

Musicians performing in Jonglei capital Bor on September 6, 2015 (ST)

A number of musical concerts have been lined up for all citizens, including the internally displaced persons at United Nations bases, the head of Jonglei Arts and Music Association, Mach Samuel, said.

Last week, the state governor, John Kong urged citizens to welcome the peace deal signed between government and the armed opposition.

“Our team had been going to Addis Ababa for peace negotiation, Mr. [Michael] Makuei always talked about peace being in the corner, that corner has now been reached. It is not any longer in the corner; it is now with us here. Today, we have peace”, said Kong.

“Every problem at the house level, needs time to be solved, someone must sit in the middle to bring peace between two parties”, he added.

South Sudan president Salva Kiir on signed on 26 August the peace deal, despite a number of reservations to the long-awaited accord.
According to the governor, the Juba government was in the negotiation process “cheated” by the regional chief mediator, Seyoum Mesfin.

“When the IGAD [Intergovernmental Authority on Development] member states met in Uganda, they agreed to amend areas of major contentions, including demilitarisation of Juba, reduction of the period of two separate armies and on, the amendment was good,. When the amended document was presented to chief negotiator, he turned it down”, Kong told hundreds of citizens in Bor.

In any agreement, he said, the conflicting parties must first sign the document before witnesses or observers are allowed to do the same.

“But this was not the case with our peace deal. It was done in a way that was not right”, said the governor, who also accused the regional bloc of blocked all political parties allied to government.

BLAMES IGAD MEDIATORS

Kong further claimed the regional bloc and the international community wanted to remove the South Sudanese government and replace it with a government that “would dance to their tune”.

He also attacked South Sudan's ruling party secretary general, Pagan Amum and the country's former political detainees as people who are “power hungry [and] switching sides to grab opportunities”.

“You saw and heard on TV [television] what Pagan said, when he was reinstated as SPLM secretary after the Arusha Agreement. He said from today, there are no more former detainees or G-10. We are all SPLM”, Kong reminded the population during his address.

He added, “But when Pagan went to Addis Ababa as SPLM, he turned to be a former detainee and signed on their behalf and not as SPLM. They dishonored the Arusha Agreement”.

Several analysts, however, say the new peace deal will end months of conflict in the country, despite reservations from government.

(ST)