Africa

Turnout is unclear in the vote boycotted by opposition candidates over brutality against protesters.

Several opposition leaders are barred from Sunday's poll in a country once seen as a model for Africa.

The UN and international partners working to support a lasting peace and democratic election process across Somalia, said on Sunday that they were highly concerned by the current situation there, calling on Somali leaders to “prioritize the national interest” and resolve their political impasse.

April 10, 2021 (JUBA) - The management of Nile Petroleum Corporation (NILEPET) has urged striking national employees of Dar Petroleum Operating Company to end their strike and resume work.

A worker walks through an oil production facility in Paloch in South Sudan's Upper Nile state, on 5 May 2013 (Photo: Hannah Mcneish/AFP)

NILEPET, in a statement issued on Thursday, said “misinformation” related to the implementation of United Human Resource Policy Manual (UHRPM 2020) developed by South Sudan's Ministry of Petroleum in 2021 sparked off the strike, now in its second week.

“On the outset, NILEPET as the commercial arm of the government in the oil and gas industry has been supportive of the UHRPM 2020 because NILEPET cares about the welfare of the citizens of South Sudan,” partly reads April 8, 2021 statement.

The striking workers say they are still demanding payment of benefits which extends from as far as 2012, following an agreement between the Ministry of Petroleum and the Joint Operating Companies (JOCs).

NILEPET, however, said its administrative disagreement with the Petroleum Ministry will not prevent implementation of UHRPM 2020.

“We would like to reassure the wider public and the striking employees that NILEPET, MOP, JOCs and other government stakeholders are in pursuit of a mutual resolution,” it stressed.

DPOC, an oil and gas consortium led by China National Petroleum Corp and Malaysia's state-run oil and gas firm Petronas mainly operates in the oil fields of Block 3 and 7 in Upper Nile state.

South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan in 2011, depends on oil exports to fund its budget.

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April 10, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan decided to deploy a joint force including former rebels in the Darfur region to maintain security and protect civilians.

The decision came in the wake of the recent deadly tribal violence in El Geneina, West Darfur state, which killed 137 people and injured 221 others.

The Security and Defence Council (SDC) held a meeting on Saturday to discuss the security situation in the country and recent developments in West and East Darfur.

Speaking after the meeting, the Minister of Defence Lt-Gen Yassin Ibrahim said that the Security and Defence Council decided to "form a joint force made up of regular forces and all parties signatory of the peace agreement, a flexible force capable of rapid intervention to maintain security in Darfur."

Ibrahim who is the SDC's official spokesman further said the meeting decided, to expedite the preparation of the joint force and to deploy it in the potential conflict areas in Darfur.

Also, the minister announced the reactivation of the weapons collection campaign and taking "the necessary measures to prevent the manifestations of armed presence in the cities".

He added that the decisions include enhancing border control to prevent the flow of weapons.

Reports from El-Geneina say that the Arab tribes brought weapons from Chad.

Sudanese army deployed 6000 troops in the Darfur region but the governor of West Darfur State complained that the Interior and defence ministries were not responsive to his demands.

The formation of the joint force is part of the peace agreement but there was a delay due to the lack of financial resources for the establishment of cantonment sites for the combatants of the armed groups.

Furthermore, he stressed the government's determination to "bring the perpetrators of the attacks to justice adding they would be tried immediately after investigation.

On Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called on the Sudanese government to investigate the tribal attacks in West Darfur and to hold accountable the perpetrators.

"Independent, impartial and thorough investigations into these acts of violence must be initiated without delay. Effective accountability processes must be established to pave the way for genuine reconciliation and lasting peace," reads the statement.

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April 10, 2021 (GADAREF) - The Sudanese army will hand over dozens of Ethiopian militiamen and soldiers arrested during sporadic clashes on the Sudanese-Ethiopian border.

Reliable military sources told the Sudan Tribune that the handover process was supposed to take place on Saturday in the border town of Galabat, but it postponed to Monday for more technical arrangements.

"The military and administrative arrangements in the 2nd Infantry Division Command have been completed to release 60 Ethiopian prisoners of the army and Amhara militias," said the military sources.

The military officials pointed out that those Ethiopian elements were arrested by Military Intelligence inside Sudanese territory in the Al-Fashaga area where they used to attack Sudanese farmers and herders over the past six months.

They further said that the handover of prisoners confirms Sudan's keenness to keep up ties of good neighbourliness and to enforce the joint protocols between the two countries.

It is expected that the handover process will take place in the presence of a security committee from the Amhara region bordering the Gadaref State in eastern Sudan.

The Sudanese military said the situation on the border is stable dismissed reports about fresh clashes between the armies of the two countries.

"The Sudanese army has been deployed along the border strip to secure all cotton and corn harvesting operations and the movement of herders," the military further said.

On 1 December 2020, the Sudanese army handed back 50 Ethiopian soldiers who crossed the border area of Al-Fashaqa in Gadaref state during the fighting with the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

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April 10, 2021 (JUBA) – South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has sacked the army Chief of General Staff, General Johnson Juma Okot barely a year after his appointment, replacing him with Gen. Santino Deng Wol.

President Salva Kiir addresses the nation from the State House on September 15, 2015, in Juba (Photo AFP/Charles Atiki Lomodong)

Wol was also promoted to a First Lieutenant General.

Okot, according to a presidential decree read on the state-owned television (SSTV), becomes South Sudan's ambassador to Belgium.

Kiir also removed the Minister for the Presidency, Nhial Deng Nhial, replacing him with Barnaba Marial Benjamin.

Marial, a former Foreign Affairs minister, headed the government's delegation in ongoing talks with opposition groups under the South Sudan Opposition Movement Alliance (SSOMA).

Gen. Chol Thon Balok was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense and Veteran Affairs, replacing Gen. Malek Reuben Riak.

Riak was appointed South Sudan's ambassador to Eritrea.

The president also sacked the former Director General of the Intelligence Bureau, Gen. Thomas Duoth Guet and appointed him the country's ambassador to Kuwait.

Meanwhile, the South Sudanese leader promoted the Director of the National Security Service (NSS) Gen. Akol Khor Kuc to the rank of First Lieutenant General.

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April 10, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan has declined an Ethiopian offer to share data on the second filling of a giant dam before reaching a legally binding agreement. Egypt has adopted a similar position.

Ethiopia's foreign ministry on Saturday said it has formally requested Sudan and Egypt to "nominate dam operators to exchange data before the second filling of the GERD commences in the upcoming rainy seasons in Ethiopia".

"In the letters addressed to Minister of Water Affairs of Sudan and Egypt, the Minister of Water Affairs of Ethiopia invited the two countries to nominate focal persons/ dam operators to exchange data among the three countries with regards to the second-year filling which will take place in July and August 2021".

The Ethiopian offer triggered an immediate rejection in Khartoum by both the foreign affairs and the water ministries.

"Any sharing of information without a legally binding agreement comes as a gift from Ethiopia that can be held back at any moment," said the Sudanese Foreign Minister, Mariam al-Mahdi in a statement on Saturday morning.

"It is important to reach a legally binding agreement on the information of the filling and operation together and not one without the other," al-Mahdi further stressed.

Ethiopian officials say nearly 80% of the dam has been built and plan to carry out a preliminary energy-generating trial this year before reaching its full capacity of 15,695 gigawatt-hours (GWh) annually, in the future.

In a separate statement, the Irrigation Ministry said that the Ethiopian irrigation minister in a letter on Thursday 8 April informed Sudan they will release about one billion cubic meters of water in less than 48 hours to test the lower gates of the dam.

"This is a short period for taking preventive technical measures, showing the importance of reaching a binding agreement before filling the dam," stressed the statement.

The ministry further added these measures mean that part of the filling process will take place during May and June, contrary to the agreed schedules that provide the start of filling in next July.

"This will put pressure on the Sudanese electricity generation system," added the emphasized.

It worth mentioning that the technical details of the filling process have been agreed upon by the parties during the 9-years talks.

The irrigation ministry stressed the need to strike a binding agreement according to which the parties can manage their needs in water and strategic projects adding that it remains possible to negotiate it in one week.

Ethiopia had proposed to negotiate two separate deals one on the filling and another on the operation of the dam. Also, they repeatedly said that the downstream countries want to control the Blue Nile water.

Last year, they proposed to negotiate a water-sharing deal but Cairo and Khartoum rejected the idea pointing it was not part of the 2015 Declaration of Principles. As a result, Addis Ababa proposed to restart talks from scratch.

Sudan during the past years sought to reassure Ethiopia and often backed its positions even when Egypt lodged a complaint to the UN Security Council, Khartoum backed the idea to maintain the file at the level of the African Union.

However, Sudanese authorities have been surprised by the unilateral filling of the first phase without any notification from Addis Ababa.

The irrigation minister said in December 2020, Addis Abba refused to respond to their question about the sudden change of the percentage of silt in the water saying any information sharing will be effective once an agreement is signed.

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Ghana is the world's second largest cocoa producer but sees little of the profits from chocolate - for now.

April 9, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Women groups in Sudan on Friday released a Women Manifesto calling for empowering women's political representation and to repeal gender discriminations including that in the personal statutes.

Sudanese women massively participated in the 4-month protests that toppled down the oppressive regime of Omer al-Bashir that excluded women from the public space and confiscated their rights in the name of Islam.

However, the Sudanese government still did not ratify an international treaty on women's rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and an African charter known as Maputo Protocol, despite several pledges made by Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok.

To urge the government to meet is pledge to sign CEDAW and to amend or repeal discriminatory laws by the former Islamist regime, women groups from all trends staged a protest on Thursday outside the ministry of justice and the Attorney General Office in Khartoum calling for the gender equality and empowerment of women political participation.

The protesters handed over a petition calling to ensure gender in the parliament and to amend the election law to allow women to run for office on behalf of their communities, not just on the women's lists.

Further, the petition urged the abolition of all discriminatory laws and policies, including criminal law and labour law.

Also, it called for the enactment of legislation criminalizing discrimination based on gender, including the abolition of male guardianship authority, equality for women before courts, and the recognition of full testimony in courtrooms.

The march mobilized "thousands of women together to protest against militarization, pervasive injustice against women and girls, gendered killings, and the normalization of sexual violence as the result of severe discriminatory laws that are still in effect in Sudan despite the fall of the ex-regime of Al-Bashir and his militant Islamists," said SIHA Network in a statement released after the protest on Thursday.

The Horn of Africa women group further denounced attacks on the female protesters.

"One woman was taken to hospital, but there are no further reports yet of other major injuries. Other men came out of their cars to physically assault the protestors," said the group.

"One student has said that she was punched and that her attacker threatened to rape her. Several of the protestors have already gone to the local police station to make formal reports of these incidents, 8 of which have already been recorded,"

The driver has been arrested, but it is unclear whether the other attackers have been apprehended, SIHA stressed.

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April 9, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan has legitimate concerns about the unilateral filling of the Ethiopian giant dam, said a South Sudanese minister during a visit to Khartoum.

South Sudan's Irrigation Minister Manawa Gatkuoth met with his Sudanese counterpart on Thursday to discuss bilateral cooperation and ways to update a framework cooperation agreement between the two sides.

Gatkuoth "affirmed Sudan's legitimate concerns about the unilateral filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)," said the Sudan News Agency after the meeting.

"He called on the parties to the negotiations to reach a legally binding agreement on the GERD," further reported the official agency on Friday.

The visiting minister requested technical assistance from the Sudanese Ministry of Irrigation to build water harvesting pits and small dams, in addition to providing technical support in rehabilitating and maintaining pumps for Renk schemes.

Technical teams from the two countries will exchanges visits in the coming weeks.

On 2 April, the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) reported that Minister Gatkuoth received the Ethiopian Ambassador to Juba Nebil Mahidi.

According to the official agency, the South Sudanese minister said Ethiopia reaffirmed Ethiopia's full right to utilize its natural resources for its development.

"According to the Minister, amicable negotiation will be the key to resolve the issues with the downstream countries on the GERD," further said ENA.

Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt again failed to strike a deal on a mechanism to finalize an agreement over the outstanding issues including the exchange of data related to the filling process with downstream countries, conflict resolution mechanisms and a legally binding agreement.

"The tripartite talk on the GERD within the framework of the African Union is the key to resolve the issue sustainably," said Ambassador Mahidi, expressing the rejection of his government of a four-way mediation led by the African Union including the United Nations, the US and the UK.

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April 9, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called on the Sudanese government to investigate the tribal attacks in West Darfur and to hold accountable the perpetrators.

Marta Hurtado, Spokesperson of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Friday issued a statement to condemn the new tribal violence between Masalit and Arab tribes in El Geneina that resulted in the death of 125 people and injured over 200 others.

"We are appalled by the latest resurgence of violence" in West Darfur, said Hurtado. "We are also disturbed by the slow progress in ensuring accountability for this and previous violence, despite repeated calls by victims and their families" she added.

The region witnessed similar attacks between the Massalit and the Rizeigat that occurred in El-Geneina in December 2019, and January 2021.

The Sudanese Attorney General announced that 15 prosecutors have been sent to West Darfur to investigate the recent violence.

Also, the prosecution referred 33 alleged perpetrators for trial over the clashes in January 2021 and established a committee to investigate December 2019 violence.

The statement welcomed the steps taken by the authorities to contain the situation in El Geneina after the deployment of additional troops and stressed the need for concrete measures to address the disputes over land, pasture and water resources which are the root causes of the violence.

"Independent, impartial and thorough investigations into these acts of violence must be initiated without delay. Effective accountability processes must be established to pave the way for genuine reconciliation and lasting peace".

Further, the spokesperson urged the transitional government to ensure prompt, transparent and effective follow-up to these investigations. All those responsible for human rights abuses must be held accountable".

"Grievances from both sides must be tackled after decades-long ethnic disputes stoked by the previous regime".

West Darfur Governor Mohamed al-Doma on Thursday urged to restore the state authority and to collect weapons, as well as protecting civilians.

He said the state authorities have requested the interior and defence ministries in vain to send more troops.

The governor who is from the Massalit tribe said he offered his resignation but the transitional government rejected it to avoid igniting further rifts on ethnic bases similar to what happened in Kassala state.

The OHCHR official urged the Sudanese government to protect civilians and to accelerate the implementation of the National Plan for the Protection of Civilians.

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April 9, 2021 (JUBA)- Aweil community leadership in South Sudan's Northern Bahr el Ghazal state has requested to remove Governor Tong Akeen Ngor, warning a failure would wreak chaos in a peaceful community.

The request comes after the arrest of an activist who campaigned against the governor management of state affairs and his efforts to create a new constituency.

In a petition to President Salva Kiir on Friday Awel Community elders accused the governor of causing social disharmony and disunity instead of implementing peace in the state.

"He is dividing people. He is arresting people and he is diverting resources to enrich himself," reads a statement signed by Aweil Community elders extended to the Sudan Tribune.

The statement elders further said the governor ordered the arrest of a young man called Samuel Garang Dut because he questioned the basis of a decision to divide some areas in Aweil to form a new constituency. Also, he shared on social media a picture showing a new house of the governor.

“For peace and unity of our people, this governor, your Excellency, must be removed. His actions are stoking anger, the statement reads. "We will not accept and we will accept nothing but his removal", it adds.

Police authorities in Aweil confirmed Dut's, pointing to his activities on social media.

"We are acting on directives given to us. If you want to know ask the governor or someone in his office. (The governor) is now at the airport going to Juba. If you want to know, wait for him at Juba airport and he will speak to you about this arrest", a policeman told Sudan Tribune on Friday.

The Sudan Tribune failed to reach the governor after his arrival in Juba. Also, his office was not available for comment on Dut's arrest.

Governor Ngor who was picked for the position by President Kiir has joined the SPLM after the 2005 peace agreement after working with Khartoum for long years.

Those who took part in the liberation struggle contest the appointment of such people who are often described as South Sudan's National Congress Party (NCP) in reference to the former ruling party in Sudan.

Contested authority

Many veteran politicians and senior officers in the army turned down assignments offered to them by the governor, preferring to stay without assignments than working under his authority.

"This is a clear humiliation. Nothing explains this. When I was a commanding officer fighting the government in Khartoum, this guy was busy fighting us. He mobilized Murrahallen and came to fight us in 2001 in the battle of Tit Chok Mareng. Have you not heard about it?"

"He was on the other side of the enemy and I was in the liberation struggle fighting to liberate our people. If the leadership has forgotten my contribution and the cause of war, then I better stay in my home," a liberation veteran told Sudan Tribune on Friday when asked to comment on the demand of the community.

The veteran who preferred anonymity said the governor feels the lack of acknowledgement and legitimacy so, he tries to impose his authority.

"Ngor feels small in their eyes and therefore wants to exert his rule using force and intimidation," he said.

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The permanent closure of a top venue symbolises the struggle many performers are facing.

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, has urged authorities in Sudan to protect citizens “without discrimination” in the wake of the latest resurgence of deadly violence in West Darfur. 

April 8, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan and Qatar agreed to reactivate bilateral agreements, said the head of the Sovereign Council at the end of his first visit to the gas-rich Gulf Arab state on Thursday.

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan concluded a two-day visit to Doha where held talks with the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad, his government officials, Qatari businessmen and the large Sudanese community in Doha.

Before returning to Khartoum, al-Burhan told reporters in Doha that he agreed with Tamim to "reactivate bilateral agreements and visits".

Al-Burhan said that there are more than 36 agreements and protocols between Sudan and Qatar that will be reactivated. Also, a government and businessmen delegation will visit Khartoum next week to discuss cooperation and investment in Sudan.

Also, he requested that Qatar continue its support for peace in Sudan pointing to its previous efforts to end the conflict but also as one of the guarantors of the Juba Peace Agreement.

On 31 January 2021, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo "Hemetti" visited Doha where he met with the Emir and government officials.

Hemetti, at the time, spoke about "was frank and direct" with Tamim about bilateral relations, as the Sudanese government official abstained from visiting his country during the rift with Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain.

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The city near Luxor has been hailed as one of the most important finds since Tutankhamun's tomb.

A tax dispute has led to a shortage of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and HIV testing kits in Kenya.

People in conflict-affected areas of South Sudan collect food from WFP (WFP/eter Testuzza Photo)

April 8, 2021 (JUBA) - The World Food Programme (WFP) on Thursday said it is cutting food rations for nearly 700,000 refugees and internally displaced people in South Sudan, citing the significant funding gaps.

The WFP Representative in South Sudan, Matthew Hollingworth said effective from April, refugees and internally displaced people will start receiving 50 per cent of a full ration, from 70 per cent.

“It is a very painful decision to take from the hungry to give to the starving, but this is the reality; because of the alarming rise of food insecurity in remote locations, WFP has to reduce the size of its rations in some communities, including refugees and internally displaced people, who are in a less precarious situation,” he explained.

The agency said its resources in South Sudan are stretched thin at a time when levels of food insecurity are at their highest in a decade and donors are grappling with the economic impact of COVID-19.

“We must try to save the lives of those likely to face famine during the lean season if they do not receive sufficient assistance. WFP simply does not have enough resources to provide full rations to all of those in South Sudan who rely on our assistance to survive,” said Hollingworth.

WFP said it urgently needs $125 million for its food assistance operations for the next six months to provide food in sufficient quantities, including larger food rations for refugees and the displaced.

Those affected reportedly include some 440,000 internally displaced people in Bentiu, Bor, Juba, Malakal, Mingkaman and Wau as well as nearly 260,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia and Sudan, who rely on WFP assistance to meet most of their food needs.

The situation remains dire across the country as almost 7 million people or 60 per cent of the population are struggling to find enough food each day, aid agencies say.

South Sudan has been struggling to recover from five years of a civil war that killed almost 400,000 people, according to reports. A coalition government formed in February last year between President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar is implementing a revitalized peace agreement that is behind schedule, while deadly violence continues in parts of the country.

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April 8, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The death toll from tribal violence in West Darfur State has risen to 125, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) said in a statement on Thursday.

Fresh clashes between the Arab Rizeigat and Masalit communities erupted in the capital of West Darfur State on Saturday 3 April despite the deployment of troops in the region to prevent such violence.

"The CCSD recorded further 38 deaths and 17 wounded, bringing the total death toll to 125 deaths and 208 wounded," said the medical group.

The new Inter-communal fighting displaced over 109,000 people and generated new needs.

For its part, the government declared a state of emergency in the state and deployed more troops to prevent escalation of the violence.

The UN humanitarian coordination office (OCHA) in Sudan said the intercommunal fighting has affected the distribution of humanitarian assistance to some 700,000 people in West and Central Darfur states.

Citing the government Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC), the OCHA said that two internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps and four gathering sites have been partially burnt during the recent attack.

The death toll and number of IDPs are likely to increase as more information becomes available.

The security forces that patrol El Geneina have been authorized to open fire if needed to stop the tribal attacks and to collect weapons.

The West Darfur Governor Mohamed Al-Doma Thursday blamed the transitional government for not implementing the state of emergency.

"There is a carelessness towards (the situation in) the state, and I feel injustice as a result of this negligence," added the governor who is a member of the Massalit group.

Also, he said that these gunmen who committed the recent attacks came from Chad.

"These militias can be dismantled according to a plan in which the countries of the region participate. The United Nations can also participate in the protection of civilians, he said.

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