Sudan Tribune

October 2, 2016 (KAMPALA) – Members of South Sudan's armed opposition (SPLM-IO) youth league allied to the country's former vice president, Riek Machar in Uganda have disowned a group that recently abandoned the faction led by the latter.

South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar addresses a news conference in Uganda's capital Kampala January 26, 2016 (Reuters photo)

The armed opposition youth league head, Omojok Obac, said those who declared support for Machar's successor Taban Deng Gai are not genuine.

“[The] SPLM-IO youth league would like to inform you that the group who are using fake and ghost names are government supporters of Salva Kiir who want to create confusion in Uganda the way their tribal government created confusion in South Sudan,” he told Sudan Tribune from Kampala, Uganda.

According to the official, over 50,000 members currently make up the armed opposition youth league in Uganda, further stressing that those who declared allegiance to South Sudan's newly appointed first vice president were “fake”.

He said the entire youth league association still stood firm in support of Machar.

“We are warning the group of opportunists who are using the name of SPLM-IO for their own benefit [that] this is a great party with a great vision and many have died and sacrificed their lives to defend the name and dignity of this party,” said Obac.

The youth league secretary for information, Gai Bona, also described the defectors as self-seeking individuals who acted mainly for personal benefits.

“This is the time to say no to the corrupted and tribal regime of Salva Kiir whose motive is to spoil the generation from their welfare. We call on youth across the different continent that we have to liberate ourselves from power and corrupted system,” said Bona.

Machar fled the country in July after his forces clashed with those loyal to President Kiir, leaving over 200 soldiers dead in the national capital, Juba. He vowed never to return to Juba unless an intervention force, approved by the African Union, are deployed in the capital to restore stability.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

October 2, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – Dozens of people have been killed on Sunday after a glamorous religious festival in Ethiopia's Oromia region turned into a violent anti-government protest scene.

The incident took place as an estimated three million Ethnic Oromos converge to Bishoftu town, 40 Kilometres South of the capital, to celebrate Irrecha, a popular thanksgiving day, celebrated among the Oromo's annually.

Since early hours of Sunday Sudan Tribune has witnessed that thousands of Oromo protesters had been chanting anti-government slogans and their arms crossed above their heads across the streets of Bishoftu.

However the religious event shortly came into chaos after a crowd of angry protesters assume towards the stage where prominent religious leaders had been addressing the gathering.

Protesters begun throwing rocks and plastic bottles and scuffle with security forces who had been blocking them from further pushing towards the stage.

But not too long, Police responded by firing tear-gas in a bid to disperse the protesters.

Police reaction led to a deadly stampede as panicked people try to flee the shocking scene with many falling and crushing into a deep ditch.

Eyewitness told Sudan Tribune that several dozens of protesters were taken to hospital after they were sprayed with tear-gas.

The Ethiopian government, later on the day acknowledged deaths during the event.

In a televised address to the public later Sunday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn confirmed that 52 people have died and many more injured during the Stampede at Irrecha Celebration.

However some opposition officials told Sudan Tribune that the death toll given by the government is far less and put the figure between 150-200.

The premier extended his condolences to the families of victims.

He promised to bring perpetrators of this tragic incident to justice and called on the Ethiopian people to stand by the government to realize the journey of Ethiopian renaissance.

The Oromia region, home for some 40 million of Ethiopia's total 94 million populations had long been a scene of large-scale anti-government protests.

The Oromos say they are protesting against Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn government's decades long political and economic marginalization against them.

According to Human Rights Watch report issued in June, Ethiopian security forces have killed more than 400 protesters and arrested tens of thousands more during widespread protests in the Oromia region since November 2015.

The rights group then urged on the Ethiopian government to support a credible, independent investigation into the killings, arbitrary arrests, and other forms of right abuses.

(ST)

October 2, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese miners said they would submit a memo to President Omer al-Bashir demanding him to deal with the issue of their confiscated items and property as a priority during his upcoming talks with the Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi.

Workers break rocks at the Wad Bushara gold mine near Abu Delelq in Gadarif State, Wad Bushara on 27 April 2013 (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

In August 2015, Egyptian authorities released 37 miners after being held for 5 five months on charges of cross-border infiltration. But their properties estimated at eight million dollars are still held by the Egyptian Army.

Suleiman Ahmed Markaz, the head of the committee of the Sudanese miners told Sudan Tribune that members of his committee on will head to the presidential palace in Khartoum to hand over a memo to al-Bashir.

According to the memo seen by Sudan Tribune on Sunday, the miners demanded al-Bashir to deal with their issue as a top priority during his meeting with al-Sisi which will take place from 5 to 6 October in Cairo.

The memo pointed to the extreme suffering of the miners, saying some of them have been jailed due to failure to pay installments of the cars and gold scanning machines that were seized by the Egyptian authorities.

It added that the miners are counting on al-Bashir's meeting with al-Sisi and believe it resolve their problem.

The Sudanese miners were released after an amnesty issued by the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in response to Sudan's decision to pardon 101 Egyptian fishermen detained by Sudanese authorities since April 2015, on charges of crossing the territorial waters.

Although Khartoum has released the Egyptian fishermen with their boats, Egypt still holds the properties of the Sudanese miners for more than 10 months.

During Sudanese Egyptian consultative and consular meetings in Khartoum on February 28, the Egyptian delegation has committed to release the properties of the Sudanese miners but the pledges have not been fulfilled.

Earlier in June, the Sudanese foreign ministry said it would seek the support of the defence ministry to secure the release of the traditional miners properties held by the Egyptian army.

(ST)

October 02, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan on Sunday said that five African leaders and chiefs of regional organizations will attend the National Dialogue Conference on Monday 10 October .

Sudan's President Omer al-Bashir and his Chadian counterpart Idriss Deby (L) listen to the national anthem during opening session of Sudan National Dialogue conference in Khartoum October 10, 2015. (Photo SUNA)

Sudan's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ibrahim Ghandour, told reporters that Chadian President Idriss Déby, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni would attend the National Dialogue Conference.

According to the minister, the meeting will be attended also by the Islamic Cooperation Organization and Arab League Secretary Generals, African Union Chairperson and delegations from Russia and China.

He said that United Nations Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon confirmed UN participation without specifying the level of participation.

In January 2014, al-Bashir launched the national dialogue initiative in which he urged opposition parties and rebels alike to join the dialogue table to discuss all the pressing issues.

But the initiative faced serious setbacks after the government's refusal to create suitable atmosphere before the process, leading several opposition forces to pull out.

The foreign minister further who returned to Khartoum after participating in the Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Venezuela and the UN General Assembly meetings in New York briefed President Omer al-Bashir about his trip and stressed on the progress in the dialogue with Washington on bilateral relations.

“On Sunday I have briefed President Al-Bashir on Sudan's participation in the UN's 71st general assembly meeting,” said Ghandour pointing that he met the Chadian President Idriss Déby and discussed with him the regional issues.

He pointed that he has met 23 foreign ministers during the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, and discussed with them bilateral relations, regional and international relations.

Further Ghandour said that he discussed the Sudanese –U.S relations. on the sidelines of the UN meetings,

The minister went to say that Washington reiterated that sanctions on Sudan do not include private remittance and humanitarian aid.

“The is a very important step for banking transactions as international banks fear dealing with Sudan since long time,” he said.

Last week, U.S. officials said that sanctions on Sudan do not include private remittance and humanitarian aid to the eastern African country and encouraged transactions with Khartoum within the framework of many authorizations and licenses.

(ST)

October 2, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The internal groups of the opposition umbrella Sudan Call have discussed ways to support and activate the outcome of the Leadership Council of the alliance which was held in Addis Ababa from 25 to 30 September.

Leaders and delegates of the Sudan Call forces pose in a collective picture at the end of their meeting outside Paris on November 13 2015 (ST Photo)

Political and armed groups of the Sudan Call on Friday wrapped up a five-day workshop in the Ethiopian capital where it discussed the different positions of its members and selected its delegation for a meeting with the ruling National Congress Party and allied parties on the confidence building measures ahead of a national dialogue meeting inside the country.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Sunday, the internal groups of the Sudan Call said they discussed ways to activate the outcome of the Addis Ababa meeting particularly with regard to the pre-dialogue meeting and the national constitutional dialogue.

The statement endorsed the leadership council's decision that the preparatory meeting should take place in Addis Ababa after the signing of a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access agreements between the government and the armed groups in Darfur and the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

According to the statement, the meeting also discussed ways to expand the Sudan Call in order to create the broadest resistance front against the regime besides approving the criteria for joining political alliances and forums.

It stressed the need to escalate mass actions against the government, demanding the government to release the political detainees and convicts, stop the vexatious litigations against political activists and readmit dismissed university students.

The statement also called to conduct an impartial and transparent international inquiry on Amnesty International's report regarding the use of chemical weapons by Sudanese army in Darfur.

It further announced that the National Unionist Party (NUP) has joined the internal groups of the Sudan Call, pointing the NUP's leader Youssef Mohamed Zain and its secretary general Mohamed Hamad Saeed took part in the meeting of the alliance.

Last week, the opposition alliance National Consensus Forces (NCF) suspended membership of five Sudan Call groups including the Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP), Sudanese Baath Party (SBP), Center Alliance Party (CAP), Sudanese National Party (SNP) and Sudanese National Alliance (SNA) following mounting differences over participation in the African Union-led peace process.

On Wednesday, the five groups decided to pull out of the NCF.

The Sudan Call, which was established in Addis Ababa on 3 December 2014, includes the National Umma Party (NUP) and rebel umbrella of Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF), the Civil Society Initiative (CSI).

October 2, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudan's opposition forces of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA-IO), have said that their troops are in full control of Morobo town in Central Equatoria. They added they have been in the town for five days after dislodging government forces.

South Sudanese SPLA soldiers in Pageri in Eastern Equatoria state on August 20, 2015 (Photo AFP/Samir Bol)

Officials of the South Sudanese army this week could not deny or confirm whether fighting took place in the area and who was in control, with the military spokesman, Brig. Lul Ruai Koang saying he did not receive any official report about the fate of Morobo.

The opposition faction under the leadership of Riek Machar, former First Vice President, however said they have been in control of the town, adding the government only shied away from admitting that they have lost the town to their forces.

“It is five days since our forces captured Morobo. They have been in full control of the town,” James Gatdet Dak, opposition leader's spokesperson, told Sudan Tribune.

He also said fighting erupted in Eastern Equatoria's Magwi county between the rival forces this week.

Other fierce clashes have been reported around Bentiu, the capital of the oil rich Unity state, between forces loyal to President Kiir and those loyal to Machar.

Dak said the process of resisting the regime under the leadership of President Salve Kiir is gaining momentum in freeing the people of South Sudan, adding that the forces had been reorganizing for a full scale armed resistance due to the collapse of the August 2015 peace deal.

He said that Kiir has the choice of resuscitating the peace deal as it was signed or face a “determined resistance” that will see him exit from power.

The SPLA-IO, he claimed, are getting stronger in Equatoria region more than ever before and it was a matter of time before the situation will be made to change in Juba.

War has erupted again on 8 July when rival forces clashed at the presidential palace and the subsequent attack on Machar's residence.

The former First Vice President, who was replaced after he escaped from Juba, has declared an armed resistance against the government.

If independently confirmed, the capture of Morobo, a town south of Juba in the newly created Yei River state of Central Equatoria, where the seat of the national government is situated, would be seen as a threat to the capital.

(ST)

October 1, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Opposition coalition's Sudan Call has endorsed its position paper for the national dialogue preparatory meeting and reiterated its support for the demands of the armed groups for a humanitarian cessation of hostilities .

Political and armed groups of the Sudan Call on Friday wrapped up a five-day workshop in the Ethiopian capital where it discussed the different positions of its members and selected its delegation for a meeting with the ruling National Congress Party and allied parties on the confidence building measures ahead of a national dialogue meeting inside the country.

This preparatory meeting should take place in Addis Ababa after the signing of a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access agreements between the government and the armed groups in Darfur and the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states known as the "Two Areas."

The Sudan Call Leadership Council approved (the negotiating position paper on the preparatory meeting for the national constitutional dialogue), including the vision of the Alliance its principles, objectives and confidence building measures," said a statement released after the end of the workshop on Friday.

"This negotiating position paper will serve as the main guidance document to determine the course of action of its negotiating delegation headed by Eng. Omer Youssef al-Digair," the statement stressed.

The opposition coalition further said they will no longer be committed to the Roadmap Agreement, if the government continues to show lack of seriousness to reach a cessation of hostilities and holding the preparatory meeting.

"The Sudan Call will directly call for an alternative national constitutional dialogue that includes the Future Forces of Change (FFC) and excludes the regime. At the same time it will escalate the resistance in all its forms until it reaches its ultimate goals through regime change and achieves a just peace and well-established democracy," the opposition groups said.

The Sudanese government dispatched Saturday a high level delegation led by Presidential Assistant Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid and State Minister Amin Hassan Omer for informal talks with the armed groups over the truce and humanitarian access agreement.

On the Two Areas, the parties finalized a cessation of hostilities agreement but still diverge on the humanitarian access. The government during the last round of talks refused to accept the SPLM-N demand to allow the delivery through Ethiopia of only 20% of the humanitarian assistance to the rebel-held areas in the Blue Nile State.

On Darfur, the parties failed to achieve any progress in the negotiations. Khartoum demands the rebels to sign the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) and rejects their demand for political talks. Also, the government demands the rebels to disclose their position in Darfur and refuse their demand to be associated to the distribution of humanitarian aid.

The Sudan Call groups decided to represent the displaced persons in Darfur and refugees in its organs and to organize a workshop for their representatives to achieve this task.

It also decided to support the claims of eastern and northern Sudan for separate tracks to discuss issues of peace , security, decentralization, culture and development.

(ST)

October 1, 2016 (JUBA) – United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has warned of grave humanitarian situation in the newly established Yei River state of South Sudan due to the renewed fierce fighting between rival forces and continued attacks by government forces on civilians in the area.

Non-food items distributing to IDPS by the UNHCR workers in Maridi on 4 March 2016 (ST Photo)

UNHCR in its report released on Friday said it is increasingly concerned for the safety and well-being of over 100,000 people trapped in Yei – a town situated in the mother Central Equatoria state, and is located about 150 kilometres south-west of the national capital, Juba.

According to the report, more than 30,000 people have been displaced into Yei from surrounding areas, following deadly attacks on civilians and looting of private property on 11 and 13 September. They joined several thousand others displaced from nearby Lainya County since mid-July, and up to 60,000 town residents who remain in Yei with no means to leave and who are now in as much need as those displaced by the conflict.

It said the populations in Yei have been targeted by the government forces under the leadership of President Salva Kiir with the suspicion that they are loyal to the deposed First Vice President, Riek Machar, who leads an armed opposition faction.

“The security situation in Yei deteriorated rapidly after renewed conflict broke out in Juba in early July and came to a head earlier this month, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes. This is the first time that the population in Yei – primarily farmers living on commercial and subsistence agriculture – has become a direct target of violence, and on suspicion of their belonging to opposition groups,” partly reads the report.

“They urgently need humanitarian assistance,” it added.

An inter-agency mission to Yei, led by UNHCR on Tuesday, 27 September, observed that tens of thousands of displaced people are sheltering in abandoned houses and smaller numbers in church compounds and are facing a serious shortage of food and medicine.

“Terrorized men and women spoke of horrific violence against civilians before and during their flight, including assault, targeted killing, mutilation, looting and burning of property. Several civilians have been hacked to death, including women and infants. There are reports that many young men, aged between 17 and 30, have been arrested on suspicion of siding with the opposition,” UNHCR report further reveals.

The displaced people, it said, need food, household items, medicines and the children need access to schools. Food prices are skyrocketing, with basic commodities quickly disappearing from the market.

“Many internally displaced people have reported that their food stocks have been looted. Two local hospitals are functioning at reduced capacity. Lack of high-energy food for malnourished children and breastfeeding mothers is becoming critical. As information continues to be gathered, there are indications of increasing sexual and gender-based violence, and unaccompanied and separated children.”

The population, the report added, is unable to leave the town due to limited freedom of movement and lack of resources.

“With farmers unable to reach their fields, harvests are rotting and the risk of missing the upcoming planting season is very high. This means that people may have no crops next year,” it observed.

However, in Juba, humanitarian partners are mobilizing to respond to the situation in Yei, including provision of food, non-food items and drugs, the report further informed.

The deteriorating security situation in South Sudan has forced more than 200,000 people to flee the country since 8 July 2016, bringing the number of South Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries to over 1 million.

In South Sudan, more than 1.61 million people are internally displaced and another 261,000 are refugees from Sudan, DRC, Ethiopia, and Central African Republic.

(ST)

September 30, 2016 (NYALA) - A group of armed men on Thursday night shot dead the former commissioner of Baida locality of West Darfur State and the chief of Dago tribe in front of his house in Nayla, the capital of South Darfur State.

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)

The perpetrators managed to flee the crime scene in the third incident of its kind in Nyala within a week.

A relative of the murdered man, called Ahmed Saleh told Sudan Tribune that three armed men shot the tribal leader Gamal Ahmed several times while he was sitting in front of his house around 9 pm on Thursday after he refused to give them his mobile phone.

“The perpetrators escaped the crime scene using a vehicle which had no registration plates waiting them 60 meters away from the deceased's house,” said Saleh.

Saleh went to say that the tribal leader died while being transported to the hospital.

Hundreds of people have gathered outside the house of the tribal dignitary to protest the lack of security in Nyala.

During the week an armed group killed the accountant Az al-Dein Saad when they attacked the municipal salary office of Al-Radoom area staff in central Nyala.

Also armed groups looted Al-Whihda neighborhood in southern Nyala where 12 people have been injured after being beaten with gun stocks.

A police officer said that 17 people from Al-Whihda neighborhood filled criminal complaint accusing the perpetrators of armed robbery, causing serious harm and terrorism.

On Friday, an official source told Sudan Tribune that the security situation in Nyala is deteriorating as a result of gross negligence by the security committee in the application of imposed security measures that include banning vehicles without number plates and covering faces with turbans.

“Traffic police cannot stop vehicles that have no plates as often the drivers are members of regular forces and government militias mainly belonging to the Rapid Support Force,” pointed the source.

In July 2014, governor Adam Mahmoud Jar al-Nabi, declared an indefinite emergency situation in South Darfur state, including a curfew from 7pm to 7am (local time) in the capital Nyala.

The decision also banned riding of motorcycles by more than one person, holding weapons while wearing civilian clothes, vehicles driving around without license plates, and wearing a kadamool (turban which covers the face).

The source pointed that crime has increased in the state, adding that over 2000 vehicles without registration plates are circulating in Nyala.

The official went to say that more unlicensed vehicles are imported from the neighbouring countries after Custom Authorities in South Darfur State promised to cancel the ban imposed on importing old vehicles.

(ST)

September 30, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudan's Riek Machar, former First Vice President and leader of the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO), brought the independence of the young country, his spokesperson has said, adding that those who do not want to recognize his historical great achievements are “dishonest individuals.”

South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar attends the 28th extraordinary summit of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) for heads of state and government in Addis Ababa on 6 November 2014 (Photo: Reuters/Tiksa Negeri)

“Who doesn't know in South Sudan and in the region and beyond that Dr. Riek Machar was the first South Sudanese political leader in the history of the Sudan who signed with Khartoum's government a peace agreement on April 21, 1997, based on the right to self-determination for the people of South Sudan? And who doesn't know that after his Movement merged with the Movement of late Dr. John Garang in Nairobi on January 6, 2002, where the two leaders finally agreed to pursue the right to self-determination as a twin objective competing side by side with the secular democratic united Sudan, the “first” protocol in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in Machakos, Kenya, on July 20, 2002, was the same clause on the right to self-determination copied from the Khartoum Peace Agreement. And who doesn't know that it is this self-determination which has finally culminated in the independence of South Sudan on July 9, 2011, through a referendum conducted on January 9 2011, as Dr. Riek Machar had been preaching nonstop since 1991?” James Gatdet Dak, official spokesman for the opposition leader, Riek Machar, told Sudan Tribune on Friday.

The opposition leader's spokesperson was responding to accusations published on Sudan Tribune against Machar by the South Sudanese presidency which depicted him as a troublemaker.

President Salva Kiir's spokesperson, Ateny Wek Ateny, on Thursday, said Machar “will never” be a peacemaker, accusing him of threatening to wage an armed resistance as the August 2015 peace agreement has collapsed.

“Riek Machar will never be a peacemaker. Indeed, he has a long history of turning to war to force his demands on the peoples of South Sudan,” said the presidential spokesman, Ateny Wek Ateny,

Meanwhile Machar's replacement, Taban Deng Gai, in a separate accusation described Machar as a violent man, enumerating a number of years he had rebelled against some leaders.

“Anybody who is a peace lover has a great future ahead of him, but Riek Machar has been a violent man from 1991, 1998, 2013, and 2016. I think he should have a new approach now. If he denounces violence and becomes a peaceful person like me, like Salva Kiir, there is a role for him," said Gai at a roundtable discussion hosted by the Council's Africa Center in the United States.

But Dak said the “false accusations” show that there are people who do not want to give the deserved credit to leaders who have brought them freedom and independence.

“Well, without Dr. Riek Machar's peaceful approach and championing of independence, these individuals denying his historical great achievements would not be sitting in Juba in an independent nation. It is sad that now instead of enjoying the fruits of Dr. Riek Machar, they are even abusing the independence, the sovereignty, by resorting to violence and corruption and making the people to suffer more,” he claimed.

He claimed that even President Kiir who in the past used to be against self-determination in favour of a united democratic secular Sudan, was finally “made” to sign the first Machakos protocol on the very self-determination in 2002 after the merger of the two factions of Machar and late Garang.

Dak narrated that it was in the Khartoum Peace Agreement (KPA), signed on April 21, 1997, that the clause for “the right to self-determination for the people of South Sudan” was subsequently enshrined in the Sudanese constitution of 1998 for the “first time ever” in the history of the Sudan.

“These are well documented historical facts that Dr. Riek Machar championed the right to self-determination which finally brought the independence of South Sudan through the exercise of the referendum. His office, as Vice President, was also directly supervising it as documented in the Council of Ministers' resolutions in 2010 when he was given the responsibility to oversee the implementation of the self-determination that he personally spearheaded,” Dak further explained.

He said Machar was also the reason Salva Kiir was elected in 2010, saying Kiir would not have won the elections if Machar did not campaign for him across the country.

Dak accused Kiir of breaking the understanding between him and Machar in 2010 when he resorted to violence on 15 December 2013 and announced a false attempted coup in order to prevent Machar from contesting for the ruling party's chairmanship in 2013 party national convention and for the office of the president.

Machar, he added, is committed to setting a good foundation for peace and stability, democracy, federalism, development and prosperity for the people of South Sudan as he was equally committed to ensuring that the right to self-determination resulted to independence for the people of South Sudan.

He further defended the recent decision by the SPLM-IO leadership to resist the regime in Juba, saying it was a result of the collapse of the peace agreement which Machar signed with President Kiir in August last year.

“You cannot attempt to assassinate your peace partner and deputy in government, bombed his residence and smashed it to the ground, replace him illegally, chase him in the bushes and across the borders and continuously attacking his forces and then expect him not to resist you by all means available. This is ridiculous!” he said.

(ST)

September 30, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Joint Border Commission (JBC) between Sudan and South Sudan on Thursday has endorsed a number of documents pertaining to the border demarcation, said Sudan's official news agency SUNA on Friday.

South Sudanese refugees wait at a border gate in Joda, in the Jableen locality in Sudan's White Nile State, after arriving from the South Sudanese war zones of Malakal and al-Rank, January 16, 2014. (Photo Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

The JBC has held its sixth meeting in Addis Ababa from 26 to 29 September under the auspices of the African Union.

The Sudanese side was headed by the State Minister at the Presidency and JBC Co-chair Al-Rasheed Haroun while the South Sudanese side was chaired by the Minister of Information and JBC Co-chair Michael Makuei.

Sudan's official news agency SUNA said the JBC on Thursday has endorsed a number of documents including the list of procedural provisions of the JBC, list of the terms of reference of the joint technical team, the border line demarcation budget and work plan and the report of the outcome of the sixth meeting.

According to SUNA, the JBC decided to hold its seventh meeting in Addis Ababa in November.

Claimed and disputed areas of the Sudan and South Sudan border include Abyei, 14-Mile area, Joudat Al-Fakhar, Jebel al-Migainais, Kaka, and Kafia Kingi enclave (Hofrat al-Nahas).

Since South Sudan's independence the agreed border between the two countries is not yet demarcated (marked on the ground). Also, talks between the two sides continue to delimit the remaining 20% disputed boundary.

In September 2012, both Sudan and South Sudan signed a series of cooperation agreements, which covered oil, citizenship rights, security issues, banking, border trade among others.

In March 2013, the two countries signed an implementation matrix for these cooperation agreements. However, the execution of the agreements didn't go according to the plan.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan on July 9th 2011 following a referendum on whether the semi-autonomous region should remain a part of the country or become independent. 99% of the southern voters chose independence.

Relations between the two nations soured after South Sudan's independence following a series of disputes over a number of issues.

(ST)

September 30, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese President, Salva Kiir, has pleaded with foreign diplomats to influence their governments and citizens to help him and his administration secure assurances of the global community that the country would not be placed under sanctions, saying he was committed to implementing the peace agreement he signed in August last year with his ousted deputy, Riek Machar.

President Kiir also appeased the incoming diplomats he received as replacements to their predecessors, telling them that they were welcome in his country.

“You are welcome, feel at ease and feel at home. As the government, we appreciate and welcome and commend the support of your various countries and we look forward to continuing to cooperate with each and every country you represent to strengthen and enhance our cooperation in various areas with mutual respect,” said President Kiir at the reception function of seven foreign diplomats on Wednesday at the presidential palace in Juba.

Kiir asked the diplomats that he would like them, as they take over from their predecessors to send back to their governments a message of peace, reconciliation and a desired support to implement the peace agreement instead of pushing for sanctions which he said hurts the common people more than those for which they are proposed.

“As you take up your roles, I expect you to play a very important role in strengthening our relations with your governments and the people. I would like you to send back to your people and governments you represent here a message of hope, peace, reconciliation and our commitment to implementing the peace agreement, and for which we need the support of everybody in the family of nations of the world instead of sanctions, which affect the common people, not those for which they are proposed,” said Kiir.

He made the remarks after receiving credentials of foreign diplomats, who were presenting their credentials to him for approval as a practice in the diplomatic system.

The system requires that foreign ambassadors present their credentials to the president of the host government before commencing their work. The credential documents, according to Joseph Ayok Anei, the undersecretary of the ministry of foreign affairs and international cooperation, follow a standard text covering academic and other necessary qualifications required for diplomats to qualify him or her as representatives of the nominating governments on whose behalf they empowered to speak.

Ambassadors, according to Ayok, cannot assume their diplomatic functions by way of representation of the sending governments or organizations before getting clearance from the ministry of foreign affairs of the receiving government until their credentials have been formally presented in person and have been accepted by the president of the host government as the chief diplomat.

He explained that diplomats whose credentials are accepted are subsequently considered as accredited to the host government and considered representatives of the sending government or organizations.

The president received the credentials in the presence of the Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Elia Lomuro, Minister of National Security, Isaac Mabuto Mamur Mete, and the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Joseph Ayok Anei.

The ambassadors for which the president received their credentials include, Mette Thygesen, Ambassador Extra-ordinary and Plenipotentiary of Royal Danish to the Republic of South Sudan with resident in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Alan Hamson, Ambassador Extra-ordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to the Republic of South Sudan resident in Juba, South Sudan.

He Xiandong was the ambassador Extra-ordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of South Sudan resident in Juba, South Sudan. Geert Spike Geut was ambassador Extra-ordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Netherlands to the Republic of South Sudan resident in Juba, South Sudan.

Others include Gunar A. Holm as Ambassador Extra-ordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Royal Kingdom of Norway to the Republic of South Sudan resident in Juba, South Sudan and Maj. Gen. Frank Mugambage, Ambassador Extra-ordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Rwanda to the Republic of South Sudan with resident in Kampala, Uganda.

Hussein Hagi Ahmed Mahmoud was also accredited as the Ambassador Extra-ordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Somalia.

(ST)

September 30, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudan army (SPLA) on Friday said it is unaware of the media reports quoting residents and local officials, saying there have been clashes between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those loyal to his former deputy, Riek Machar, in Morobo county.

Opposition officials also told Sudan Tribune that the town of Morobo actually felt under the full control of the SPLA-IO forces and their local allies on Friday.

The armed clashes involving the two rival forces in Morobo area pushed hundreds of civilians, majority of whom are innocent women and children, into neighbouring Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

But the government's military spokesman, Brigadier Lul Ruai Koang, said he had not received an official report about the fighting or whether Morobo has been captured by the opposition forces.

“I am not aware of these developments. I have not been briefed,” army spokesman Brigadier Koang told reporters when asked to comment on reports about the fate of Morobo.

Koang said the security situation was generally under control despite what he referred to as isolated cases by criminals involved in banditry acts in some parts of the country where government forces have limited presence.

“We heard of the UN report about clashes in Lasu but we don't [know] who were involved in that because we have no presence there. Our forces are not present in Lasu. So we don't know who was fighting who,” said Koang.

Unconfirmed reports have in the past few days suggested that fighting to maintain and capture Morobo has intensified between government forces and the armed opposition forces. According to some reports both sides have brought in more reinforcements to maintain their positions and stronghold.

“There have been clashes in and around Morobo border town, but it has intensified on Monday morning and resumed on Wednesday and Thursday when the government forces clashed with gunmen in the area in two separate locations in northwest and southwest of the town,” a resident said on Friday.

A member of parliament representing Morobo at the national legislative assembly in Juba also confirmed the reports in an exclusive interview with Sudan Tribune on Friday and said some people from the area left Morobo town heading to Kaya, a border town between Uganda and South Sudan.

The legislator said the fighting intensified after the armed men managed to overrun a military base and pushed away the government forces, he said, have burnt all the buildings in Morobo military base.

Other local administrative officers visiting Juba confirmed that a military outpost guarding Morobo town was captured at dawn on Thursday by the heavily armed men, mostly suspected or believed to be the local youth who have taken up arms against the government after members of their families were either killed or arbitrarily being kept in detention by government security forces in the area.

“Those were angry youth acting out of emotions because their family members were either killed by the soldiers commanded by some rogue elements in our army or those whose parents and relatives were targeted and detained because they failed to report the activities of their sons or where they have gone. These acts have forced many civilians to flee their homes,” a local administrative officer said on Friday.

He claimed that some government forces who could not withstand the fight launched by the local youth have joined the civilian exodus. Some have melted among civilians in plain civilian clothes and are now heading towards Kaya on the Uganda border.

Many civilians as well have vacated the area in fear for their lives, because government security forces are targeting civilians in the area based on their ethnicities.

In similar development, Amadi area in Western Equatoria is reported to have seen heavy fighting between government forces and gunmen. Local officials have called for reinforcement of the presence of government forces, warning that the area could fall under the control of armed men because their activities have increased over the past few days on major supplying and strategic routes.

Meanwhile fighting was reported around Benitu town, the state capital of oil-rich Unity State. Local and state officials and armed opposition sources have traded accusations depicting the other to have initiated the attack on the position held by other in an attempt to derail the implementation of peace deal.

Renewed civil war has erupted after the 8 July violence at the presidential palace between the rival forces in the country.

(ST)

September 30, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) on Friday said it is considering to suspend participation in the peace talks with the Sudanese government over accusations about the use of chemical weapons by Sudanese army in Darfur.

A SPLA-N rebel soldier, in South Kordofan (AFP)

In a report released on Thursday, Amnesty International accused the Sudanese government forces of using chemical weapons repeatedly against civilians, including babies and young children, in one of the most remote regions of Darfur over the past eight months.

The alleged chemical attacks, believed to have killed up to 250 people, mostly children, represent a “new low” in the catalogue of serious abuses perpetrated by government forces in the region, said the human rights group.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Friday, SPLM-N Secretary General Yasir Arman said his movement is considering to stop talks with the government and demand the UN Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council to conduct an impartial inquiry on the use of chemical and internationally banned weapons by the Sudanese army in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

He said the SPLM-N would consult with its allies in the opposition umbrella Sudan Call in this regard, calling for the need to issue international resolutions to protect civilians in Darfur and the Two Areas.

The rebel leader pointed they would underline to the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) which is organizing unofficial consultations among Sudan's warring parties in Addis Ababa on Saturday the need to conduct an African investigation on those accusations.

He urged the Sudanese inside the country and abroad to launch a wide campaign to press the government and the African and international community to conduct an impartial investigation on those allegations, protect civilian populations and stop the war and war crimes in Sudan.

Arman further pointed that the government is preparing to launch a large military attack in the Two Areas during the summer which indicates that the regime is not keen to achieve peace.

He described Amnesty's report as “courageous”, saying it broke the silence of the international community toward the violations committed by the Sudanese government in conflict zones, saying the rights group had previously shown evidence that the government uses cluster bombs in Darfur and the Two Areas.

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

After a series of talks in Addis Ababa between 9 to 14 August, the Sudanese government, SPLM-N, Sudan Liberation Movement–Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM), Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) failed to sign cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access agreements.

(ST)

September 29, 2016 (JUBA) – The African Union has stressed on the necessity of reaching an enhanced coordination between the its Peace and Security Council, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), regional bloc (IGAD) and the African non-permanent Members of the UNSC to reach consensus on details and measures of deploying the Regional Protection Forces (RPF) in South Sudan.

A general view of a meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council (Photo courtesy of the African Union)

The AUPSC made the call at the end of its 626th meeting, held on 19 September.

Members of the AUPSC underlined the importance of deploying the RPF, pursuant to UNSC resolution 2304 (2016) of 12 August 2016, and in total coordination with the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU), with a view to reaching a consensus on all the details related to forming the RPF, as well as its deployment, mandate and areas of operation, within the framework of the ruling principles of peacekeeping, and enabling the RPF fulfill its mandate;

It further urged the TGoNU to avail the revised matrix on the implementation of its 2015 peace deal to all relevant stakeholders to assess its implications.

The continental body called upon all regional and international stakeholders to support the implementation of the accord and to encourage all efforts to ensure peace in conflict-hit South Sudan.

African leaders, in July, backed plans to deploy RPF to South Sudan after recent fighting between rival forces left hundreds dead.

The force was expected from Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan and Uganda. These troops are expected to boost the 12,000-strong UN peacekeeping force is already in the world youngest nation, but the AU force would have a stronger mandate.

South Sudan government had opposed the deployment of the force, despite evidence that its peace deal remains under threat.

Meanwhile, the AUPSC said it welcomes the readiness of Arab Republic of Egypt to actively participate in the regional protection force in South Sudan.

(ST)

September 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese diplomat and military Thursday denied the use of chemical weapons in Darfur region following a report by Amnesty accusing the army of using it in the mountainous area of Jebel Marra in Darfur.

In this photo released by Amnesty, the skin of this victim's back shows multiple circular wounds that appear to be from freshly popped blisters revealing fresh pink skin. According to the group, these circular wounds are consistent with exposure to a chemical warfare blister agent such as sulphur mustard. (Amnesty Photo)

However, the armed groups in Darfur praised the efforts of the rights groups, saying it confirms what they were repeating during the past years and called on the international community to probe the situation and to arrest those who are wanted by the war crimes court in the Hague.

"An Amnesty International investigation has gathered horrific evidence of the repeated use of what are believed to be chemical weapons against civilians, including very young children, by Sudanese government forces in one of the most remote regions of Darfur over the past eight months," says a report released by the group.

According to the report, between 200 and 250 people (including many children) probably died due to exposure to the chemical weapons.

“The scale and brutality of these attacks is hard to put into words. The images and videos we have seen in the course of our research are truly shocking; in one a young child is screaming with pain before dying; many photos show young children covered in lesions and blisters. Some were unable to breathe and vomiting blood,” said Tirana Hassan, Amnesty International's Director of Crisis Research.

However, in Khartoum the Sudanese army spokesperson Ahmed Khalifa al-Shami Amnesty accusation and described it as false.

"Amnesty's report is incorrect because the situation on the ground does not need intensive bombing as there is no real presence of rebels anymore," Sudanese army spokesperson Ahmed Khalifa a-Shami told the AFP.

"There is also a clear order to our troops not to target rebels if they happen to be in villages or in areas inhabited by civilians," he further said.

Also, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Gharib Allah Khidir, denounced the "fabricated and unfounded accusations", pointing that it aims to obstruct "the pioneering efforts" to achieve peace and stability and to promote reconciliation in Sudan.

"The Foreign Ministry is confident that all regional and international partners are aware and informed of the stability in Darfur and that Sudan is witnessing comprehensive efforts to achieve security, stability and peace and national reconciliation," he added.

The nearly 109-page report contains photographs of children suffering from apparent chemical burns, satellite images of destroyed villages and displaced people, interviews with more than 200 survivors, and analysis by chemical weapons experts.

The assumed chemical attacks took place during a large-scale military campaign launched in January 2016 by the government forces in Jebel Marra against the Sudan Liberation Army/Abdel Wahid al-Nur (SLA/AW).

"Amnesty International can confirm that 171 villages have been destroyed or damaged in the last eight months of the military campaign," said the group.

Different Sudanese opposition groups issued statements, calling to probe the accusations and to dispatch fact-finding mission to Jebel Marra.

The Sudan Liberation Movement of Minni Minnawi condemned the "heinous crimes" committed by the Sudanese government troops and stressed that it had already tired to draw the attention of the international community to the use of chemical weapons in Darfur since 2003.

"The Sudan Liberation Movement(-Minni Minnawi) strongly condemns the inaction of the International Community in prosecuting the criminals committing atrocities in Darfur," said Minnawi in a statement issued on Thursday.

The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) spokesperson Gibril Adam Bilal, from his part said they can confirm that the Sudanese government used the internationally prohibited chemical weapons in Darfur. It regretted that its use has been extended to the Nuba Montains of south Kordofan state and Blue Nile state.

"JEM renews its demand to the international community to activate the principle of non-impunity especially after more than enough time has passed to arrest those who are wanted by the International Criminal Court," Bilal stressed.

Sudanese officials recently repeated that the situation in Jebel Marra is stable but admitted that the army still carrying limited operations in the western part of Jebel Marr to wipe it up from rebel elements.

(ST)

September 28, 2016 (KAMPALA) – At least 26 supporters of South Sudanese former vice president, Riek Machar in Kampala, Uganda said they have defected to the faction headed by his successor, Taban Deng Gai.

South Sudan's opposition leader Riek Machar speaks during a briefing in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa April 9, 2016 (Photo Reuters/ Tiksa Negeri)

The defectors included former members of the armed opposition faction (SPLM-IO) office in the Ugandan capital.

Those who abandoned Machar's faction included ex-Mayom county commissioner Charles Kuol.

Malek Cook, a defector, described Gai as the only leader capable of restoring peace and stability.

“Taban's [Deng] faction is pursuing peaceful means using non-violence that is why we have defected to support peace. The compromise peace agreement is to be implemented in later and spirit whereby Taban now is [implementing]. There are so many milestones that we can see the positive part compromise peace agreement two is moving on very well,” Malek told Sudan Tribune on Thursday.

He said those who joined the country's new first vice president were due to traverse the various camps accommodating South Sudanese refugees in Uganda to rally support for the ex-rebel chief negotiator.

“Our strategy [is] to bring the community on board. We are very soon to launch some conferences peace conferences here in Kampala whereby we should encourage debate and dialogue and preaching the message of peace to the community,” further stressed Malek.

James Magok Chuol, a member of the Machar-led faction, however, said they were undeterred by the alleged defection of some youth to Gai's group, stressing that the defectors supported the Juba regime.

“They are none SPLM [South Sudan's ruling party] members since the incident of 2013 and if you look at some of them is government supporters, some of them came to Uganda for school. They are not even participating in the SPLM activities in Uganda,” Chuol told Sudan Tribune in an interview.

He said the economic crisis in the country forced many South Sudanese students to drop out of school.

Those claiming to be Gai's supporters were simply seeking financial gains having dropped out of school.

“Some of the students drop out from school if there is any opportunity for them to get mean then because they are too desperate, because if you look at Taban group, they are after money,” he added.

Stephen Waat Bipal, who supports Machar, says he too believes his colleagues who defected to Deng's faction are expecting to receive funds from the South Sudanese government under President Salva Kiir.

“I think those members they are the members who want to manipulate the community and I know that even they know themselves and their chairman comrade Taban when he defected from the SPLM-IO to the government and then the decision we know the chairman dismissed general Taban from the membership of the SPLM-IO and all the positions he held in the SPLM-IO,” he said.

Machar fled the South Sudan capital, Juba in July after his residence was attacked prompting his immediate replacement from the coalition government. The armed opposition leader has vowed not to return to Juba unless a protection force has been deployed, along the United Nations peacekeepers to restore calm in Juba city.

(ST)

September 29, 2016 (JUBA) – Humanitarian response in war-hit South Sudan has been “severely” underfunded, despite the deepening crisis the country faces, aid agencies said.

Food is distributed at a refugee site in South Sudan's Upper Nile state (Photo: WFP/Ahnna Gudmunds)

The United Nations humanitarian body (OCHA), said only 54% ($691.8m) has so far been received out of $1.3 billion required under the 2016 South Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) earmarked to respond to the most life-threatening needs of 5.1 million people across the country.

There are also reports of new clashes in multiple locations across the country, which humanitarian agencies say, have left even greater numbers of people uprooted from homes.

“Civilians continue to be killed and subjected to horrendous violations, including sexual violence,” OCHA said in its latest report, adding “Hunger and malnutrition have reached historic levels and taken hold in previously stable areas”.

Concerns have also been raised about the increasingly dangerous and difficult operating environment, with notable violence against aid workers, bureaucratic impediments, looting and interference in humanitarian work.

Despite the challenges, OCHA said, humanitarian partners delivered lifesaving assistance and protection to more than 3.2 million people across the country from January to July 2016, including in some of the most remote locations.

Meanwhile, Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) reports that South Sudanese refugees continue to arrive through Joda, El Mqeins and Kuek border points in White Nile State.

About 1,500 South Sudanese, SRCS said, arrived through the three border entry points between 1 and 15 September bringing the number of new arrivals through these three points to 16,209 individuals (5,828 households) so far this year.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported in its latest update that an increase in the arrival rate of South Sudanese refugees into White Nile State may be expected.

This trend has been observed in previous years and usually coincides with the end of the rainy season, UNHCR noted.

According to UNHCR, as of 15 September, White Nile hosted 102,961 South Sudanese refugees who have arrived since December 2013. This, it said, represents about 41% of all registered South Sudanese refugees in Sudan.

(ST)

September 29, 2016 (JUBA) – Government of South Sudan has said launching a rebellion to destroy the country and attain political promotion are factors driving the recent defection of senior South Sudan Democratic Movement/Cobra (SSDM/Cobra) of Pibor-based ethnic Murle force early this week.

The South Sudan government delegation and their SSDM/A Cobra faction counterparts after sigining a final peace deal in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 9 May 2014 (ST)

Akol Paul Kordit, the Deputy Minister of Information, said the May 2014 Peace Agreement signed between the government and SSDM/Cobra has been fully respected.

“The President […] created Pibor as an administrative area as proposed by the Cobra faction, created seven counties and all the Cobra forces were integrated into the SPLA with [military ranks] promotion and inclusion in the rank and files of the SPLA,” said Khordit, speaking to reporters in Juba on Thursday.

He cited promotion of former Cobra leader, David Yauyau, to the rank of Lt. General as well as Lt. Gen. Khalid Boutrus Bora, Lt. Gen. Arestiden Kongkong and five other major generals as stipulated in the agreement.

But the defected SSDM/Cobra leaders dismissed government's narrative. Gen. Boutrus said in the statement announcing his defection on Tuesday that President Salva Kiir's government failed to honour the agreement by not appointing a presidential advisor and fund any developmental projects in Murle ethnic areas.

Khalid pledged to join “like-minded” armed opposition group to topple President Kiir's government. The deputy information minister disagreed.

“The President did all to implement the agreement in spirit and letter and also to bring stability and peace to former Jonglei State and Pibor in particular,” said Kordit, adding that the points raised by the dissident SSDM/Cobra leaders are excuses to launch a new rebellion with the hope of gaining political positions.

“The public must know that this is a clear indication that they (SSDM/Cobra) are looking for a pretext [to rebel],” he said.

He urged those who are dissatisfied with their current positions not to use violence as a means to get promotions to political or military leadership positions.

“If you want to be a governor, MP [Member of Parliament], an advisor and any position in the government, don't use violence to destroy the country, kill people. Let focus on the implementation of the peace agreement,” he said.

The SSDM/Cobra fought President Kiir's government between 2010 and 2014, demanded a separate state from Jonglei. Their leader, David Yauyau, became the leader of the Greater Pibor Administrative Area curved out from Jonglei state in 2014 and was nominated as Deputy Minister of Defence in April. Yauyau remains loyal to Kiir in Juba although his forces have defected with his former deputy.

The Murle ethnic based rebellion is the third force to declare war against President Kiir's regime within a week – after former First Vice President, Riek Machar, and former Agriculture Minister, Lam Akol, announced the new armed resistance.

They accused President Kiir and his close officials of violating the peace agreement and returned the country to war.

(ST)

September 29, 2016 (WAU) – A high profile United Nations delegation from New York has arrived in Wau, capital of the newly created Wau state of western Bahr el Ghazal. The visiting UN team is in collaboration with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and UN agencies supporting programmes on the ground.

A Mongolian troop with the UN's mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) smiles for the camera with a local boy in Bentiu, Unity State. 2 October 2012 (UNMISS Photo)

Headed by Michael Heller, the UN team which arrived on Thursday in Wau town said their mission was to assess the humanitarian situation in the area. Heller also said their visit aims at confirming the free access movements of all humanitarian agencies to most affected populated areas across the country.

In Wau town, the teams were received by the state governor Andrea Mayar Acho in his office.

“We are team here from New York as well as from UNMISS and the rest of humanitarian, UN agencies supporting programmes. We are here essentially to take a look at how the UN could support South Sudan in coming year or two,” said Heller.

“The Security Council has asked us to develop recommendations so that they can have understanding on how best to engage the UNMISS and how the agencies can best structure their supports to South Sudan for the coming term. The UNMISS mandates will come to an end in December 2016 and so the security council is looking to us to give them some guidance essentially with respect to how UNMISS can best engage over the next mandate period,” he said.

He said since they arrived in the country, they have been meeting with representatives of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) including many sections of South Sudanese in order to get better understanding of the situation.

“Our partnership with the government is vital, it is the most important partnership that we have here. We are working hand in hand with the government to bring security and support the peace process. This is the most important part of our work,” he added.

Heller said UNMISS also wanted to hear from the people what they could do more in partnership with the government to help to support the political process and consolidate peace in the country as well as help on how to create environment in which the internally displaced persons should return to their homes in safety and dignity.

Meanwhile the state governor, Andrea Mayar Acho, ensured the delegation of good improvement of the security situation in the town.

Acho also mentioned that the UN activities in his state were very useful and called for UN supporting partners to support the United Nations Mission in Wau town to accelerate their efforts in supporting the needy people within and outside the state capital.

“The state government is in full cooperation with the UN agencies in Wau and that we [are] asking these agencies to support the government to encourage these displaced persons to return to their homes since the security situation in Wau is currently stable,” he said.

“We are not only asking the support to those at the UN camps, churches or those at the ICRC compound but also we need these civilians at the rebel controlled areas in the three counties to be provided with necessary assistance,” he said.

Acho said providing assistance to those outside the town would also encourage those still living at the protection sites to return to their homes, arguing they will know that everybody is being protected.

(ST)