Sudan Tribune

April 26, 2018 (WAU) – South Sudan's vice president, James Wani Igga is in Greater Bahr el Ghaza region ahead of the next phase of the high-level revitalization of the peace process due next month.

South Sudan's vice-president, James Wani Igga (Photo: Larco Lomayat)

Addressing reporters in Wau town on Thursday, Igga said he is visiting Gogrial, Wau and Tonj states of the Greater Bahr el Ghazal region to consult the country's ruling party (SPLM) officials and state governors before the next rounds of peace revitalization forum begins.

He urged South Sudanese to support the country's peace initiative.

“We have come because everybody needs to support the peace talks for the sake of peace in this country. We will about the SPLM ideology and the peace revitalization which is to take place there in Addis Ababa so that people know what is happening,” said Igga.

A high-level SPLM delegation accompanied the vice-president.

The mediation team from the regional bloc (IGAD) announced on Thursday the postponement of the second phase of the next round of peace talks to mid next month.

The postponement, IGAD said, was decided at a meeting convened by the office of the chairperson of the IGAD Council of Ministers with IGAD ambassadors on 25 April in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

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Eric Reeves

“The scale and brutality of these attacks are 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.”

The use of chemical weapons, as former Secretary of State John Kerry once declared, is a “moral obscenity, particularly when used indiscriminately against civilians. There are compelling reasons they have been banned and their use is a war crime, to be investigated by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

It appears very likely that the Assad regime in Syria has yet again used chemical weapons, and President Trump has vowed a tough response.

But Trump and Kerry had no words of condemnation or warning about another, sustained use of chemical weapons—this time in Darfur, the western region of Sudan that has been the site of sustained ethnically-targeted destruction for more than fifteen years now. The counter-insurgency mounted by the Khartoum regime has killed more than 500,000 non-Arab/African civilians and displaced three million people. It is the longest and most “successful” genocide in over a century, and in 2016—during the U.S presidential campaign—it was the scene of the attacks described in my opening quote.

That quote comes from Tirana Hassan, Amnesty International's Director of Crisis Research, speaking in the Forward to Amnesty's report on Khartoum's assault on the Jebel Marra region of Darfur 2016; that report provided overwhelming evidence of chemical weapons use: “satellite imagery, more than 200 in-depth interviews with survivors, and expert analysis of dozens of appalling images showing babies and young children with terrible injuries.”

Although Khartoum prevented tissue and soil samples from being collected—nor was their collection requested by the OPCW—the evidence left no room for scepticism about the use of chemical weapons: no known human pathogen or environmental hazard in this part of Darfur can possibly produce injuries of the sort visible in so many photos. More than 200 interviews also provide a congruent, consistent, and utterly compelling picture of chemical weapons use. In an article in Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, drawing on the expertise solicited by Amnesty International, Jonathan Loeb wrote that scientists concluded: “many victims suffered injuries that can only be explained by exposure to chemical agents delivered by weapons used in the attacks” (January 17, 2017).

This is not the first time we have had such compelling evidence of chemical weapons use by the Khartoum regime. Nobel Peace Prize-winning Doctors Without Borders (known internationally as Médecins Sans Frontières, or MSF) made public equally compelling evidence in February 2000. In a report by MSF/Switzerland several attacks are presented in excruciating detail:

On 23 July 1999, the towns of Lainya and Loka (Yei County) were bombed with chemical products. At the time of this bombing, the usual subsequent results (i.e. shrapnel, destruction to the immediate environment, impact, etc.) did not take place. [Rather], the aftermath of this bombing resulted in a nauseating, thick cloud of smoke, and later symptoms such as children and adults vomiting blood and pregnant women having miscarriages were reported…

These symptoms of the victims leave no doubt as to the nature of the weapons used. Two field staff of the World Food Program (who went back to Lainya, three days after the bombing, had to be evacuated on the 27th of July. They were suffering from nausea, vomiting, eye and skin burns, loss of balance and headaches.

Why the spectacular hypocrisy in responding to the Khartoum regime and the Assad regime? The OPCW specifically states that any State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention may request that an inspection team be sent to the site in question by the OPCW Director-General. Perhaps part of the answer is this same Khartoum regime is now Vice Chair of the Executive Committee of the OPCW. But in fact, the OPCW has never in its history received such a request—astonishingly, not even in the case of Syria. And when it comes to Sudan, there appears to be no interest whatsoever.

So we are left with the unctuous words of John Kerry and Donald Trump—about Syria. About the equivalent evidence of chemical weapons in Darfur, there is not even outrage, merely silence. As Western nations pursue rapprochement with Khartoum's génocidaires for variously self-interested reasons, chemical weapons use seems to be merely an inconvenience best ignored.

Eric Reeves has written extensively on Sudan for two decades; he is a Senior Fellow at Harvard University's François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights

April 26, 2018 (JUBA) - The IGAD mediation team Thursday, for the second time, announced the postponement of the second phase II of the High-level Revitalization Forum (HLRF) process for South Sudan until mid-May.

The opening session of the revitalization forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, December 18, 2017 (ST)

The postponement was decided in a meeting convened by Office of the Chairperson of IGAD Council of Ministers with IGAD Ambassadors in Addis Ababa on 25 April.

The meeting realised the huge divergence between the different parties and decided to hold the next phase of the peace forum during the period from 17th May– 21st May of 2018.

The purpose of this additional delay is to allow further "shuttle diplomacy meetings with the Parties to the South Sudan conflict in order to have a meaningful outcome of the mediation," reads The IGAD statement.

The mediation consults the different parties on the key areas of disagreement in the governance and security arrangements chapters of the peace agreement.

The decision to adjourn the process was taken after meeting with South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), South Sudan People Liberation Movement/Army – In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO), Civil Society Groups.

It is not clear if the mediation consulted the former SPLA chief of staff and intends to include him in the peace forum.

The peace forum had been suspended on 16 February after 11 days of discussions on the security and governance matters without tangible progress.

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April 26, 2018 (JUBA) – South Sudan's acting army chief of staff, Gen. Gabriel Jok Riak was Thursday flown to Kenya, “unconscious” after he had reportedly complained of chest and stomach discomfort.

General Gabriel Jok Riak (Getty Image)

Riak was scheduled to accompany the body of late army chief, General James Ajongo Mawut who died last week.

It was not immediately established what caused Riak's condition, with the military and family sources providing conflicting accounts.

For instance while family members linked it to fatigue following days of continuous engagement without enough rest, military sources who attended to him at the military hospital attributed the cause to food poison, citing complaints about stomach cramps and vomiting.

Riak, an ally of the late Mawut, was one of the top military officers poised to succeed the former army chief of staff who died in Cairo.

Also, being the second the army command structure, many felt Riak would be appointed if President Salva Kiir makes his appointment based on the new army chief from among the high ranking officers.

In July 2015, the United Nations Security Council imposed travel bans and asset freezes on Riak, among other senior military officers. The move came after the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated for sanctions Riak, who was then commander of Sector One of the South Sudanese military.

The move, it said in a statement, was in accordance with the executive order (E.O.) 13664, authorizing the department to sanction South Sudanese individuals responsible for threatening peace, security, or stability of South Sudan and for expanding or extending the conflict or obstructing peace talks or processes in South Sudan.

Riak was accused of engaging in actions that expand or extend the conflict in South Sudan, or obstructed peace talks or processes, and that he led forces who engaged in actions that expand or extend the conflict in South Sudan, or obstructed peace talks or processes.

He reportedly helped arm and mobilize as many as 1,000 youths to supplement traditional South Sudan army (SPLA) forces, and that he reportedly sought to have tanks repaired and modified for use against the country armed opposition (SPLA-IO) forces allied to rebel leader Riek Machar.

Last year, however, President Kiir promoted Riak to deputy chief of defence forces.

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April 26, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Germany and the Troika countries have urged the Sudanese government and Darfur armed groups to continue committing themselves to the ceasefire and to resume talks on a pre-negotiations and vowed to make new proposals

Following a meeting hosted in Berlin, on 16-17 April, Sudanese government and two armed groups: Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement Minni Minnawi warped up informal talks without reaching a declaration of principles paving the way for peace talks.

But, Germany, Norway, United Kingdom and the United States exhorted the parties to remain engaged in the process in a joint statement dated on 24 April.

“We call on the parties to continue to adhere to their pledges to cease hostilities and to remain engaged with the Joint Chief Mediator in order to find a solution to the outstanding issues and enter into formal talks,” reads the joint statement.

The facilitators acknowledged that the parties engaged and made a serious effort towards a compromise despite their failure to ink a deal.

The four western countries further said they will “consider options for further progress together with the parties, partners and interested international actors”.

The mediator and facilitators, since the end of 2016, have held a number of meetings with the two parties in order to narrow the gaps between them.

Following the failure of the meeting, the two parties accused each other of being behind the failure of talks despite the concession they made.

Khartoum and the armed groups diverge over the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), the government refuses the rebel demand to dissociate the new process from the framework agreement that served as a basis for previous deals.

The statement underscored that Germany and the United States served as facilitators with the Joint Chief Mediator and head of the UNMAID. Norway and the United Kingdom were present as observers.

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April 26, 2018 (JUBA) - 10 aid workers are missing after a field trip for humanitarian operations outside Yei town in South Sudan's Central Equatoria region, the United Nations relief coordinator in the war-torn nation said.

Alain Noudéhou (UN photo)

The aid workers, Alain Noudehou said, were in a convoy destined to Tore from Yei town to conduct a humanitarian needs assessment on 25 April.

“We are deeply concerned about the whereabouts of these humanitarian workers and are urgently seeking information about their well-being,” said Noudehou in a statement.

“These individuals, UN and NGO [Non-Governmental Organization] staff, are here to help the people of South Sudan and should not be targeted. Our colleagues must be released without condition so that their work can continue,” he added.

Those missing, all national staffs, included one from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), two from the UN Children Fund (UNICEF), one from the South Sudanese Development Organisation, (SSDO), two from ACROSS, three from Plan International and one from Action Africa Help (AAH).

“I firmly condemn the latest attack against colleagues engaged in emergency humanitarian assistance in Central Equatoria and call on all parties to the conflict in South Sudan to ensure a safe and secure environment, conducive to the delivery of assistance,” said Noudehou.

This is the third time, in six months, that aid workers have been held by militants in South Sudan, the world's youngest nation. At least 98 aid workers have been killed in South Sudan since its civil war started in 2013.

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April 25, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Malik Agar, Wednesday said the government's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched an attack on its troops in Blue Nile state.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune, the SPLA-N Agar General Commander, Ahmed al-Omda, said the attack means to retake the control of the in the gold-rich mountainous area of Kalgo which is part of the Ingessana Hills, about 32 kilometres south of the Blue Nile state capital of Ed Damazin.

Omda said the SRF artillery intensively shelled their positions with the support of military aviation which sought to determine the positions of their fighters.

The ground "attack is at any time from now," he added.

The rebel general commander said "the government encouraged by the split within the SPLM-N try to evacuate our forces to loot the resources of the region", pointing that the corrupt leaders of the ruling National Congress Party signed agreements with foreign companies to loot the gold of the area.

The RSF spokesperson was not reachable for comment on this claim.

The government and the SPLM-N factions declared a unilateral cession of hostilities in a bid to create a suitable environment for the African Union-brokered negotiations to end the conflict in the Two Areas of the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

Following the split of April 2017, The African Union mediators excluded the SPLM-N Agar from the talks on a cessation of hostilities agreement saying the majority of rebel fighters are loyal to the other faction led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, a matter that Agar denies.

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April 25, 2018 (KAMPALA) - South Sudan has urged the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to enact a law barring its political opponents from getting asylum in the region.

S. Sudan cabinet affairs minister Martin Elia Lomoro (Photo KT Press)

Speaking during a meeting of IGAD officials and member states in Kampala, Uganda, South Sudan's acting foreign affairs minister, Martin Elia Lomuro warned that rich South Sudan politicians currently residing in the region's capitals could wage war against the Juba government.

“Some of them [politicians] have huge properties and investments inappropriately earned from South Sudan. This undeserved wealth is used to advocate violence and war against South Sudan,” he said.

Lomuro was addressing high level experts discussing the ratification of IGAD's Protocol on Free Movement of Persons in Kampala.

He urged the IGAD member countries to expel political refugees.

“These kind of people cannot just be treated like ordinary asylum seekers because according to the IGAD Instrument of Establishment no member state should harbor rebels or allow such negative elements to use its territory against member states,” he stressed.

The meeting, held at Sheraton Kampala hotel, is a follow-up on first consultations, which the regional bloc held with South Sudan government officials and national stakeholders in Juba last year.

Resolutions on the provisions of the protocol are expected to provide a political endorsement to fast-track its negotiation and adoption.

According to IGAD, the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons would enhance regional economic integration and development.

Once adopted, however, the protocol will also help regulate the high volume of informal movement taking place in the IGAD region.

A number of senior officials, who included foreign and internal affairs ministers, lawmakers and immigration experts from the regional bloc, attended the meeting. Also in attendance were representatives from partner United Nations agencies such as International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the UN refugee agency (UNHRC), UN International Labour Organisation (UNILO) and the European Union (EU).

Currently, war-torn South Sudan has more than two million refugees living in neighbouring nation, with Uganda alone hosting over a million of its refugees.

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April 25, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Presidential Assistant Faisal Hassan Ibrahim and the French Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Stéphane Gruenberg Wednesday Sudan's peace process and issues of common concern including the Horn of Africa refugees.

Gruenberg is the first French special envoy for Sudan to support the African Union-led process for a comprehensive settlement for the armed conflict in Darfur region, the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

The director of the European department at the Foreign Ministry Khalid Musa told reporters the meeting discussed the peace process with armed groups.

Musa further said the presidential aide expressed the government's desire to negotiate with the rebel movements particularly in the Two Areas, pointing to the stable security situation in Darfur.

The Sudanese diplomat pointed out that Ibrahim also briefed the French envoy on the recent developments in the country including implementation of the national dialogue outcome, drafting of the new constitution, the 2020 elections and the democratic transformation.

For his part, Gruenberg underscored France's desire to support peace and stability in Sudan, pointing to Paris support for the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) to achieve comprehensive peace in Sudan.

Sudanese government and armed groups in Darfur recently held an informal meeting in Bon to discuss a pre-negotiation but the government rejected rebels' demand for declaration of principles proposing that they join the Doha framework document.

In addition, the government says Darfur region is free of the holdout groups pointing they are now a source of regional instability doing mercenary activities in the neighbouring countries.

The Sudanese diplomat added the meeting discussed a number of issues including refugees, illegal migration and human trafficking.

While the French envoy praised Sudan's efforts to host the refugees and cooperate with the international community on combating illegal migration, smuggling and human trafficking.

The former French ambassador to Asmara, toured Eritrean refugees camps in Kassala state before to meet Sudanese officials in Khartoum.

France supports local initiatives to support Eritrean refugees in Eastern Sudan through education, healthcare and professional formation.

The presidential assistant stressed Sudan's keenness to promote bilateral relations with France and to coordinate in all issues of common concern.

Ibrahim further called on the French envoy to enhance the economic cooperation between the two countries by encouraging the French companies to invest in Sudan.

Sudan and France resumed bilateral meetings after several years of strain over rebel presence in France. In the past, Sudan accused France of backing rebel groups in Darfur region.

France denied the accusation and reiterated that it encourages the armed groups to join the peace process.

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April 25, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir and his Chadian counterpart Idriss Deby have pledged to remove all obstacles hindering cross-border relations between the two countries.

Presidents Omer Hassan al-Bashir (R) and Idriss Deby brief the media in Khartoum on 28 January 2015 (SUNA)

On Wednesday, the two leaders attended the closing session of the Sudanese-Chadian border development conference in West Darfur capital, El-Geniena.

In his remarks before the meeting, al-Bashir expressed commitment to implement the recommendations of the conference at the federal and state levels.

He pointed to the need to develop the free-trade area between the two countries to facilitate the exchange of goods, calling to establish industrial zones and new residential compounds to develop the border area.

The Sudanese president stressed the border conference would be held alternately in Sudan and Ethiopia.

Al-Bashir also underlined the success of the joint Sudanese-Chadian border control force, saying the two sides agreed to dispatch police units to reinforce the troops according to the recommendations of the conference.

He also stressed Sudan's commitment to providing the necessary services to allow Chad make use of the Sudanese seaports,

For his part, the Chadian president vowed to implement the outcome of the conference and provide the required support to promote cooperation between the two countries.

He pointed to the need to complete the railway linking Sudan to Chad and strengthen transportation between the two countries to transfer people and goods.

In January 2010, Sudan and Chad signed a normalization agreement ending a long history of mutual hostility in which both sides provided support to each other's insurgents.

The joint border force has been deployed along the joint border in 2010 in line with a deal to stop support to rebel groups and cross-border attacks.

Last year, the two countries announced their intention to expand the deployment of the joint force to include counter-terrorism and disarmament.

Also, incursions by Sudanese and Chadian from Libya should push the two countries to consider the redeployment of a joint in the triangle border area.

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April 25, 2018 (JUBA)- Rival parties in South Sudan peace talks have drawn up lines and toughen positions over key issues requiring compromise from both sides to end the more than four-year civil war.

The South Sudanese presidential adviser on decentralization and intergovernmental linkage, Tor Deng Mawien told Sudan Tribune he is optimistic the next round of peace talks would result in a peace deal unless opposition groups insist President Salva Kiir steps down and demand the dissolution of key institutions.

“The position of the transitional government of national unity has been clear from the revitalization talks started. The IGAD [Intergovernmental Authority on Development] was also clear. The objective of the revitalization was to examine the peace and see areas where there is a need to expedite implementation. It was not new negotiations. But in Addis now, the opposition has taken revitalization to mean renegotiations and that is why they came up with demands which have nothing to do with the peace agreement,” Mawien said on Wednesday.

“The IGAD was not calling for a renegotiation of the agreement,” he added.

The presidential aide, instead, proposed what he called as a "comprehensive plan" that included an "expanded government".

There are, however, no indications that the Juba government would accept that the president step downs as the first stage of a political transition, a demand earlier proposed by all the opposition groups.

The official, during the interview, repeatedly referred to "plots" against his country and the role of the opposition, long portrayed as an element in what started as a political wrangle for power in 2013.

Mawien said the young nation was not facing a revolution, but simply a “bunch of power hungry politicians” and "western puppets.

“We are now in a state of war in every sense of the word and actions”, stressed the presidential aide.

The spokesman for the group of the country's former detainees described president Kiir as “a clear obstacle to peace and stability”.

“When the president regrets saying he saved lives of some people, what does it mean? It means it he has no intention to stop the war and this implies that he is a clear obstacle to peace and return of stability to the country. With such thinking, even if he is forced to sign the peace, he will not honour it,” Kosti Manibe said Wednesday.

He added, “That is why our proposal advocates stepping down because he [Kiir] will not implement the agreement. The agreement requires a genuine partner but Salva Kiir can never be a genuine partner”.

The South Sudanese leader on Tuesday rejected calls from sections of opposition groups that he resigns as part of a peace deal to end the country's ongoing civil war.

Addressing mourners of the late army chief, Gen. James Ajongo Mawut in the capital, Juba, Kiir accused the opposition of working to ensure he relinquishes power.

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April 24, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) has called on the opposition forces to escalate peaceful resistance in order to overcome what it described as “quagmire of crises”.

Since January, the economic conditions have deteriorated significantly as prices reached high levels and the Sudanese pounds hit historic low against the US dollar leading to an unprecedented rise in the cost of living. Also, since last week, the East African nation has suffered a severe shortage in gasoline.

Last week, President Omer al-Bashir fired his Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour after the latter complained to the parliament about the central bank's failure to pay the salaries of Sudanese diplomats for seven months.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Tuesday, the SCoP called to overthrow the regime through peaceful protests and establish a transitional authority to achieve stability, end the war and address the economic crisis.

The statement pointed out that the sacked foreign minister revealed the regime is bankrupt and government organs are suffering from the failed policies.

The SCoP called on the Sudanese people and the opposition forces to build on the recent experience of peaceful protests and continue to coordinate in order to escalate resistance and form a unified opposition front.

The opposition party added the regime is making every possible effort to draft a new constitution to allow President Omer al-Bashir to run for a third term in 2020 elections.

“We renew our refusal to amending [the 2005 constitution] or drafting a new one to allow al-Bashir to continue to hold power. We also reject the policies of starvation and impoverishment,” read the statement.

Following the increase of bread prices earlier last January, opposition groups staged several protests against the austerity measures and called to overthrow the regime of President al-Bashir.

Secretary-General arrested

In a Separate development, the Secretary-General of the Sudanese Congress Party, Mastor Mohamed Ahmed was arrested upon his arrival to Khartoum from London on Monday.

Mastor represented his party at the meeting of the Sudan Call alliance in Paris in mi-March. After the meeting, President Omer al-Bashir warned that he would no longer tolerate any alliance of registered political parties with the armed opposition groups.

The security services arrested leaders of the opposition groups and dozens of activists, sometimes, even before an announced street protest last January.

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April 24, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Commissioner of Al-Fashaga County Mohamed Adam said joint committees between Sudan and Ethiopia have been formed to tackle disputes over borderland, particularly during the rainy season.

Speaking during a visit to Upper Atbara and Setait dam on Monday, the commissioner said preparations are ongoing for the 2018 growing season.

He revealed that a number of Kuwaiti companies have made requests to invest in Al-Fashaga area, saying his county is well connected to Port Sudan and Sheikh Zayed airport which give it a preferential exportation advantage.

Adam added Al-Fashaga County has developed a plan to build tourists resorts during the next period.

Ethiopian and Sudanese farmers from two sides of the border dispute the ownership of land in Al-Fashaga area located in the southeastern part of Sudan's eastern state of Gedaref.

In the past years, Sudanese authorities accused Ethiopia of controlling more than a million acres of Sudanese agricultural land in the area of Al-Fashaga, saying the area has been completely isolated from Sudan.

Al-Fashaga covers an area of about 250 square kilometres and it has about 600.000 acres of fertile lands. Also, there are river systems flowing across the area including Atbara, Setait and Baslam rivers.

The current borders between Sudan and Ethiopia were drawn by the British and Italian colonisers in 1908. The two governments have agreed in the past to redraw the borders and to promote joint projects between people from both sides for the benefit of local populations.

The joint Sudanese-Ethiopian High Committee announced in December 2013 that it reached an agreement to end disputes between farmers from two sides of the border over the ownership of agricultural land.

In November 2014, the former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and President Omar al-Bashir instructed their Foreign Ministers to fix a date for resuming the border demarcation. The operation had stopped following the death of Ethiopia's former premier, Meles Zenawi.

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April 23, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - French Ambassador to Khartoum Emmanuelle Blatmann and the French Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Stéphane Gruenberg Monday paid a visit to Kassala to inspect Eritrean refugees camps in the State.

Kassala state, which borders Eritrea, is a transit point for illegal immigrants from Eritrea who seek to reach Europe through Egypt and Libya.

Eritreans made up the largest group of people from Africa making the perilous voyage to Europe last year. The trend continued during the first three months of this year according to the UNHCR.

The French delegation visited Shagara and Wad Sherifai camps near the Eritrean border, and the premises of the France-backed local humanitarian group, Zenab which support Eritrean migrants victim of human trafficking.

The two camps, supported by the French government, provide Education and protection of minors, professional training for women and men, health care and nutrition for children.

During a meeting with Governor of Kassala State Adam Jama'a, the two sides discussed ways to enhance relations between Sudan and France and particularly Kassala besides the situation in the eastern state.

The governor welcomed the visit of the French diplomats to Kassala. He briefed the delegation on the situation in Kassala as well as the efforts being exerted to combat various types of cross-border crimes, expressing hope for continued cooperation between his state and France in all fields.

For her part, the French Ambassador said that the meeting discussed ways to promote future partnership between the two sides, saying the discussions were fruitful and yielded a number of understandings to support joint cooperation.

France, like other European Union countries, seeks to stop the flow of illegal migrants and refugees from the Horn of Africa region who take deadly sea crossing to Europe.

Besides the European Union, Germany and Italy have already provided support to the Sudanese government efforts to stop illegal migrants from reaching Libya.

Sudan is the main transit country for the Eritreans and other east African countries.

However, human rights groups criticised EU support to Sudan to curb migrants saying such support would bolster repressive capacities of the abusive security forces. But, they encouraged projects to provide direct support to refugees and local host communities.

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April 23, 2018 (JUBA) - South Sudan president Salva Kiir said his country was being punished by western powers for not paying for their support in the long civil war against neigbouring Sudan.

President Salva Kiir addresses the nation at the South Sudan National Parliament in Juba, November 18, 2015. (Photo Reuters/Jok Solomon)

The South Sudanese leader said it is a culture among African people to pay back without being reminded of the support they received from those who provided needed support and the time of need.

“The country is suffering today because of the punishment we are getting from western countries. They think they support they gave during the war of liberation struggle is not being returned,” Kiir told members of the African Union Peace and Security Council last week.

He added, “And they [western powers] have asked me several times in private meetings with their business representatives that whether we still remember those who stood by our [South Sudan] side during the war and how we intend to recognize their role”.

The president did not, however, name any of these western powers he hinted on.

Kiir, a former rebel commander, said he and his colleagues are aware of the support the western powers and African leaders had given the people of South Sudan during different times, but stressed that the continuation of ongoing civil war did not necessarily mean his government does not recognize and appreciate western support.

“We know countries in the west and in Africa which stood by our side during the war. We have mentioned them in our functions and through formal engagement and when writing to them on official and private matters. We do this because we value the support they gave us but this does not mean they teach us how to recognize and appreciate the support,” further stressed the South Sudanese leader.

“It is an African culture and traditions that one returns what he received from the giver without being told to pay back. Because of this, we tell our friends in the west to not take side in a dispute between the same people, brothers and sisters”, he added.

The South Sudanese civil war is an ongoing conflict in South Sudan between forces of the government and opposition forces. In December 2013, President Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar and ten others of attempting a coup d'état.

The fighting has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions of the country's about 12 million population.

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April 23, 2018 (NAIROBI) – Threats by South Sudan government to hold elections should peace talks fail is a plan to interfere in the peace process mediated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Pagan Amum, a member of the former political detainees said.

Former SPLM secretary general Pagan Amum (AFP/Getty)

Last month, the South Sudanese government warned it would conduct elections to avoid illegitimacy and a power vacuum if the IGAD-mediated high-level revitalization forum with the country's opposition groups failed to reach a deal.

In an email to Sudan Tribune, the former secretary general of the country's ruling party (SPLM) said it will be a “sham” election process.

South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), an alliance of nine South Sudanese opposition groups formed to accelerate efforts to end the conflict in South Sudan had demanded that the IGAD mediation team deals with them as one political entity in the peace revitalization meeting, which was pushed to May.

The alliance comprises of the Federal Democratic Party, National Salvation Front, National Democratic Movement, People's Democratic Movement, South Sudan Liberation Movement, South Sudan National Movement for Change, South Sudan Patriotic Movement, South Sudan United Movement and United Democratic Alliance.

Amum said IGAD consulted SSOA as one entity and it will deal with it as such.

“Of course the nine parties are invited individually to the talks,” he said.

He accused the Juba regime of obstructing the high-level forum revitalization process, stressing that is was the coalition government's forces continuously violating the cessation of hostilities agreement.

“It is the government that refused to sign the declaration of principles,” the former SPLM secretary general told Sudan Tribune.

Last week, IGAD announced that it said had postponed South Sudan peace talks aimed at securing the implementation of the country August 2015 peace accord to an undisclosed date in May.

The talks were scheduled for 26 April in Addis Ababa, but the regional bloc postponed it, but gave no reasons for their decision.

Amum said the IGAD's move will not affect the outcome of the talks.

“The IGAD postponed the talks for a week to continue their shuttle diplomacy. I do not think that this delay will affect the outcome in anyway,” he observed.

The South Sudanese civil war is an ongoing conflict in South Sudan between forces of the government and opposition forces. In December 2013, President Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar and ten others of attempting a coup d'état.

The fighting has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced over two million.

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April 23, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Foreign Ministry on Sunday said arrangements are underway to hold the second phase of the strategic dialogue between Sudan and the United Kingdom this week.

On Sunday, Sudan's acting Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdallah Idriss has received a copy of the credentials of the new British Ambassador to Sudan Irfan Siddiq in order to present it to President Omer al-Bashir.

During the meeting, the Sudanese minister stressed his government's keenness to cooperate with the new ambassador in order to facilitate his mission.

For his part, Siddiq conveyed greetings of the UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to his Sudanese counterpart.

Meanwhile, the UK embassy in Khartoum said a senior British delegation would arrive in Khartoum on Tuesday to participate in the meeting with the Sudanese side.

In a press release extended to Sudan Tribune on Monday, the UK embassy said the delegation would be headed by Neil Wigan, Director for Africa at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom.

According to the press release, the dialogue would include meetings with the Foreign Ministry as well as other Sudanese officials, saying it would cover a number of issues including bilateral relations, migration, Sudan's peace talks, human rights, trade, cultural relations and the situation in the region.

Since 2015, Sudan and the UK have started a dialogue upon request from Khartoum to push forward bilateral ties.

In March 2016, Sudan and the UK held the first strategic consultations meetings between the two countries in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. The meeting was considered the first talks of its kind at the ministerial level in 25 years.

The two countries agreed to exchange visits at the level of senior officials from the two countries along with increasing cooperation in the fields of economy, investment and culture.

The UK Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan Chris Trott last year visited Khartoum several times to discuss ways to develop bilateral relations and encourage Khartoum efforts to reduce the illegal immigration from the Horn of African countries towards Europe and Britain especially.

The dialogue also was seen within the framework of the after-Brexit policy aiming to develop trade relations with the former British colonies.

(ST)

April 23, 2018 (JUBA) - South Sudan's government on Monday received the body of army chief of staff, Gen James Ajongo Mawut, who died on Friday in the Egyptian capital, Cairo after a short illness.

South Sudan president Salva Kiir pays views Gen. James Ajongo Mawut's body at Juba airport, April 23, 2018 (ST)

Mawut died in a military hospital in Egypt and preparations to take his body to his ancestral home in Bar-Mayen village are underway.

Top army officers and government officials upon arrival on Egyptian military on April 23, 2018 at Juba international airport from which it was taken to St. Theresa Church in Hai Kotor area, in Juba for prayers before taken to the residence for family viewing prior to being taken to the military headquarters on 24 April.

The program shows Mawut's body would also be at the national legislative assembly for viewing by legislators before it is taken to the grave yard of John Garang de Mabior, founding leader of the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) where speeches eulogizing him would be delivered by the various speakers.

President Salva Kiir would address the mourners before the body is finally taken to his ancestral village. Preparations are underway to receive the body at home. Top military officers and high ranking government officials would accompany the family and stay with them until when the body is laid to rest at designated site at home.

The South Sudanese leader earlier described the fallen army chief of staff as a “remarkable” man and committed founder member of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A).

“He [Mawut] served this nation with dedication and honour and shall be remembered as [a] hero,” Kiir said in a statement issued Friday.

Although it still remains unclear what caused the general's death, a family member said he spent months in Kenya before he was relocated to a Cairo-based hospital.

Meanwhile the government has declared three days of official mourning of Mawut and ordered that all flags be flown at half-mast.

Mawut, who joined the southern-based rebel movement in 1983, became army chief of general staff in May 2017 after President Kiir sacked General Paul Malong Awan.

(ST)

April 23, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - United Nations Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Sudan, Aristide Nononsi, Monday called to ensure freedoms in Sudan and end the state of emergency in Darfur region.

Nononsi concluded a visit to Sudan from 14 to 24 April to assess the implementation of recommendations made to the Government by human rights mechanisms. Besides the government officials, he met with UN officials, UNAMID and civil society groups.

In a press conference held in Khartoum at the end of his five-day visit to Sudan, the independent expert said he raised the arbitrary detention of political opposition leaders and activists following a series of protests in January and February 2018.

"I also call on the Government to lift restrictions on freedoms of expression and association and allow civil society actors, as well as political activists, to demonstrate peacefully, and engage in public action. The National Security Service should cease using prolonged unlawful detentions to silence human rights defenders, journalists and political activists".

During his visit to the capital of North Darfur El-Fasher, Nononsi visited the Shallah Federal Prison were several opposition figures had been arrested after January-February protests.

During his visit to the notorious prison, the visiting expert said he met with men and women detained for several months without trial on the basis of Emergency Laws

"I call upon the Sudanese authorities to repeal Emergency Laws in Darfur and to review all cases of 117 men and women currently detained in the Shallah Federal Prison in relation to Emergency Laws, with the aim of ensuring compliance with due process and fair trials standards," he said.

"Should it be found that these cases were not compliant, I appeal for the immediate release of these individuals," he further added.

Sudanese president declared the state of emergency in Darfur since 2003 following a rebel attack on the El-Fasher airport.

The government and UN reports say the security situation in the region is now calm expect some rebel pockets in Central Darfur mountainous area of Jebel Marra.

On the technical assistance to the Government in the field of human rights, Nononsi said this support can be provided after the deployment of an Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' technical assessment mission to discuss and agree on areas for possible technical assistance.

He added that some funding to key government bodies was made by donor States and that technical assistance provided by various United Nations agencies will continue.

"I would like to reiterate my call on the donor community to increase its financial and technical support to the Government and civil society in order to improve the human rights situation in the country," he added.

The Independent Expert will present his findings and recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2018.

(ST)

April 23, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The German Ambassador to Khartoum Ulrich Klöckner said his country would continue its efforts to facilitate peace talks between the Sudanese government and the rebel movements.

In an interview with the semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) on Monday, the German envoy said his government is working with the African Union since two years to facilitate Sudan's peace talks and bring the holdout political parties to the negotiating table.

He pointed out that they have invited the various opposition parties and the rebel movements and the Sudanese government to Berlin at different occasions for consultations during the last four years.

The German diplomat said his government doesn't want to force the parties to the Sudanese conflict to reach an agreement saying such a move could lead to the collapse of talks.

He added they are optimistic that the warring parties would reach a peace agreement, hoping this to take place “very soon”.

The African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki proposed a holistic process to end the armed conflicts and produce political reforms in Sudan.

Last week, the delegations representing the Government of Sudan, Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement of Minni Minnawi ended two-day discussions in Berlin without signing a pre-negotiation agreement.

The two sides say willing for a negotiated settlement but failed to agree on how to proceed. The government put on the negotiating table the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, but the armed groups say they want a new process on new bases, not this framework text signed in July 2011 with other former rebel groups.

(ST)