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In a show of support for Qatar, the Turkish government brought forward two parliamentary bills on deploying troops to the Gulf state and training its gendarmerie and used its majority to approve them on 7 June. The votes came as Qatar faced increased regional isolation after Saudi Arabia severed

June 8, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir will not attend regional bloc's (IGAD) extraordinary summit due in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa on Monday, his office announced on Thursday.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn (L), South Sudanese President Salva Kiir (C) and Kenya's Uhuru Kenyatta in Juba, December 26, 2013 (AP)

The summit, to be attended by IGAD heads of state and government, is expected to discuss the dire security and humanitarian situation facing South Sudan and the obstacles to the implementation of the peace agreement signed in August, 2015.

An official at the office of the South Sudanese presidency confirmed Kiir's absence.

“He [Kiir] will not attend the IGAD summit. The president has already sent a letter of apology through the minister in his office,” said the spokesperson for South Sudan presidency, Ateny Wek Ateny.

“There are no reasons, but the president is attending to other things here in South Sudan. The team that will represent the president has not yet been formed,” he added.

Ateny said the South Sudanese leader had other commitments in the war-torn nation, adding that government was implementing the 2015 peace accord.

Several military and government officials attributed Kiir's change of mind to advice from security and the Jieng Council of Elders (JCE), who reportedly think regional leaders may force Kiir to make concessions in favour of armed opposition forces.

Others claim the main reason for the president's absence stems from fears that he could be blocked from returning to the country since the army is divided after he sacked the army chief of general staff, Paul Malong Awan from his post in May.

There are also concerns from the leadership on why the summit was called at the time when the armed opposition forces have stepped up their activities in the region.

The summit is among others, expected to help find amicable remedies to the dire security and humanitarian situation in South Sudan.

The extraordinary summit was called by the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, who is also the current chairperson of the regional bloc.

Desalegn said the implementation of South Sudan's 2015 peace deal was lagging behind and fighting still rages on, despite declaration of a unilateral ceasefire and the recent launch by the recent launch of the national dialogue.

South Sudan descended into civil war after President Kiir fired Riek Machar as vice president in 2013. A peace deal signed in 2015 is yet to be fully implemented.

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June 8, 2017 (JUBA) - More than 10 people were killed and dozens wounded when unknown gunmen attacked vehicles travelling on the Juba-Nimule highway Thursday.

General view of Juba Nimule road leading to Nimule Park and neighbouring Uganda (Pinterest photo)

No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

The police spokesman, Brigadier Daniel Justin confirmed the incident, which occurred near Moli village in Eastern Equatoria state.

The attackers, according to the police spokesman, overpowered the military escort, resulting in the death of three government soldiers while three others were wounded as they escorted buses.

"What happened was a barbaric act, it is a banditry activity. And so it is unfortunate that 14 people have lost their lives, 10 have been injured and the cars in which they were travelling have been burnt,” Justin told reporters in the capital, Juba Thursday.

He added, “The police and other organised forces have stepped up measures to restore law and order".

The attack highlights a rise in insecurity and casts doubt on the sustainability of a unilateral ceasefire President Salva Kiir declared.

The 192 km Juba-Nimule highway is the only paved road in South Sudan and is vital for supply of goods from neighbouring countries to the young nation.

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June 8, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The newly appointed chairman of the People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, Thursday has accepted to temporarily assume the leadership of the group in order to overcome the crisis the armed group experiences since several months.

Abel Aziz al-Hilu (Reuters file photo)

"Taking into consideration the leadership vacuum caused by the crisis and the rift caused by the unfortunate events in the Blue Nile region, in addition to the absence of a Manifesto and national structures, I hereby accept the temporary assignment to contain the crisis on the one hand, and work with the two Councils (of the Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile) to accomplish the following tasks: 1-break the rift (the group is experiencing) 2- complement and build the temporary national structures to prepare for the General Conference," said al-Hilu in a statement he released.

In a meeting held on Wednesday in the SPLM-N controlled areas in South Kordofan, the Nuba Mountains Liberation Council (NMLC) decide to relieve Malik Agar from the chairmanship of the group and appointed al-Hilu to replace him.

Last March, the NMLC declined to accept al-Hilu's resignation and sacked Yasir Arman, the SPLM-N secretary-general and chief negotiator. The latter was accused by al-Hilu of refusing to include the demand for self-determination in the agenda of talks with the Sudanese government.

However, al-Hilu in his statement said Agar and Arman have contributed to the struggle of the group and have the right retain their membership in the Movement, to take part in the general conference, and to run for any position in the organisation as any other member.

"Thus, it is clear that my mission is limited to creating a conducive environment and achieving unity and harmony between the different components of the Movement until the General Conference, after what I will hand over the responsibility to the leadership elected by the Conference," he asserted.

Agar didn't react to the decision of the Nuba Mountains body to dismiss him from the leadership of the group. However, a source close to the rebel leader says they are expected to riposte to these developments soon.

Also, SPLM-N spokesperson for peace talks Mubarak Ardol released a statement where he accused al-Hilu of plotting take power adding that the NMLC decisions have no value and that the new leader is not a factor of unity within the SPLM-N nor in the Nuba Mountains.

CALLS FOR SUPPORT

Nonetheless, SPLM-N spokesperson Arnu Ngutulu Lodi has called on the leadership and members of the armed group to contribute and support the new leader Abdel Aziz al-Hilu.

Wednesday's decisions were "eagerly awaited by the people of the SPLM for a long time ago to reform Movement and direct it to fulfil the desires and aspirations of the marginalised, and in support of the decision of the Blue Nile Liberation Council," he said in a statement released on Thursday.

He said the Nuba Mountains Liberation Council was forced to take these decisions because of its keenness to accomplish the vision of the New Sudan and to preserve the SPLM-N unity.

He further expressed the hope that all the "comrades" would stand by the new leadership and appealed the SPLM member and all those who support the New Sudan project to support and contribute with their opinions and ideas.

He stressed that "the next phase under the new leadership will witness the establishment of the SPLM institutions at all levels."

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TWO unnamed men, suspected to be involved in the 24 May double suicide attack in Jakarta, were arrested in a police operation in in the city of Soreang in Indonesia's West Java province on 7 June, EFE reported. No further details were provided.

TWO 20-year-old unnamed men were detained by police in the city of Manchester in the United Kingdom on 7 June as part of the investigation into the 22 May suicide attack that killed 22 people, Reuters reported. According to the report one of them presented himself voluntarily at a police station