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August 14, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese delegation for the talks on the Abyei area Monday said they will focus on the need for a peaceful coexistence between the communities there, stressing that the border disputed area remains a Sudanese territory.

The Misseriya staged a protest against an African Union-backed proposal that excluded them from participating in a referendum on the future of Abyei outside the UN and AU headquarters in Khartoum on 28 November 2012 (Photo: Reuters)

The African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) organise two-day meetings on 16 and 17 August in Addis Ababa for The Abyei Joint Oversight Committee (AJOC) and the traditional leaders from the Ngok-Dinka and Misseriya communities.

The meetings come after a resolution last May by the UN Security Council demanding both parties to establish Abyei Area Administration and police force. Also, it urged to resume talks on the final status of Abyei under the auspices of the AUHIP.

In preparation for this meeting, the Sudanese delegations for the talks chaired by Hassan Ali Nimir held a meeting on Monday with the Sudanese Presidential Assistant Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid to coordinate the positions they would defend in the upcoming talks.

Speaking after the meeting, Nimir who is also the head of the Sudanese side in the AJOC told reporters that the delegation received clear directives from the presidency to insist on the fact that Abyei remains a Sudanese territory, in addition to the need for peaceful coexistence to create the necessary conditions for its development.

"This vision is what we hold to the other party with the emphasis that (Abyei) is a Sudanese region that cannot be conceded to a specific ethnic group. Also, its wealth is for every Sudanese who have the right to enjoy it because it is Sudanese land," he said according to the official news agency SUNA.

In line with the Abyei protocol which is part of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that led to South Sudan separation in 2011, Abyei remains part of Sudan until a referendum has taken place. Also, the 2005 peace agreement provides that the residents of the disputed area of Abyei have to decide in a referendum if they want to remain part of the Sudan or join South Sudan.

But, the failure to reach an agreement over who is a resident of Abyei blocks the vote on the fate of the contested region.

A month before the vote for South Sudan independence, Khartoum and Juba agreed on 20 June 2011 to re-conduct a joint administration until the organisation of a referendum.

However, the Ngok Dinka refuse this solution saying the priority should be given to a popular consultation without the participation of the Sudanese Messeriya nomads, a matter that the Sudanese government rejects.

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Number of the Azerbaijani population increased by 40096 people or 0.4% from the beginning of the year and made 9850077 as of July 1.

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„Carpathian Hawk” néven a brit és magyar légierő katonái gyakorlatot rendeznek augusztus 14-25. között a kecskeméti repülőbázison.

Fatal traffic accident occurred near the Dilucu Border Gate, connecting Turkey and Azerbaijan.

August 15, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudan government has denied reports suggesting members of armed opposition forces loyal to former Vice-President Riek Machar have retaken their former headquarters in Pagak, describing such reports as bad propaganda.

South Sudan's army soldiers drive in a truck on the frontline in Panakuach, Unity state April 24, 2012. (Reuters Photo)

The governor of Maiwut state, Bol Ruach Rom told Sudan Tribune Monday evening that he was in Pagak town, describing reports on the fall of the town to rebels as “lies" and "wishful propaganda”.

“I am speaking to you now in Pagak. The rebels have been making attempts but our forces have been defeating them. Our people should not listen to them. What they are saying are lies and wishful propaganda,” said Rom.

“Pagak is under the full control of the government now”, he added.

South Sudan's presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny also denied reports on the fall of Pagak, saying it is still under the control of the government forces despite several attempts by rebels to regain it.

“Pagak is firmly under the SPLA's control. Yes, the forces of Riek's rebels have been trying to retake Pagak, but each time they tried, they were beaten off badly. The fall of Pagak was bad propaganda. It is under the control of the constitutional forces”, stressed Ateny.

A deputy spokesperson for the armed opposition movement, Lam Paul Gabriel earlier claimed that their forces were controlling the border area that links South Sudan to neighbouring Ethiopia, having allegedly pushed pro-government out during clashes on Sunday.

“We are in control of Pagak and all surrounding areas including our border with Ethiopia. We have dislodged the government forces out of the town since Saturday and up to now they cannot be seen inside the South Sudan territory,” he told Sudan Tribune on Monday.

South Sudan army had earlier captured the headquarters of the armed opposition fighters, reversing all the gains made by pro-Machar forces in the past months.

The South Sudanese civil war is a conflict in between forces of the government and the armed opposition forces. In December 2013, President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Machar of attempting a coup d'état. Since then, tens of thousands of people have been killed and nearly two million displaced in the country's worst-ever violence after it seceded from Sudan.

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The main objective of tactical exercises is to increase the combat readiness of the armed forces of the State Border Service.

Anahit Karapetyan and her elderly and sick mother are obliged to live in the street, having no job or home.

Military units of the armed forces of Armenia violated ceasefire 128 times throughout the day, using large-caliber machine guns, the Defense Ministry said on August 15.

August 14, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese government on Monday has demanded the United Nations to provide the adequate funds to cover the expenses of hundreds of thousands of refugees hosted by the country.

According to the UN, Sudan hosts 110,000 Eritrean refugees, 400,000 South Sudanese refugees and more than 100,000 Syrian refugees.

Sudan's Minister of International Cooperation Idris Sulieman on Monday has met with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative for Sudan Noriko Yoshida.

During the meeting, the Sudanese minister discussed with the UN official the “need to provide the necessary budget from the international community to cover the requirements of the refugees in Sudan”.

He stressed the importance to provide training for the refugees and raise their awareness as wells as improving camps environment and providing integrated social services to them, saying the refugees pose further pressure on existing resources.

Sulieman demanded the international community to provide the necessary support and assistance to Sudan as the country hosts large numbers of refugees and provides them with shelter and allows them to move freely.

For her part, Yoshida underscored the need to count and register the foreigners residing in Sudan.

Last May, the Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir disclosed his country is hosting about two million refugees and asylum seekers.

MEETING WITH THE IOM

Meanwhile, Sulieman has discussed with the head of the mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Sudan, Mario Leto Malanka progress made in addressing migration issues in Sudan.

Malanka pointed out his mission receives funds from donor countries to support and implement development projects to serve refugees in the host countries.
He hailed the cooperation of the Sudanese government in providing shelter, food and social services to migrants.

The meeting also discussed the outcome of the 2014 ministerial conference on migration issues which was held in coordination with the African Union and a number of host nations.

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August 14, 2017 (WASHINGTON) – Two United States Senators have written to the Treasury Department, calling for the establishment of additional tools necessary to hold South Sudanese leaders accountable for the ongoing violence in the East African country.

President Salva Kiir attends a session during the 25th Extraordinary Summit of the (IGAD) on South Sudan in Addis Ababa March 13, 2014 (Reuters Photo)

In a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker and Senator Chris Coons detail steps required to take on South Sudan to “cut off the free flow of resources to the political and military elites, their families and associates.”

The U.S played a key role in events that led to the independence of South Sudan from Khartoum after more than two decades of civil war.

“Despite initial optimism about the future of the world's newest country, the people of South Sudan have spent the past three years entangled in a brutal conflict, which has spiraled out of control, with more than two million people internally displaced and almost two million forced from the country,” partly reads the Senators' letter.

It adds, “The political and military leaders have hijacked and repurposed state institutions to enrich themselves and fuel violence”.

According to the U.S lawmakers, the international diplomatic response to South Sudan's conflict has failed and donors have focused on the urgent necessity of providing humanitarian relief to which the U.S has contributed almost $3 billion since December 2013.

South Sudan is suffering from a devastating war. Six million South Sudanese, half the country's population said to be severely food insecure, and almost 2 million are on the brink of man-made famine.

“The United States must simultaneously address the structural problems that enable kleptocracy, incentivize violence, and prevent peace,” says the letter addressed to the U.S Treasury, amidst calls for a more transparent as well as responsible government in the future.

This, it adds, includes regional responsibility for impunity and the negative fiscal and human impact it has on stability and development in the region.

Calls were also made, in the 1 August letter, for the U.S Treasury Secretary to investigate corruption, impose network-focused sanctions, identify hidden assets, collaborate with international anti-money laundering standard setting bodies, and work with regional partners such as Uganda and Kenya to ensure that the plundered resources that belong to the people of South Sudan do not flow through their banking system as well as the real estate markets.

Meanwhile, Enough Project applauded the U.S Senators for their focus on the use of financial tools to address the nexus of conflict and corruption in South Sudan, and for their leadership and commitment to a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the country.

“The Treasury Department has a vital role to play in addressing the conflict and massive human suffering in South Sudan. Senators Corker and Coons should be commended for their unwavering commitment to peace and their willingness to work together to find solution,” Ian Schwab, the Director of Advocacy and Impact Strategy at the Enough Project said in a statement issued Monday.

“Leading voices in both parties and in both the House and Senate have called for Secretary Mnuchin to focus more attention and resources on South Sudan. He should heed this call without delay.”

In conjunction with diplomatic efforts, the U.S Treasury was urged to focus on deploying financial tools that target the financial networks of those obstructing peace and dispersing the proceeds of corruption through the region and even via the U.S financial systems.

“Those fighting in South Sudan will not agree to a sustainable peace until the international community develops more robust leverage and deploys stronger pressure,” further stressed the Senator's letter.

In a separate statement, however, Brian Adeba, an associate director of policy at the Enough Project, said Senators Corker and Coons have tirelessly advocated for strong action on South Sudan.

“This letter sends exactly the right message by making it very clear that the United States will not continue to allow South Sudan's leaders to rob their country while millions face hunger, displacement, and violence. Strong diplomacy combined with the robust use of the financial tools outlined in this letter offer the best chance for a peaceful resolution in South Sudan,” he said.

The South Sudanese civil war is a conflict in between forces of the government and the armed opposition forces. In December 2013, President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of attempting a coup d'état. Since then, tens of thousands of people have been killed and nearly two million displaced in the country's worst-ever violence after it seceded from Sudan.

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"Armenian authorities are unable to ensure the due enlistment and they fill the army by enlisting people with health problems."

Global benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 13 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $50.86 at 0325 GMT.

August 14, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Secretary General of the Sudan people's Liberation Movement North led by Malik Agar (SPLM-N Agar) called on the British government to include issues of peace and human rights in the strategic dialogue with the Sudanese government.

According to a statement released Monday by the SPLM-B Agar Spokesperson Mubarak Ardol, Yasir Arman and the group's representative in Britain Ali Abdel Latif met with the UK Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan Chris Trott in London on Sunday.

Ardol said the SPLM-N Agar delegation discussed with the British diplomat the UK-Sudan Strategic Dialogue process, peace, humanitarian and human rights situation in the east African country.

Arman discussed "the need to include issues of humanitarian aid, peace, human rights, religious freedoms and democratic transformation in the strategic dialogue between Khartoum and London and to link the strategic relations with these goals as it is requested by the British Parliament".

Arman was referring to a report by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Sudan and South Sudan issued last February criticising the shift from the baton to carrot policy and stressing that UK policy in Sudan should be guided by the "Sudanese people's pursuit of lasting peace, inclusive democracy, and shared economic prosperity".

Trott earlier this year visited Khartoum several times to discuss ways to develop bilateral relations not only to 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.

Arman further reiterated the SPLM-N's readiness to resolve the humanitarian issue, adding that the split of the armed group does not prevent the two factions from fulfilling their commitments towards civilians in the conflict-affected areas.

However, he said the African Union brokered roadmap for peace in Sudan is no longer valid and called to prioritise a deal for the humanitarian access to civilians in the SPLM-N held areas in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

"The regime is responsible for the destruction of the roadmap (agreement), and the political process must be reconsidered," said the statement.

Following the failure of the talks over a humanitarian agreement in August 2016, the Sudanese government resumed the internal national dialogue process and endorsed its recommendations. It, further, called on the holdout opposition groups to participate in its implementation particularly the elaboration of a new constitution.

In line with the Roadmap Agreement, the opposition had to take part in the government-led dialogue process but the failure of discussions over a humanitarian agreement undermined the whole process.

The British envoy participated in the international efforts to facilitate a deal and bring the SPLM-N to accept an American proposal to break the deadlock in the negotiations over the humanitarian access.

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"For over 20 years, the Minsk Group has accomplished virtually nothing."

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order on additional measures to strengthen state support for the development of culture.

Le Haut-Commissaire des Nations Unies aux droits de l'homme, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, a salué mardi le vote pacifique lors de la récente élection présidentielle au Kenya mais a exhorté les dirigeants politiques du pays à « s'engager sur la voie de la responsabilité et à faire preuve de leadership pour éviter la violence ».

Le Secrétaire général de l'ONU, António Guterres, a condamné des attaques contre des camps de la MINUSMA à Douentza et à Tombouctou, au Mali, au cours desquelles un Casque bleu des Nations Unies, un soldat malien et un gendarme malien ont été tués, ainsi que six contractuels maliens.