Sudan Tribune

August 6, 2016 (WAU) - Wau state St. Mark's Centre of Coptic Orthodox church said its facility for water projects that has been run by the church in Wau town was ransacked this week by thieves.

Bishop Yusuf Ramadan told the press on Thursday in Wau that the church facility has recently experiencing targeted looting incidents since violence erupted in the town last month.

He said that building comprises of a preaching centre and one nursery school as well as one primary school at Bazia residential area in Wau town, were also among the ransacked facilities.

“We have lost properities amounted to 200,000 SSP including solar power panels for water projects,” he said.

He added that the incident has forced them to halt all developmental projects which were expected to be conducted in Wau.

“As per now, we are calling on state relevant authorities to impart us a strong security for our developmental projects to continue in Wau and all over the country,” he said.

Nobody has been apprehended for the crime.

(ST)

August 6, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Leader of the opposition National Umma Party (NUP) al-Sadig al-Mahdi has pledged to launch the largest political coalition to achieve comprehensive peace and full democratic transformation in Sudan.

Malik Agar, SRF leader (L) and Sadiq al-Mahdi NUP president shake hands after the signing of Paris Declaration on 8 August 2014 (ST Photo)

In a message he titled “Spring Flower”, al-Mahdi described the upcoming signing of the Roadmap Agreement by the Sudan Call forces as “national ceremony”, saying the invitation was extended to a large number of national figures to attend the event.

Last March, the Sudanese government signed a Roadmap Agreement for peace and dialogue proposed by the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP).

Sudan Call groups rejected the Roadmap saying it excludes the other opposition groups, didn't address some confidence building measures like political freedoms and release of political detainees and prisoners.

Following five months of reluctance, the Sudan Call forces decided to sign the Roadmap, saying its reservations on the peace documents have been met.
The signing ceremony is expected to take place in Addis Ababa on August 8th.

Al-Mahdi said although the government-led dialogue was not comprehensive but it has achieved some items of the national agenda advocated by the opposition, pointing the Roadmap would pave the way for holding an inclusive dialogue to achieve peace, democratic transformation and the national constitutional conference.

He said that issues pertaining to ending the war should be negotiated abroad between the government and the rebel groups while agenda of the peace agreement must be discussed inside Sudan after implementing the confidence-building measures.

“This is a consensual approach to establish a new regime that is capable of building the nation under the shadow of the just and comprehensive peace and the full democratic transformation” he said.

He pointed that they agreed to endorse the Roadmap in order to achieve the abovementioned objectives, saying they intend to make the signing event a national celebration with the participation of several national figures.

The NUP leader added that Sudan is at crossroads, saying the Sudanese people have a rich heritage of achieving consensus during the major historical events.

He pointed to the consensus that has been achieved during the independence battle against the British rule, mentioning the popular uprisings of October 1964 and April 1985.

Al-Mahdi addressed the holdout opposition who refused to sign the Roadmap, saying most of the conflicts in the world during the twentieth century have been resolved through dialogue.

It is noteworthy that some parties within the opposition umbrella National Consensus Forces (NCF) including the Sudanese Communist Party, Arab Ba'ath Party (ABP), the Unified Democratic Unionist Party and the Nasserite Socialist Party refuse to endorse the peace plan, saying it wouldn't make a real change in the structure of the regime.

He stressed if they failed to achieve the national agenda through dialogue, they would resort to the popular uprising.

The veteran leader further underscored that their goal is to establish the largest political coalition in order to achieve comprehensive and just peace and full democratic transformation.

He said the agreement among Sudanese people on issues of peace, governance and constitution would yield foreign benefits including the lift of sanctions, cancelling the external debt and dealing positively with the resolution of the UN Security Council.

Al-Mahdi called on the Sudanese people to support the national dialogue and its requirements, saying the legitimate national objectives including ending the war and building peace, establishing the good governance and achieving development and social justice would be accomplished whatever the means.

(ST)

August 6, 2016 (JUBA) - Former First Vice-President of South Sudan Riek Machar Saturday has welcomed the East African block decision to send a regional force to his country but expressed fear that President Salva Kiir could reject the idea
.
Leaders of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on Friday decided to send a regional force to South Sudan to protect civilians and to back the reinstatement of Riek Machar as First Vice President to ensure the implementation of a peace agreement they brokered in August last year.

Machar's spokesman Goi Jooyul Yol on Saturday told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Addis Ababa that formation of the IGAD force could take many months and Kiir may eventually decline to accept it.

He added that they “welcome the IGAD decision but the devil is in the detail”, pointing that the nature, size and details of deployment need to be discussed with Juba.
“What would this force do? We will have to wait and see,” he said.

IGAD leaders called on Machar to return to Juba and underscored that the newly appointed First Vice President Taban Deng Gai is ready to relinquish his position if he accepts their call.

However, Jooyul Yol stressed that Machar wants Gai to offer his resignation before he return to Juba.

Last month, fighting erupted in South Sudan's capital Juba between followers of President Kiir and Machar, the former rebel leader who became first Vice- President under a deal to end a two-year civil war.

The violence, which has killed hundreds of people, broke out as the world's newest nation prepared to mark five years of independence from Sudan on July 9.

(ST)

August 6, 2016 (BOR) - At least five butcher men are now behind bars after they were arrested in Bor this week, following the protest waged by the butcher men against the reduction of meat prices by the Municipality council.

A trader sells items to customers in Bor town March 26, 2015 (ST)

The mayor of Bor town, Akim Ajieth, passed the order, reducing the price per kilogram of meat previously sold between South Sudanese pounds (SSP)110 and SSP120 to SSP40 and SSP50 respectively in Bor.

On Wednesday, a day after the order was passed, all the slaughtering houses did not work, probably in rejection of the order, saying the price cut by the government would make them lose much of the money they had spent on the heads of cattle they already bought.

But the office of the mayor was allegedly said to have ordered the arrest of the butcher men in which five were jailed.

Kuer Ajak told the press that his group, negotiated with the mayor to give them time to finish selling their current number of livestock waiting to be slaughtered, after which the prices would be reduced, but their request was turned down.

“Five of our members were arrested, jailed and their trading licenses were confiscated from them. They were fined a total of SSP10,000. This was not a good move,” Ajak told the media in Bor on Thursday.

The chairperson of the meat market, Alier Yuot, who spoke while in the police cell said that they didn't know why most of them were arrested.

“I thought that the government belongs to us, I didn't know why I am arrested with four people. What I told him [the Mayor] was that, I told him that cows are very expensive and they [cows] are not bought from here, they are being brought from different areas,” he said.

He said their prices were normal compared to the high cost they spent on buying the cattle from Duk and Twic East counties.

This week, authorities of Bor municipality council issued an order to reduce prices on fish and meat in the market of Bor.

Bor's Mayor Akim Ajieth Buny said those arrested had not respected the provisional order. Ajieth said those who refused to implement the provisional order would lose their job licenses.

“Only five these are people who refuse to comply with our order, they refuse to comply with our order so we have decided to put them in the cell and then today they will answer their charges then after that we will be able to withdraw the license from them and therefore they will no be longer with us,” he said.

More butcher men who resumed work on Thursday and Friday were said to be have been asked to pay a fine ranging from SSP300 to SSP500 for the delay that caused when they refused to operate on Wednesday and Thursday.

(ST)

August 6 ,2016 (JUBA) - South Sudan president Salva Kiir has accepted the deployment of additional foreign troops from regional countries help protect and boost the fighting capacity of the United Nations mission as it defends civilians at risk of extreme violence.

South Sudanese president Salva Kiir (Photo: Reuters)

Addressing reporters on arrival from Ethiopia on Saturday, South Sudan's information minister Michael Makuei Lueth said the force will have limited roles.

"We accepted the force that will protect civilians in UNMISS, international NGOs and international facilities, not more than that," said Makuei who attended the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) heads of states summit.

The regional troops, IGAD said in a communiqué issued at the end of the summit, will take control of Juba and vital installations as well as fighting, disarming and neutralize any South Sudanese forces igniting violence in the capital and around the country.

Sources within the presidency told Sudan Tribune that government resolved to accept the deployment of additional foreign troops in the country in compliance with the outcome of an ordinary summit of heads of state and governments in Addis Ababa.

“The government and the president have accepted the outcome of the summit of the IGAD heads of state and government held yesterday in Addis Ababa. The summit has now clarified the mandate of the new troops, which was not the case in the previous messages which our people were getting," a presidential source told this publication.

"The previous messages were confusing and creating panics to the society. The messages were vague the lacked clarity but now it is clear. It will now be a protection force, not an intervention force”, added the official.

The official said the South Sudanese leader and the government was now waiting for the final communique on the outcome of the regional summit and the briefing from the government delegation, which traveled to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Another senior government official separately said the summit resolved to send troops from neigbouring countries in the region under the United Nations with clear mandate.

"The outcome is not really bad, though the details are yet out. But it has been agreed at the summit that the mandate of the regional force will be clearly stated with participation of the government. Discussions have been concluded. It is now the technical committee of the IGAD secretariat which is left to work out the details and come out with the communique. I don't know when it will be released but it may come out today," the source said.

He added, "But what is clear is that the mandate of this new force is that it will have to set a buffer zone between the warring parties as defined by peace agreement. It will also be mandated to respond to any side intending to violate the [peace] agreement.

Another very important mandate, the official further explained, is that this force will protect civilians at risk of danger by the activities of the two warring parties. It will have a role to play in reforming security sector by separating the military from politics.

"This is what the summit agreed on and government was happy with the outcome," he stressed.

(ST)

August 6, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Leader of the East African block have decided to send a regional force to the South Sudan to protect civilians and to back the reinstatement of Riek Machar as First Vice President to ensure the implementation of a peace agreement they brokered in August last year.

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) heads of state and government and the African Union Ad-hoc Committee on South Sudan, referred to as the IGAD Plus met to discuss the situation in South Sudan in Addis Ababa on Friday.

The meeting was attended by all the IGAD leaders, except President Salva Kiir who dispatched the newly appointed First Vice President Taban Deng Gai. JMEC and UNMISS chiefs were part of the meeting which was chaired by the Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

“The IGAD leader unanimously decided to work to stop the fighting in South Sudan and secure Juba through a regional force to be agreed by the chiefs of staff of the armies of the east African block ,” said the Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour after the return of President Omer al Bashir from Addis Abba on Friday evening.

Ghandour further said the meeting has “called for a dialogue between Kiie and Machar, agreed to work for Machar's reinstatement as First Vice President, and to implement the security arrangements as provided in chapter II of the peace agreement in order to stop definitively the fighting and move forward towards the full implementation of the agreement”.

The Sudanese top diplomat who accompanied al-Bashir to the meeting pointed that these decisions have been adopted unanimously with the participation of Taban Deng, “who expressed his willingness to work with IGAD and its partners in order to implement these decisions”.

The Arabic service of the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported similar statements attributed to the IGAD Executive Secretary Mahboub Maalim.

A detailed statement on the outcome of the meeting would be released on Saturday.

After the meeting, South Sudanese information minister Michael Makuei Lueth, expressed his government support to the decisions of the IGAD summit, saying the regional force is “a protection and not intervention force”.

The South Sudanese government “will take part in the arrangements for those troops to be deployed in specific areas of southern Sudan" Lueth further said in a statement to Anadolu.

(ST)

August 5, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese government announced on Friday it will participate in a “consultation meeting” with the opposition Sudan Call Groups in Addis Ababa next week.

Sudan's Presidential aide Ibrahim Moahmoud Hamid and AUHIP chair sign the Roadmap Agreement in Addis Ababa on 21 March 2016 (courtesy photo of AUHIP )

The opposition Sudan Call Groups calls to organize a preparatory meeting before joining the national dialogue inside the country, while the government and the National Dialogue Coordination Committee (7+7) say the meeting is “consultative” and not “preparatory meeting”.

Sudanese Presidential Assistant and the head of government negotiation team for the Two Areas, Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid, announced that government delegation will participate in the “consultation meeting” with armed groups, National Umma Party of Sadiq al-Mahdi and allied opposition groups after receiving an invitation from the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) to participate in the meeting next week.

“The government delegation will meet Sadig al-Mahdi, Darfur rebels, SPLM-N immediately after they sign the Roadmap Agreement in their meeting with AUHIP in Addis Ababa on Monday and Tuesday,” said Hamid.

He pointed the meeting will discuss the cessation of hostilities, the humanitarian access and the framework agreement. He added the latter will be finalized according to the deal of 2011 which the government and the SPLM-N agreed on 90% of its items.

The government delegation and (7+7) committee will travel to Addis Ababa to resume talks on the Two Areas and Darfur from nine to eleven August.

The meeting was initially planned to be between the four opposition groups and the 7+7 committee. However, to make more inclusive now it will include the Sudan Call forces and not only the four groups, the dialogue committee and the Sudanese government. Also the opposition Future Forces for Change (FFC) will attend the meeting as an observer.

(ST)

August 5, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudan President, Salva Kiir, has dispatched a high level delegation on Friday to attend a regional summit at which its political and security situation tops the agenda.

President Salva Kiir (R) embraces Taban Deng Gai after his swearing-in ceremony as FVP at the Presidential Palace in the capital of Juba, July 26, 2016 (Photo Reuters Jok Solumun)

However, the delegation led by the newly appointed First Vice President, Taban Deng Gai, has reportedly been denied access to the official IGAD summit of the Heads of State and Government.

The government sanctioned delegation, confirmed in a statement from the office of the president, is being led by Gai, who has replaced the armed opposition leader, Riek Machar.

“The First Vice President of the Republic Taban Deng Gai is travelling to Addis Ababa to represent South Sudan at the emergency IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) summit. The summit is being convened to discuss the recent fighting that broke out in South Sudan. The meeting is also scheduled to discuss a regional response, including the issue of intervention force,” the statement reads in part.

This comes after armed opposition leadership under Riek Machar issued a strong statement criticizing the manner in which international community and guarantors of peace process have acted at the time amid violations, accusing them of being passive to the political turmoil in the country. The guarantors include Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and other African countries in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) trade bloc.

“There is a serious lack of support from the international community and the guarantors to the peace agreement,” Machar's Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) said in a statement Wednesday.

According to the statement, “the daily violation of peace by the government followed by illegal appointment of Taban Deng Gai resulted in the collapse of the peace agreement.”

Machar fled Juba in July and went into hiding after new clashes broke out between his forces and government soldiers, saying he would only return when a third-party force is deployed to act as a buffer.

On July 25, South Sudan's President Salva Kiir sacked Machar as first vice-president, replacing him with Gai. The move threatens to split the armed opposition into two factions: one backing Gai in Juba to support implementation of the peace implementation, and another faction that only recognizes Machar as the first vice-president according to the peace accord signed in August 2015.

East Africa's eight-nation trade and security bloc, IGAD, is scheduled to meet in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Friday to look into the crisis in South Sudan, which has been a growing concern for the region. The latest statement comes after Kiir, acting on advice from his new vice president dismissed about half a dozen ministers representing the SPLM/A-IO.

On Monday, a prominent opposition figure who had held ministerial position in the Transitional Government of National Unity announced his resignation, saying the government in Juba was “dead”.

“We are not surprised by the steps being taken by President Kiir and Taban Deng changing IO ministerial position and Transitional Legislative Assembly,” the SPLM-IO statement said.

“We are just waiting for the deployment of the regional force [a third-party intervention recommended by the IGAD and the UN] …so we can take further steps towards putting an end to the suffering of the people of South Sudan,” it added.

Gai, the new first vice president, is reportedly denied attending the official IGAD summit of the Heads of State and Government as South Sudan was not invited to participate in the matter discussing its conflicts.

Observers however said Gai may only meet IGAD officials in the corridors to argue his position, but not in the official deliberations on South Sudan. The SPLM-IO delegation loyal to Machar will equally do the same.

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 following 50 years of Africa's long-running civil war.

Two years later the country slide back into chaos after Kiir accused his longtime rival Machar of a coup attempt which resulted in the death of tens of thousands of people and displaced 2.4 million others.

Machar dismissed the coup narrative as false and a way by President Kiir to silence the voices calling for democracy in the country.

The ongoing fighting between forces loyal to the two leaders threatens the peace deal itself.

(ST)

August 5, 2016 (EL-FASHER) - Thousands of South Sudanese refugees in North Darfur state have launched an appeal to the Sudanese government and aid groups to provide them with food, clothing and shelter.

Last month Sudan said it has received 500,000 South Sudanese refugees since 2013.
South Sudanese tribal chief Ajack Deng Kual told Sudan Tribune that 7,000 refugees have arrived in the locality of Al-Leit, 325 km. south east of North Darfur capital, El-Fasher from Bahr el-Ghazal region in South Sudan.

He pointed that there are no official statistics on the exact number of refugees who arrived in North Darfur, saying they are in dire need for food, shelter, drugs and clothing.

For his part, Deng Malonk Akol, a refugee from Awil town, pointed to the miserable situation in South Sudan, saying the vast majority of refugees in North Darfur are women, children and the elderly.

Joseph Garang Atak, a refugee from north Bahr el-Ghazal, said they sleep on the floor of the farms in which they took refuge, demanding the Sudanese government and aid groups to provide them with shelter.

Last month, fighting erupted in South Sudan's capital Juba between followers of President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar, the former rebel leader who became vice president under a deal to end a two-year civil war.

The violence, which has killed hundreds of people, broke out as the world's newest nation prepared to mark five years of independence from Sudan on July 9.

Last month, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that refugees fleeing conflict and food insecurity in South Sudan continue to arrive in Sudan.

It pointed out that “as of 3 July, 79,571 people from South Sudan had arrived in Sudan since 1 January 2016, of whom 53,273 in East Darfur”.

On 17 March, Sudanese government announced a decision that all South Sudanese in Sudan are to be treated as foreigners, instead of ‘brothers and sisters' as they were previously regarded.

South Sudan broke away from Sudan in July 2011 and established its own independent state after decades of war between the two former northern and southern regions of one country.

(ST)

August 5, 2016 (JUBA) – The ruling party in South Sudan, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) chaired by President Salva Kiir, has dismissed suggestions that a peace deal signed in August last year has collapsed.

South Sudanese president Salva Kiir (L) shakes hands with rebel leader and former vice-president Riek Machar after signing an agreement on the reunifiation of the SPLM in Arusha, Tanzania on 21 January 2015 (AP)

It also condemned the recent media comments by the party's former secretary general, Pagan Amum, who called for international intervention and for the country to be put under United Nations trusteeship.

Amum said the leadership of South Sudan has failed its people and the nation and therefore the need for the United Nations to take it over for a period of time.

However, a senior official of the SPLM in government accused Amum of inviting foreigners to meddle in the internal matters.

“The SPLM party denounces in the strongest terms the call by Pagam Amum, the former Secretary General and leader of the SPLM Former Detainees (SPLM-FDs) for the intervention of the international and regional communities in the internal affairs of South Sudan. Political coercion insights conflict, no one should understand this more clearly than Pagan; a politician whose actions contributed to turmoil in the country,” said Mangar Amerdid, adviser for political affairs and mobilization in the ruling party.

“The false claim being perpetuated by Pagan that the peace agreement has collapsed is his way of attempting to revive his political career. The peace agreement has not collapsed and it is being implemented daily by the various political organs of TGoNU [Transitional Government of National Unity]. The primary interest of TGoNU is to serve the people of South Sudan while working to restore peace and stability in the country,” he added.

He warned that any intervention that is not approved by the TGoNU that aims to invade or meddle in the affairs of a sovereign State will “warrant a strong response.”

He also said the new first vice president, Taban Deng Gai was nominated by the opposition faction of the SPLM-IO, adding there was nothing wrong about it.

The party adviser's official was responding to the conclusions that the peace deal has collapsed and that the nomination of Gai was not consistent with the August 2015 peace agreement and did not qualify the internal process of the SPLM-IO.

“The mandates of the Peace Agreement signed in August 2015 stipulate that the First Vice President (FVP) of the TGoNU shall be selected by the SPLA-IO. This was successfully accomplished with the appointment of Taban Deng Gai by the SPLM/A-IO as the FVP and was warmly received by President Kiir,” he argued.

AMUM AND AGOOT TRAITORS?

Another official described Amum and Majak Agoot as traitors for supporting regional and international intervention in South Sudan's conflicts.

Gordon Buay, a South Sudan diplomat residing Washington DC, vowed that he would block Amum from conducting a rally in the US to mobilize support for the international intervention.

“I am appealing to South Sudanese in the U.S not to attend Pagan Amum's rally scheduled for August, 11 in New York city at UN Building. Mr. Amum's agenda is to push for UN takeover of South Sudan,” Buay wrote in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune.

“Pagan Amum and Majak Agoot drafted a document entitled "United Nations Temporary Administration For South Sudan" to urge the UN Security Council to pass a resolution for UN Trusteeship.”

He said any South Sudanese who will attend the rally organized by Amum will be declared a “traitor.”

“Pagan Amum is the number one traitor now followed by Majak Agoot. These traitors think that the only way to get to power is through UN Trusteeship,” he added.

He said “in few weeks, the supporters of South Sudan independence and territorial integrity will organize “a rally of 10,000 compatriots in the U.S who will go to UN Building to condemn Pagan Amum as a traitor number one.”

(ST)

August 5, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Mauritanian government has decided not to impose financial penalties on Sudanese miners who were arrested while illegally prospecting for gold in its territories, said Sudan's Foreign Ministry.

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)

Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Gharib Allah Khidir said the Sudanese ambassador to Nouakchott has discussed the issue of the Sudanese gold prospectors with the Mauritanian minister of interior, saying the latter decided not to impose a fine on them.

He told the official news agency (SUNA) that the Mauritanian government has handed the miners their travel documents back and asked them not to conduct surface mining unless approved by the competent authorities.

Khidir said the Mauritanian government has mentioned that surface mining is a prohibited practice according to the regulations, saying those who violate the law would incur a daily fine that could exceed $90.

He added the Mauritanian law also provides for the detention of those who practice surface mining and to seize their passports, saying the authorities usually hand them their travel documents back upon deportation.

According to Khidir, the Sudanese ambassador to Nouakchott said the Mauritanian minister of interior assured him that there are no Sudanese nationals in their prisons.

The spokesperson called on those who wish to visit Mauritania to observe laws pertaining to the surface mining, saying Mauritania welcomes Sudanese to work and invest in any other field.

Last Monday, Sudan's Foreign Ministry said Mauritania would deport 100 Sudanese miners who had sneaked into its territory illegally.

In 2014, hundreds of Sudanese gold prospectors were evacuated from Niger to the Chadian city of Abeche before being transferred to the West Darfur state capital, Al-Geneina.

Also, 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 $8 million are still held by the Egyptian Army.

(ST)

August 4, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese Presidential Assistant Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid reiterated his government refusal for a national dialogue preparatory meeting, adding that talks on the cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access will start immediately after the signing of the Roadmap Agreement by the opposition.

Presidential Assistant, Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid (SUNA Photo)

In a press conference held on Thursday, Hamid announced that the government received an invitation from the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) to resume talks on the Two Areas and Darfur from nine to eleven August, stressing the government readiness to reach a peace agreement.

"There is no room for a preparatory conference. The dialogue mentioned in the Roadmap Agreement is the one the President of the Republic called for in his speech of 2014," he said.

"Once the opposition signs the roadmap we will hasten to sign an agreement on the cessation of hostilities and to end war permanently, after what we will move to the humanitarian access," he added.

Following a meeting last July in Paris, the opposition Sudan Call groups said they would sign the Roadmap Agreement after talks with the AUHIP head on eight August .

They further said they received reassurances from the Chief Mediator Thabo Mbeki that the meeting mentioned in the Roadmap is actually the preparatory meeting and it would be inclusive as they can compose their delegation from all the factions of the opposition umbrella.

The presidential aide who leads the government negotiating delegation said that the government rejects the existence of two separate armies in the country adding that the political arrangements will be synchronized with the security arrangements.

The Sudanese official was referring to a demand by the Sudan Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N) to maintain two armies during the transitional period until the full implementation of the peace agreement.

Regarding the talks with the armed groups in Darfur region; he said the framework agreement with these groups would not take more than two weeks. He further added that the international community formed a commission to follow the implementation of security arrangements.

On the power sharing in the transitional government after end of the process, the presidential assistant said "We do not want a large ministerial government but if the power sharing would stop war we have no objection to increase the cabinet members because the bill of war is expensive".

The Sudanese official told reporters that the African Union roadmap includes two steps to end the Sudanese crisis peacefully. The first is to end the armed conflicts and the second is to discuss the national issues in an inclusive national dialogue .

He added the purpose of the ongoing dialogue is to come out with a national document to manage the affairs of the state, but also through which an agreement will be reached on a system of governance and a permanent constitution will be adopted.

"The national document not be made by political parties alone, but all the Sudanese will be involved through the societal dialogue," he added.

In a related development the opposition Future Forces of Change (FFC) announced they received an invitation from the AUHIP to attend the signing of the Roadmap Agreement by the opposition Sudan Call and the launch of talks on security arrangements and humanitarian assistance from 9 to 11 August.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

August 4, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – A Chinese company has commenced the construction of a major power transmission line project which will link grids of Ethiopia with Kenya.

The Grand Renaissance Dam is under construction on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia. (Photo AFP/William Lloyd-George)

The firm, China Electric Power Equipment and Technology (CET) announced it has launched the construction of the $ 1.26 billion mega project this week.

The 500 KV transmission line which originates in Ethiopia's Wolayita Sodo will have power transferring capacity of 2,000 MW and runs about 1,045km, of which 445km stretches into Ethiopia's territory.

Kenya has a signed agreement to purchase 400 megawatts of electricity from Ethiopia but Nairobi says it wants to raise the power imports by multiple folds when Ethiopia completes the power plant projects currently under construction.

Currently, electricity access in Kenya's rural areas stands at around 4% however the government plans to boost power supply by tenfold to 40% by 2020 in a bid to curtail chronic power shortage.

The East African nation further intends to replace the fossil fuel based thermal energy by importing the mainly hydro-power processed clean and cheap energy from sources in Ethiopia.

According to the African Development Bank the joint power interconnection will guarantee electricity access to around 870,000 households by 2018.

The joint venture slated for completion in 2017 will be jointly funded by the World Bank and the African Development Bank.

Sudan Tribune has learnt that the project launch ceremony took place on Monday at Wolayta Sodo, some 420 km south of the capital, Addis Ababa, in the presence of officials from the state power utility, Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) and the Chinese company.

Mokenen Kasa, a political analyst based in Addis Ababa sees benefits of such joint venture between countries beyond economic benefits.

“Such cooperation not only does it boost Ethiopia's economy by generating foreign currency but also bolsters ties among countries which would have crucial role to foster regional peace and stability” Mokenen told Sudan Tribune.

He said countries should widely engage in peaceful co-operation to maintain stability and thereby to harness strategic and economic benefits.

According to official estimates, Ethiopia has potential power production capacity 60,000MW from hydro, geothermal, wind and solar energy.

The country is putting huge investments in building hydropower plants intending to become prime regional power exporter, with a potential of $1bn a year in revenues from renewable power.

Ethiopia currently exports electricity to Sudan, Djibouti and Kenya.

It also has plans to link its grids with South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Yemen.

(ST)

August 4, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudanese new First Vice President, Taban Deng Gai, said security reforms promised in the August 2015 peace agreement is still on course despite his view to speed up reunification of the rival armies in the country.

Gai, who replaced former First Vice President, Riek Machar, last week as new leader of the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) in Juba, called for integration of rival forces before the eighteen months period enshrined in the peace deal.

“We must go along with full implementation of the peace agreement. This peace is for all South Sudanese and it talks about reforms. We are going to reform the army and other law enforcement agencies by providing them with resources that enable them to become professional and able to serve the people,” said Gai, speaking to leaders of the Federal Democratic Movement, a section of military officers that broke away from the SPLM-IO in July 2015.

The Federal Democratic Movement leaders, led by General Gathoth Gatkuoth, on Tuesday declared allegiance to the new SPLM-IO leader, Gai.

Gai said as part of his plan to restore peace in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, illegal arms will be collected and military barracks will be moved out of the city.

“We are going to collect all arms in hands of civilians so that they are only in the hands of the army, police and other security organs. We shall move the army from the population centers to their respective cantonment sites where they shall be retrained and under one command of chief of general of staff,” he added.

He did not indicate when exactly that will start.

The new first vice president said schools, health and shopping centers will be built at the military sites away from the civil population.

SPLA barracks, including the headquarters of Presidential Guards, are within civilian neighbourhoods in Juba. According to the peace agreement, Juba should have been demilitarized before forming Transitional Government of National Unity (TGONU).

The process however failed to materialize as tens of thousands of government troops continue to live in Juba.

(ST)

August 4, 2016 (GENEVA) – United Nations (UN) has said preliminary investigations into recent fighting in South Sudan, and its aftermath, have revealed that forces loyal to President Salva Kiir carried out killings and rapes, and looted and destroyed properties.

The UN human rights chief on Thursday called on the Security Council to take stronger action against the perpetrators of the crimes.

“Tensions remain very high, and violations continue to take place in Juba and other parts of the country,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, after providing a written update to the Security Council on the preliminary findings of ongoing UN investigations into the five days of fighting that began in the capital Juba on 7 July, and its aftermath.

The UN human rights top official said that information received by UN human rights officers suggested that hundreds of fighters and civilians were killed during the initial fighting.

It said while some civilians were killed in crossfire between the fighting forces, others were reportedly summarily executed by government's SPLA soldiers, who appeared to have specifically targeted people of Nuer origin.

The report cited as examples two separate incidents on 11 July in which soldiers of the national army, known as the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) reportedly arrested eight Nuer civilians during house-to-house searches in Juba's Munuki area and took them to two nearby hotels, where they shot four of them. On the same day, SPLA soldiers broke into another hotel where they shot and killed a Nuer journalist.

At least 73 civilian deaths have been catalogued so far by the UN, but it is believed the civilian death toll may in fact turn out to be much higher. The UN said it was denied access to some of the hardest-hit areas in the days following the conflict and a number of restrictions on movement remain in place.

“The fighting also resulted in widespread sexual violence, including rape and gang rape by soldiers in uniform and men in plain clothes,” Zeid said, adding that Nuer, Dinka and women from the three Equatorian states were all targeted, along with foreign nationals. Many victims were minors.

“We have documented at least 217 cases of sexual violence in Juba between 8 and 25 July,” Zeid said.

“In a few areas, women from various ethnic groups were raped by heavily armed youth believed to be affiliated to the SPLA in Opposition (SPLA/IO),” the report said.

“However, according to the information we have gathered so far, those most affected were displaced Nuer women and girls and those responsible seem to have been mostly SPLA.”

“Sexual violence continued after the initial fighting subsided and over 100 women and girls are reported to have been raped or gang-raped on the road leading out of Juba towards Yei. On 18 July, for example, 35 women and girls were reportedly raped in two separate incidents: firstly, 28 women, including 12 minors, were allegedly assaulted at an SPLA checkpoint at the Jebel Junction on the Yei Road; and in the second incident that day, seven other women were reportedly raped on the road between two Protection of Civilians sites, where people – mostly Nuer — displaced by earlier rounds of fighting are protected by UNMISS peacekeepers,” it further said.

During the five days of fighting in Juba, it added, thousands more people were forcibly displaced, and many civilians were denied access to safety in UN compounds by SPLA soldiers manning the various checkpoints that sprang up across Juba.

“There have also been reports of forced recruitment by the SPLA, including of children, in Bor,” it said.

The UN High Commissioner urged the Transitional Government of National Unity to restore dialogue and take steps to ensure justice and accountability, and called on the international community to put real pressure on the government to halt violence and respect the life of all South Sudanese.

“The severity of the recent violence, and the very dangerous ethnic undertone, call for urgent action by the Security Council,” he said.

(ST)

August 4, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Representative of nearly 3000 Sudanese staff of the hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) said that their open-ended strike will continue until the United Nations headquarters commit itself in writing to the implementation of their demands.

Since last Thursday, UNAMID national staff members have gone on strike over alleged non-payment of due benefits. Also they ask to address all the outstanding entitlements, including the risk allowance, to be consistent with the increase in salaries in the period from 2012 to 2015.

The head of the UNAMID National Staff Union Khalil Tkras told Sudan Tribune on Thursday that they are determined to continue their strike adding that "It is the first strike in the history of the United Nations to last for more than one week in order to deliver specific demands to the UN headquarters".

Tkras further said they had a meeting with the UNMAID chief Martin Uhomoibhi and his aides to reach an agreement leading to suspend the strike and achieve their demands.

He pointed that they had informed Uhomoibhi they will continue the strike until they receive a written response from New York.

He added the head of UNAMID asked them to stop the protest first. But they refused, stressing that their movement is peaceful "despite the provocations of the mission and in spite of repeated reminders of UN rules and regulations".

DISRUPTION OF UNAMID OPERATIONS

However, the hybrid mission on Thursday issued a statement on the strike, saying it was "deeply concerned" about the ongoing protest action by the Sudanese staff.

"The strike has been accompanied by reports of attempts to disrupt the Mission's operations by locking entry gates to key areas in the Mission's headquarters in El Fasher and coercing non-participating staff members as well as individual contractors not to perform their duties," said the statement.

''UNAMID wishes to stress that such actions are in breach of UN rules and regulations as well as staff members' obligations as international civil servants,'' UNAID further stressed.

However, the head of the national staff union stressed that the strike is a guaranteed right in the United Nations conventions, and cannot be considered as a violation or breach of the laws.

He pointed out that the manner in which the mission has issued the warning indicates a degree of "bad intentions" and "demonstrates that it does ignore the United Nations Principles".

Tkras further strongly denied attempts to obstruct the work of other colleagues or to lock entry gates. He added that what had happened during the first day of the strike they wanted to avoid that some try to infiltrate the UNAMID local staff, adding they wanted to protect the mission not and not damaging it.

The UNAMID said it implemented the new salary scale and payment of national staff salaries in US dollars, with an effect from September 2015.

"All retroactive payments due to staff have been paid in full," the statement emphasized.

Here again, the head of the national staff union categorically denied receiving the retroactive payments.

He described as "misleading" the statement. He added that the salary review was conducted in September 2015 but it was only made public in February 2016. Also, he said they didn't receive any payment of what is claimed in the statement.

The hybrid mission said it would keep seeking to resolve the concerns of the national staff adding that "Any action by staff members that may negatively impact mandate delivery or disrupt daily operations, should, therefore, be avoided".

There are some 2,900 local workers in the hybrid peacekeeping mission which is deployed in Darfur since December 2007.

(ST)

August 4, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudan transitional national legislative assembly held the first sitting Thursday and unanimously endorsed Anthony Lino Makana as it's speaker.

Lino Makana reacts to his nomination to be the parliament speaker at SPLM Cancus meeting in Juba on July 27, 2016 (ST Photo)

The assembly has been expanded to 400 members from 332 in accordance to the peace accord. The amred opposition nominated 50 MPs. Only 20 opposition MPs attended the first sitting and were sworn and the 10 others nominated by from other political parties.

It is not clear if the absence of the armed opposition MPs is a protest to the leadership of first Vice President Taban Deng Gai who replaced armed opposition leader, Riek Machar.

Makana, who represents Yambio county in South Sudan's Western Equatoria, called on the country's rival forces to cease hostilities for peace to prevail in the young nation.

"We have to work hard to implement the peace agreement in spirit and letter. Our people have suffered enough and it is time to end the war in the whole country," he explained.

The outgoing speaker Mannese Magok Rundial pledged to cooperate with his successor. Magok, an MP from former Unity State in Greater Upper Nile Region, had to step down in accordance to the peace agreement that required a speaker from Equatoria region.

(ST)

August 4, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan and Italy on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understating (MoU) on combating crime, illegal migration and borders issues.

This handout picture released by the Italian police on June 8, 2016 shows Medhanie Yehdego Mered, 35, an Eritrean suspected of controlling a migrant trafficking network, escorted by policemen upon his extradition from Sudan to Italy late on June 6, 2016. (AFP Photo)

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune, the Italian Embassy in Khartoum said the MoU was signed in Rome on Wednesday in the presence of Interior Ministry officials and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Head of the Italian Police, Dr. Franco Gabrielli, and his Sudanese counterpart, General Hashim Osman Al Hussein.

“The agreement falls within the broader framework of cooperation between Sudan and the European Union on migration issues, in particular the "Khartoum Process (launched in Italy in the autumn of 2014) and the “EU Emergency Trust Fund to tackle root causes of irregular migration in Africa Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa” (launched in November 2015 at the Summit of La Valletta)” pointed the statement.

The statement further noted that the MoU represents the finishing line of a series of negotiations between the two countries which lasted several months and were carried out under the strong impulse given by the Italian Embassy in Sudan.

In June, Sudan arrested an Eritrean man suspected of controlling one of the world's four largest criminal migrant trafficking organizations and handed him to Italy.

The statement pointed that the MoU has covered some fundamental points such as fighting international organized crime, illegal immigration, trafficking human beings, telecommunications and financial crimes (such as money laundering), counterfeiting of documents and corruption

“The MoU has included a series of articles related to the repatriation of citizens who remain irregularly in the respective countries,” says the statement.

"This signature is essential for the clear differentiation between the citizens of the two countries, who we mutually consider welcome guests in our respective territories, and those citizens who have no right to remain in the territories of the two states" explained the Italian Ambassador in Sudan, Fabrizio Lobasso in the margins of the meeting.

Concerning the implementation of the MoU, the statement pointed that the Sudanese authorities will send a list of priority projects and issues on which to work on together in order to organize short and long term missions of respective officials.

The Italian embassy hailed the agreement saying that it is a tangible Italian success, resulting from Italy's engagement in migration issues in Africa, of which the well-known Migration Compact, launched by the Government at the international level a few months .

In February, The European Commission announced a 100 million euro package to support Sudan to address root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons.

The 100 million euro come in line with the Valletta plan, and EU Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa. The EU financial support aims to boost socio-economic development and self-reliance.

(ST)

August 4, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudan's largest opposition party, the Democratic Change Party (DCP) has fired its chairman Lam Akol during a meeting held in Juba, Wednesday.

Lam Akol, chairman of South Sudan's main opposition party (AFP/Samir Bol Photo)

The decision followed Akol's resignation as the opposition party's leader this week.

Onyoti Adigo Nyikuach, the DCP leader in South Sudanese Parliament said Akol's decision to resign as chairman of the DCP during a “crucial time” was unacceptable.

“One who refuses to work as the chairperson of the party at this crucial time can no longer be a member of the party,” he said after a meeting held at the party headquarters.

The party executives appointed Donald Gideon as the acting chairperson of the DCP.

Akol resigned from transitional government of national unity (TGONU) last month and made his decision public in a press conference held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He accused President Salva Kiir of abrogating the August 2015 Peace Agreement and pledged “to work with other link-minded compatriots” outside Juba to effect a change.

He did not, however, disclose if the new change of what he called “eco-centric” system under the leadership of President Kiir would involve the use of armed rebellion.

The national alliance, headed by Akol, nominated Kornelio Kon Ngu as its leader on Monday. Kon was the South Sudanese deputy minister of agriculture and food security.

(ST)

August 3, 2015 (JUBA) – At least 6 million people in South Sudan are in need of humanitarian assistance, with a quarter of a million children facing severe and acute malnutrition, a senior United Nations official has disclosed.

UN humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien (UN Photo)

“Forced displacement remains a defining feature of the crisis, with some 1.6 million people internally displaced, and more than 900,000 having fled to neighboring countries, including more than 60,000 who fled to Uganda in July alone,” Stephen O'Brien, the under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs said Wednesday.

Last month, violence in the South Sudan capital, killed nearly 300 people lives, as rival forces loyal to President Salva Kiir clashed with those allied to Riek Machar.

According to O'Brien, South Sudan remains one of the most fragile nations in the world.

“The humanitarian response plan for 2016 is only 40 percent funded, leaving a gap of $765 million. More funding is urgently required for the scale-up of the response across the country,” said the official, who recently visited South Sudan.

The UN emergency humanitarian coordinator also condemned attacks on aid workers operating in South Sudan as well as seizure of assets belonging to humanitarian agencies, urging the country's authorities to investigate and act against such matters.

“We humanitarians are here in South Sudan to save lives and for no other reason. Our task and demand by the UN and beyond is to impartially meet the urgent and severe humanitarian and protection needs of the millions of suffering people in this country,” he stressed.

At least 60,000 people have fled South Sudan's recent violence in the capital city of Juba, bringing to nearly 900,000 the overall number of South Sudanese refugees in neighbouring nations since December 2013, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said.

However, with over 2.6 million of its citizens forcibly displaced, South Sudan reportedly ranks among countries with the highest levels of conflict-induced population displacement globally as an estimated half of the population rely on humanitarian aid.

(ST)