Sudan Tribune

March 18, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA/KHARTOUM) - Sudanese government, armed groups in Sudan's Two Areas and Darfur Friday kicked off a Strategic Consultations Meeting in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

Mbeki speaks to participants at the inaugral session of Strategic Consultations Meeting in Addis Ababa on 18 March 2016 (AUHIP Photo)

The African Union High Level-Implementation Panel (AUHIP), which brokers Sudan peace process, seeks to bring the parties to end the fighting and strike a deal on the humanitarian access to civilians in the rebel held areas. The two confidence building measures will prepare the ground for comprehensive process on peace and constitutional reforms the mediators seek to facilitate.

AUHIP chief Thabo Mbeki who just concluded a visit to Khartoum urged the participants before to start talks in separate tracks, to innovate their approach and develop ideas on how to overcome differences that led to the failure of previous meetings.

Mbeki said the purpose of these consultations which include the opposition National Umma Party (NUP) is to reach a common ground for a comprehensive political process on democratic reforms in Sudan. He also spoke about his meeting with some opposition groups that he met for the first time during his visit to Khartoum.

The chief mediator also held a meeting with the European Union, U.S, Germany and Norway envoys to brief them on his plans and the meetings he held in Khartoum with the Sudanese government and opposition groups.

The parties will hold separate discussions on Darfur region involving a government delegation led by Amin Hassan Omer and rebel delegations from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement of Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM). Gibril Ibrahim and Minnawi lead their respective delegations.

For the track on the conflict in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states, the government team is led by Presidential Adviser Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid while SPLM-N delegation is led by it Secretary General Yasir Arman.

In the previous rounds of negotiations, the mediation sought to bring the parties to sign a cessation of hostilities agreement which was seen as a step before the signing of a Declaration of Principles, defining the agenda of the peace talks.

However, the chief mediator in his remarks to the participants stressed that the agenda of this meeting will focus on the strategic issues without the details that the parties tackled during the previous meeting. They will also discuss ways to connect the cessation of hostilities and the humanitarian access with the issues of the national dialogue in Sudan, he underlined.

In statements to the official news agency SUNA, the head of the government delegation for peace talks with the SPLM-N stressed that the most important is to stop war, adding it will lead to the solution of all other issues including the humanitarian access.

The Sudanese presidential assistant was alluding to the recent call by the SPLM-N chief negotiator to separate the discussions on the humanitarian aid from the political process.

During an informal meeting held in Ethiopia last February about Darfur conflict, the government and rebel delegations said the discussions were "fruitful".

JEM and SLM-MM demand to open the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur for talks particularly on issues related to the compensations, land ownership, justice and security arrangements.

(ST)

March 18, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's foreign minister Ibrahim Ghandour and his Polish counterpart Witold Waszczykowski Friday signed a joint cooperation agreement between the two nations.

Sudanese FM Ibrahim Ghandour (L) received by his Polish counterpart Witold Waszczykowski in Warsaw on 17 March 2016 (Photo Polish FM)

Ghandour, who is visiting Poland upon an official invitation from Waszczykowski, is the first Sudanese foreign minister to visit Warsaw since more than forty years.

In his meeting with Waszczykowski on Friday, Ghandour thanked the top Polish diplomat for extending the invitation, expressing Sudan's awareness of the importance of Poland.

He added that his visit would pave the way for the resumption of cooperation between the two countries, pointing to the historic economic ties between Warsaw and Khartoum.

Ghandour briefed Waszczykowski on the recent developments in Sudan including the national dialogue, pointing to Sudan's role in achieving peace and security in the region.

Sudan's top diplomat also pointed to the efforts exerted by his country to combat illegal migration since launching the Khartoum Process in 2014, saying its outcome became the foundation for the recent Valleta summit on migration.

For his part, the Polish minister thanked Ghandour for accepting the invitation, stressing the joint cooperation agreement would reinforce the bilateral relation between the two countries.

The Polish foreign ministry said the two ministers discussed migration and the Khartoum Process.

Minister Ghandour drew attention to the fact that Sudan was prepared to cooperate in countering illegal migration, human smuggling and trafficking, and to consolidate Sudanese capabilities to receive refugees.

“Poland and Europe are prepared to support measures aimed at resolving international problems, including the phenomenon of illegal migration,” stressed Minister Waszczykowski.

The joint agreement covered areas of agricultural, higher education, political coordination and mutual support in international forums.

The two sides also agreed to exchange the diplomatic representation between the countries very soon.

Meanwhile, Ghandour discussed with the Polish minister of agriculture and rural development Rafa? Romanowski ways to promote cooperation between the two nations in areas of food security, agriculture, livestock and agricultural machinery and equipments.

The meeting also discussed the possibility for allowing the Polish products access to the Sudanese markets and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

(ST)

March 18, 2016 (JUBA) – The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has outlined steps to be taken by South Sudanese parties to the peace agreement signed 5 months ago and called on the government of President Salva Kiir to stop operationalization of the unilaterally created 28 new states in the country.

Special representative for the UN secretary-general on sexual violence in conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura (shown on screen), briefs the Security Council at its meeting on South Sudan on 22 October 2014 (Photo: UN)

On the controversial 28 states, the United Nations Security Council in a statement on Friday said the government should abide by the communiqué of the IGAD foreign ministers which called on Juba to suspend the operationalization of new states.

“The parties to the agreement abide by and take no action inconsistent with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) 30-31 January 2016 communiqué, which was subsequently endorsed by the parties and JMEC, on the issue of the Presidential Decree on the creation of 28 new states,” partly reads the statement.

The UNSC's presidential statement urged the government of President Kiir and the SPLM in opposition of First Vice President designate, Riek Machar, to “fully and immediately adhere to the permanent ceasefire.”

The world body also asked the parties to cooperate with the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) and implement the security arrangement for Juba to facilitate the formation of transitional government of national unity.

It also urged the parties to soon form a transitional government, adding that it will review progress by the end of March.

“The President, the First Vice-President, and Vice-President, as set out in the Agreement, take up their positions in the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGNU) in Juba,” reads the statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Friday.

It called on the government of South Sudan and the SPLM-IO to protect civilians and civilian facilities, including schools and hospitals and allow people to move freely in accordance with relevant provisions of international law and UN guiding principles of humanitarian assistance, including the full, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access to help ensure timely delivery of humanitarian assistance to all those in need.

The statement accused the South Sudanese army of taking part in the Malakal attack on civilians inside the UN compound, warning this could amount to war crimes.

“The Security Council expresses particular alarm at credible reports of armed men in Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) uniforms entering the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) protection of civilians site and firing on civilians,” it said.

“The Security Council stresses that attacks against civilians, UNMISS personnel, as well as United Nations premises are unacceptable and may constitute war crimes.”

The Council warned the parties that attacking on UN bases, like that on Protection of Civilians sites in Malakal last month, may constitute war crime.

It called upon the government of South Sudan to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the attack and commended the United Nations for quickly announcing establishment of a High-Level Board of Inquiry to be convened by the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations and Department of Field Support which will conduct an in-depth investigation into UNMISS' response to this incident.

The Security Council also underscored its grave concern at the deteriorating economic and humanitarian situation in South Sudan, with an estimated 2.8 million people who are severely food insecure and that humanitarian access continues to be restricted.

President Kiir and opposition leader Machar signed the Agreement to Resolve the Conflict in South Sudan in August 2015, but formation of transitional government has been delayed due to failure to demilitarize the capital, Juba, and transportation of SPLM-IO forces to Juba.

Machar, who was appointed by President Kiir last month as his deputy again said he would only return to Juba after his forces landed in the capital.

The Troika (U.S, Norway and Britain) as well as European Union has pledged to transport the opposition forces to Juba. It is not yet clear when that will happen.

The UN Security Council in its statement however commended the peace parties for taking some steps including selection of ministerial portfolios, among others, but added it will review progress on 31 March.

(ST)

March 18, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – The continued determination by the South Sudanese government under the leadership of President Salva Kiir to operationalize the controversial new 28 states in the country is a waste of resources and a misplaced priority as the economic crisis deteriorates, an official of the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) has said.

SPLM (IO) Chairman, Riek Machar, addressing the 2nd National Liberation Council (NLC) meeting in Pagak, November 5, 2015 (ST Photo)

“For sure, the ongoing defiant implementation of the new controversial 28 states is not only a violation of the August 2015 peace agreement but also a misplaced priority. It is a waste of the country's scarce resources in the face of the deteriorating economic crisis,” James Gatdet Dak, official spokesman of the SPLM-IO leader, Riek Machar, told Sudan Tribune on Thursday.

“The leadership of the SPLM/SPLA (IO) expects suspension of these 28 states in the event of forming a Transitional Government of National Unity,” he added.

He wondered what the government will have achieved by continuing with the implementation of the new states when it knows that they will be suspended in a matter of weeks and the parties may afterwards revert to 10 states as provided for in the peace agreement.

Dak was responding to media queries on the position and current view of the opposition faction on the new states as the government has continued to operationalize them despite the recent call from the East African regional bloc, IGAD, to suspend them, which the rival parties also agreed to.

An inclusive boundary commission with membership of all the parties to the peace deal will be established by the transitional government to try to reach a consensus on a number of new states to be created, including identifying and agreeing upon their boundaries.

The February 2016 IGAD communiqué, released in Addis Ababa by the bloc's foreign ministers, also called on the parties to revert to the existing constitutionally recognized 10 states - which became the basis for the peace agreement - should there be no consensus on the number of new states and their boundaries.

But the government has continued to operationalize the 28 states it unilaterally created on 2 October 2015, arguing that it was a demand of the people of South Sudan.

The opposition official said his they expected the government to rather suspend the new states until when the parties sit and try to reach a consensus within one month from formation of the government and the boundary commission as stipulated in the IGAD communiqué.

Dak also said it did not make sense for the government to operationalize the “28 new problematic states” so as to accommodate more politicians at the expense of the people when it is not paying salaries to its army and civil servants as well as cutting down the number of its foreign mission officials abroad due to lack of funding.

Tens of thousands of people from such states, he alleged, have been fleeing from South Sudan to neighboring countries because of hunger while millions others are starving internally.

He further argued that some of the new states are problematic and will likely bring to the people of South Sudan more inter-communal violent conflicts.

The opposition's official pointed out that some of the communities, such as the Shilluk ethnic group in Upper Nile region, whose lands have been grabbed and annexed to a Dinka neighbouring community in the process of creating the 28 states, have threatened to wage war in defence of their ancestral lands.

A better decision, he added, is to suspend the new states as called for by the IGAD communiqué and for the parties to collectively agree on the way forward.

(ST)

March 18, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) has urged the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) to abide by the AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) resolutions (456) and (539) which call for holding an inclusive and comprehensive national dialogue.

NUP leader Sadiq al-Mahdi (L) and SCoP chairperson Omer al-Digair in Cairo on 14 March 2016 (ST Photo)

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune Friday, the SCoP said all major national parties have accepted the AUPSC resolutions however the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) seeks to divide the issues and the negotiations forums via the old colonial approach of “divide and rule”.

SCoP renewed its common position along with its allies in the “Sudan Call” and the National Consensus Forces (NCF) which state that the comprehensive political solution couldn't be achieved without meeting several conditions including reaching a total cessation of hostilities in war areas, releasing political detainees and cancelling restrictive laws.

The statement stressed the need that a transitional authority comprised of all political and civil society forces should be established to implement any political agreement among the various parties, pointing that the AUPSC has adopted this position in its resolutions (456) in September 2014 and (539) in August 2015.

The AUHIP has invited the government and the National Umma Party of Sadiq al-Mahdi besides three armed movements: Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement - Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) to take part in a consultative meeting in Addis Ababa on 18 March.

The meeting is supposed to discuss the way forward on the national dialogue and how to stop the armed conflicts in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur.

SCoP further said the government has always sought to manipulate the peace talks and the national dialogue to avoid reaching a genuine solution that could end the war and lead to a genuine democratic transformation.

“The NCP regime continued to take advantage of the seasonal negotiations events for purposes that has nothing to do with the peaceful solution for the issues of the Sudanese people. It used those events only to confuse the Sudanese people and to market itself to the international community and to divide the opposition front”, the statement read.

SCoP renewed its position that there is no partial solution for the Sudanese crises, saying that the sustainable solution must be inclusive of all issues and parties.

The strategic consultative meeting is conceived by the AUHIP to replace a national dialogue preparatory meeting the government had rejected.

The purpose of the pre-dialogue meeting was to gather the armed and political holdout groups and the government to discuss confidence building measures paving the way for their participation in the internal political process.

The pre-dialogue meeting was supposed to intervene after the signing of a cessation of hostilities agreement within the framework of declaration of principles for a peaceful settlement.

(ST)

March 18, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese President, Salva Kiir, has issued an administrative order appointing former rebel spokesperson, Brigadier General Lul Ruai Koang, as the new spokesperson of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), the official army of South Sudan.

Lul Ruai Koang speak to the press in Addis Abab on May 9, 2014 (AFP Photo)

President Kiir, according to the appointment letter he signed on 4 March 2016, but which Koang received on 17 March, two weeks later, assigned him as the spokesperson of the SPLA. He replaced former army spokesperson, Colonel Philip Aguer, who, since 24 December 2015, became an active politician after his appointment as the governor of the newly created Jonglei state.

Aguer's appointment has since created a vacuum in public communications with the army on matters relevant to defence and security of the people and the country.

Speaking to Sudan Tribune on Friday, Koang commended the president and the leadership of the army under the overall command of the chief of general staff, Paul Malong Awan, describing it as a privilege and honour to serve the country at the most critical time in the history of South Sudan.

“I feel honoured and privileged to serve our people and the country as the spokesperson of the SPLA at this time,” said General Koang, when asked how he felt after receiving the news he had been into a highly selling and combative office which represents the views of the army on national affairs.

The military officer said he would work to ensure he speaks and stands for the values the army has been constitutionally mandated to uphold and enhance.

“My message to our people is that the SPLA remains fully committed to defending and protecting territorial integrity of the republic of South Sudan, defend the constitution, protect the lives and properties of our [people] against aggression,” he said.

Commenting on the same development, Gordon Buay, a South Sudanese diplomat at its mission to the United States, congratulated President Kiir on the appointment of General Koang to the position and described him as the “right man in the right job.”

“I want to congratulate President Kiir Mayardit for the appointment of Brig. Gen. Lul because he is the right person for the job,” said Ambassador Buay in a statement which he personally extended to Sudan Tribune on Friday and which he also distributed to a select group of people in his contact list and on social media.

Buay added that he was particularly happy with the appointment because General Koang will “properly deal with anti-peace elements that are spreading lies in the media against the Constitution of South Sudan.”

“There are bandits and political terrorists that are against the implementation of the Compromised Peace Agreement,” he said.

General Koang defected from the armed opposition faction of SPLA-IO under the leadership of Riek Machar, former vice president. He then joined the government since April last year.

(ST)

March 18, 2016 (PIBOR) - The medical charity, Medicins San Frontiers (MSF) said it has re-established a limited medical program in its heavily-looted centre in Pibor, South Sudan.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has expressed dismay at the continued targeting of medical facilities and patients during ongoing conflict in South Sudan (Photo: Kim Clausen/MSF)

MSF said was forced to evacuate to the United Nations base amid heavy fighting on 23 February and upon return four days later, its team found the medical centre was completely looted, depriving the area's170,000 people of access to secondary healthcare and undermining medical response in Lekonguole and Gumuruk.

“We have managed to open a limited medical program to address the most urgent needs of the population, but we have not returned to business as usual in terms of medical capacity,” Corinne Benazech, MSF head of mission in South Sudan said in a statement.

“Our ability to provide medical assistance has been greatly diminished by the looting of our medical facility two weeks ago. It is women and children who suffer most from reduced access to medical care, not only in Pibor, but also in Lekonguole and Gumuruk,” she added.

MSF called on armed actors to respect the provision of medical care.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and over two million displaced in South Sudan's worst outbreak of violence since the young nation succeeded from neighbouring Sudan in July 2011.

A peace deal signed in August last year to end the conflict is yet to make meaningful gains, amid continuous violations of a ceasefire agreed upon by both sides involved in the South Sudanese conflict.

According to MSF, the medical charity has also been supporting the provision of primary heathcare services in Lekonguole and Gumuruk from its medical centre in Pibor, but can now only provide the most critical medicines to support the population of those communities.

“We call on anyone in possession of looted medical equipment to return it to MSF. Some of the items that were taken from us have no use or no value outside of a medical facility. If they are returned to MSF, it will help improve the population's access to medical care by allowing for the resumption of more life-saving medical activities,” said Benazech.

However, as MSF continues providing assistance to those mostly in need, it says any further targeting of its medical services could make it very difficult for MSF to sustain life-saving services in the Pibor area.

(ST)

March 17, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudan people's liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N) said they shot down a Sudanese military unmanned plane in a rebel controlled area in South Kordofan on Wednesday.

In this picture released by the SPLM-N on 17 March, rebel fighters hold up drone aircraft they claimed to have shot down in South Kordofan area of Heiban on 15 March 2016

"SPLA/N air defence unit of Heiban sector under command of Brg. Gen. Nimeri Murad, in Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan state on 15/3/016 at 5;00 pm (local time) shot down Unmanned drawn," said a statement released by the official spokesperson Arnu Ngutulu lodi.

Lodi further stated that the drone was mapping schools, hospitals and water sources as well as markets before to bomb it by the Antonov planes.

The government forces have resumed summer attacks on the positions of the Sudanese rebels in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states since the failure of peace talks to reach a cessation of hostilities deal last December.

In a separate statement on Thursday, the rebel spokesperson said they killed five members of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) in an ambush on the road of West Kordofan-El-Obeid on 16 Mars.

Lodi said that the attack which took place in Alshareet Alramly area in South Kordofan where they captured eight NISS members and destroyed two vehicles and one truck.

The Sudanese army didn't issue a statement on the attack and its spokesperson was not available for comment.

This is the third time, rebels in South Kordofan claim the shot down of unmanned planes.

On March 14, 2012 they said they shot down a Sudanese drone in the disputed area of Jau, near the border with South Sudan.

Also, the rebel group announced the shot down of an unmanned spy aircraft near Abri, Dalami town in the far east of Dilling district in South Kordofan.

(ST)

March 17, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudan has no forestry policy and its authorities are worried the world's youngest nation could lose its natural forests, unless stringent measures are put in place to curb the rampant rates of illegal logging.

These fears come barely a month after conservationists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) warned of dangers the lie ahead as the country's wildlife and natural resources face an alarming expansion of illegal exploitation, trafficking and logging.

The report, the agency said, was based on scientific monitoring and investigations undertaken its team undertook in cooperation with local partners over the past months, which documented a sharp rise in illegal activities in various areas of the young nation.

Cited as an immediate threat to South Sudan's forests were illegal logging, gold mining and charcoal production, among others.

Sadly, however, these illegal activities are reportedly being perpetrated by local and international individuals and actors, including members of various armed groups active in the country.

South Sudan is currently embroiled in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of the population, displacing nearly two million of them.

According to conservationists, prior to the outbreak of its war in December 2013, South Sudan's extensive areas of untouched natural woodlands, forests, and savannas, were home to wildlife populations including approximately 2,500 elephant, hundreds of giraffes, the endemic Nile Lechwe and white-eared kob tiang, Mongalla antelope migrations, wild dog as well as chimpanzees.

However, over the past two years of armed conflict, the various armed forces across the country, WCS said, have been implicated in several cases of large-scale illegal exploitation of natural resources.

“The situation of uncontrolled illegal logging, mining, poaching, charcoal trade, and other natural resource exploitation in the country is getting worse,” acknowledges Jaden Tongun Emilio, the chairman natural resource management group for South Sudan.

He calls for the enactment of a natural resource enforcenemt law.

“We need to work together at local, state, and national levels to ensure that the foundation for future development of the country is secured through sound and transparent natural resource law enforcement and integrated management,” stressed Tongun.

Despite concerns from conservationists and authorities, John Aguer considers forest logging and charcoal production as his livelihood.

The wood, which Aguer converts into charcoal and sometimes to build good shelter for his family, is his only means of making a living.

"I usually cut dry trees around the forest and I burn charcoal out of it," the 35-yearl old tells the African Independent, through a translator.

He adds, “As for now, I consider this the only source of my survival.”

Although there is no information on the exact number of forests in the country, forests and woodlands, according to 2009 figures from the Agriculture and Forestry ministry, cover an estimated 29 percent of the land area in South Sudan or 191,667 square kilometres.

A 2010 study conducted by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), estimated that a high rate of up to 2,776 square kilometres of forests and other wooded land were being lost annually in South Sudan.

PRINS Engineering, in a 2011 study, discovered that the forests of the Imatong Mountains, rising to 10,456 feet (3,187 meters) in southern South Sudan were part of the Eastern Afro-montane ecosystem, rated by scientists as one of Africa's biodiversity hot spots.

These forests, it said, are homes to many endemic and possibly unique species, but scientists have yet to study the region's species.

Policy makers, however, say de-forestation remains a threat to forests, but absence of a forestry policy in the country worsens it.

“It is illegal to cut down trees in the forest reserves,” Beda Machar, the Agriculture and Forestry minister told a recent symposium.

But in the absence of laws, he admitted, deforestation will continue to negatively impact on the country's rain patterns and eco-system.

WCS's conservationists also cited the expansion of unregulated charcoal production along, allegedly involving several members of the South Sudanese army (SPLA).

“Illegal logging has occurred in and around Southern National Park and Lantoto National Park (involving Ugandans in complicity with local South Sudanese) and further illegal logging has been reported in forest reserves in the Yambio area,” it further notes.

But while South Sudan makes progress towards fully implementing the peace accord signed in August 2015, there is an urgent need for the Transitional Government of National Unity, State, and local stakeholders and international partners to work together to halt this exploitation crisis, secure the natural resource base for the future development of the country, and prevent further conflict, says WCS.

“The country is highly vulnerable to slipping into a situation in which various individuals and groups take advantage of the governance vacuum to engage in illegal and unsustainable activities plundering and destroying the natural resource base,” conservationists warned.

“This risks exacerbating corruption, armed and political conflict, and undermining future development, and stability in the country”.

Edmund Yakani, an activist, called or full implementation of all wildlife, forestry, mining and the environmental laws of South Sudan.

“Sustainable peace and development will only become a reality if the nation's natural assets are secured, conserved and sustainably utilised for the development of the country and its citizens,” he said.

The country's Imatong forests, experts say, have been heavily degraded and deforested, and Mount Dongotomea is now bearing the brunt of clearing that threatens to fragment the ecosystem further. The mountain's tree cover has reportedly been reduced by two-thirds since 1986, and, if deforestation in the area continues, the natural forests of will also disappear before the end of the decade.

However, as many people get involved in commercial agriculture, deforestation practices may be hard to control given the growing interest of foreign entities in South Sudan's large spans of land.

With more than a third of its population moderately or severely food insecure, South Sudan is among the most food insecure countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. FAO and World Food Program estimate that a significant proportion of the nation's population, as high as 33% in the lean season, depends on food aid to ensure a minimum level of nutritional intake.

(ST)

March 17, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese government Thursday decided to put an end to its open door policy for South Sudanese nationals fleeing the armed conflict in the neighbouring country and decided to treat them as foreigners.

South Sudanese refugees cook on an open fire at a camp run by the Sudanese Red Crescent Society in the western part of White Nile state, Sudan, on January 27, 2014 (Photo AFP/Ashraf Shazly)

The decision was announced following the weekly cabinet meeting chaired by President Omer al-Bashir. It ends the privilege of equal access to health services and education like the Sudanese citizens and possibility to enter and reside in Sudan without visa or residence permit.

The Sudanese government also decided to take all the necessary measures to establish and verify the identity of the South Sudanese nationals. Further it was decided to take legal measures against anyone who does not carry a passport and a visa.

When an armed conflict broke out in South Sudan, the Sudanese government refused to give the South Sudanese nationals the refugees status or to establish camps for them saying they are free to enter, reside and work in their former country and to receive health and education services.

The decision, at the time, was politically motivated and in harmony with Khartoum' policy hostile to the presence of foreign aid groups the establishment of refugee camps.

But very quickly, the Sudanese authorities to relocate the South Sudanese outside the capital Khartoum to the While Nile state near the border.

In line with the Cooperation Agreement of September 2012, Sudanese and South Sudanese can live and work in the two countries. But the protocol of the four freedoms is not yet implemented, and the South Sudanese nationals should also wait to get their identity documents from their government.

There are nearly 200,000 South refugees in Sudan following the eruption of conflict in South Sudan in December 2013. In addition there are some 300,000 who continue to reside in Sudan since the independence in 2011.

(ST)

March 15, 2016 (YAMBIO) – Communities in the greater Mundri region have asked the newly appointed governor of Amadi state to ensure peace and security are prioritized when he takes over office.

Amadi state governor Joseph Ngere Paciko (ST/File)

The governor of Amadi state, Joseph Ngere Paciko arrived in Mundri West county Monday, amidst of unconfirmed reports that his own people strongly opposed his appointment by President Salva Kiir.

Ngere, however, said he was determined to ensure peace was achieved in greater Mundri, forgive each other and reconcile to open a new page for the development of the newly-created state.

This example, he stressed, was shown to the people of Mundri when he unconditionally forgave unknown gunmen who attacked him and shot his leg at night as he traveled back home from a funeral.

The governor dismissed as false allegations that he was afraid to visit Mundri where his community reportedly threatened to end his life.

“The community of Mundri welcomes anybody,” he said, citing the huge numbers of political leaders, traditional leaders, youth and church leaders who showed up to witness his arrival into the region.

According to the governor, they toured the town and market after the rally and it was all calm and not chaotic as many have alleged.

He further asserted that meetings with security organs, military, youth, women, traditional leaders and the church leaders will continue to see how they could work together to bring total peace and harmony to the people of Mundri as long as he would continue to stay in his office from now, unless changes were made in his position.

In May last year, conflict erupted in Mundri between cattle keepers and farmers over grazing land and later involved the national army (SPLA) and the youth. Several people were reportedly killed including the executive director of Mundri, amidst lootings as thousands fled their homes to bushes and nearby areas for safety.

A recent report by the US-based Human Rights Watch faulted he South Sudanese military of allegedly committing crimes against civilians in Western Equatoria state, but the army denies these claims.

(ST)

March 17, 2016 (YEI) – Two people were killed and another wounded by unknown gunmen along Yei-Lainya highway on Tuesday, authorities said.

The Lainya county commissioner Augustino Kiri, March 16, 2016 (ST)

The Lainya county women association chairperson Ludia Mateyo said insecurity in the area had caused several murders, rape and many people were missing.

She attributed the worrying insecurity situation in Lainya county to the delays by the South Sudanese peace partners to establish the long-awaited Transition Government of National Unity (TGoNU).

A speedy implementation of the August 2015 peace agreement would immediately address the suffering of the citizens, Mateyo said.

“We as women in Lainya county are not able to go the forest to collect fire wood because two of our colleagues were raped by unknown men. Secondly two of our sons were killed”, she added.

The Lainya county commissioner, Augustino Kiri Gwolo confirmed the killings, but said security forces had been deployed to patrol the area.

He called on the population to cooperative with local authorities by availing information on suspicious movements of gunmen in the county.

“The security situation for the last few days is normal except the two incidents that happened the day before yesterday [Tuesday] and yesterday [Wednesday] between Kenyi and Limbe where two people were killed. Then the incident that happened at Yei-Lainya border at Limbe where a commercial car was attacked and one person was injured,” the commissioner told Sudan Tribune.

He added, “We are putting up security arrangements to protect the people. I have told both men and women to cooperate with the authorities in case they see unsuspicious movement of people and to inform us so that this incident does not repeat itself again”.

Commissioner Kiri appealed to the population to remain calm and support government in the implementation of the peace deal seeking to end the nation's over 20-month conflict.

(ST)

March 17, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese president, Salva Kiir, has approved a request by the chief of general staff of South Sudanese army, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), General Paul Malong Awan, to make a reshuffle in the top command of the army.

S Sudan's President Salva Kiir is received by Chief of General Staff of the SPLA Paul Malong Awan at the airport in Juba March 6, 2015 (Photo Reuters/Jok Solomun)

President Kiir, according to a circular given to all units, approved the changes sought by the chief of general staff to swap his deputies.

Awan, according to an administrative order announced on Wednesday, appointed Lieutenant General James Ajonga Mawut Ajonga as the deputy chief of general staff for administration and finance. General Ajonga replaced Lieutenant General Malual Ayom, who has been moved by the same order to the directorate of inspection.

Lieutenant General Thomas Cirillo Swaka has been moved from the directorate of training and appointed head of the directorate responsible for procurement and logistics management.

He replaced Lieutenant General Malek Reuben, who has been the head of directorate for training. Lieutenant General Mangar Buong was named the head of operations and Lieutenant General Bapiny Monytuil retained his previous assignment as the head of the directorate responsible for chief of general staff for moral and orientation.

No explanations for changes were made public. Several military figures attributed the cause of the administrative changes to a simmering friction between chief of general staff and some of his deputies over the manner in which he has been running the affairs of the army.

General Awan has registered interest in wanting to assemble a team of military officers loyal to him and for a very long time sought the approval of president Kiir, who is the commander in chief.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

March 17, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – Survival International (SI)‚ a global movement for the rights of indigenous tribal peoples has lodged complaint against an Italian giant construction company, Salini, over impacts of one of Ethiopia mega projects, the Gilgel Gibe III hydro power plant it has built.

The US$1.5 billion Gibe III project dam is expected to generate 1870 MW of electricity.

Survival said it has reported the Italian engineering giant Salini to the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) over the rights impacts to communities in Ethiopia and Kenya.

It also stressed that the construction of the controversial dam in Ethiopia's Omo River cuts off the Omo River's regular flooding‚ over which 100‚000 people rely on to water their crops and livestock and a further 100,000 depend on indirectly.

It said the dam project will eventually destroy the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people in Ethiopia and Kenya.

“Up to half a million people face starvation as a result of the dam Salini has constructed on the Omo River,” Survival said in a statement it issued on Monday.

According to experts, the dam project threatens Lake Turkana – the world's largest permanent desert lake – and disaster for the 300,000 people from tribes living along its shores.

Survival said Salini did not seek the consent of local people before building the dam, but claimed that an “artificial flood release” would compensate them for their losses. However, this promised flood never came and thousands of people now face starvation.

According to Survival, the region is one of the most important sites in early human evolution‚ and an area of exceptional biodiversity‚ with two World Heritage Sites and five national parks.

“The head of Kenya's conservation agency said last week that the dam is unleashing “one of the worst environmental disasters you can imagine.”

Stephen Corry of Survival international said “Salini has ignored crucial evidence‚ made false promises and ridden roughshod over the rights of hundreds of thousands of people.”

"Thousands are now facing starvation because Italy's largest contractor‚ and one of its best known companies‚ didn't think human rights were worth its time,” he said.

He said the real consequences of the Ethiopian government's devastating policies for its country's 'development'‚ which were “shamefully supported by western aid agencies like the UK's DFID and USAID”‚ are plain for all to see.

Stealing people's land and causing massive environmental destruction, he added, is not progress; it is a death sentence for tribal peoples.

Ethiopia has been facing massive protests from a number of international rights groups and environmental campaigners over the construction of the Gibe III dam project.

Groups like the International Rivers, Friends of Lake Turkana, The Oakland Institute, and other groups argued that no inclusive Environmental and Social Impact Assessment was made ahead of the construction and extensively campaigned for halt of the project.

According to the groups, Gibe III like those Gibe I and II diverts the flow of the Omo River in Ethiopia, which feeds 90% of Lake Turkana in Kenya and endangers the lake and tens of thousands of people from 17 ethnic groups who live in the Lower Omo Valley.

Despite huge pressure, Ethiopia however recently completed the Gibe which is the country's second largest hydro power plant after the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam; the horn of Africa's nation is building along the Nile River.

Gibe III, a 610 meter-long and 243 meter high roller-compacted concrete dam has power generation capacity of 1,870 Megawatt.

Ethiopia has dismissed allegations that its dam projects will cause environmental damage to populations in Ethiopia and Kenya.

Previously, Addis Ababa however said claims released by the rights groups are bogus. It further accused them of working for the interest of their western alleys.

(ST)

March 17, 2016 (KHARTOUM/JUBA) - A Sudanese presidential aide Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid on Thursday warned that his government may close the border with South Sudan if Juba continues its support to rebel groups in Darfur and the Two Areas.

Sudanese military personnel inspect the belongings of South Sudanese on the Sudanese border on 18 April 2014 (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

Following a meeting between President Omer al-Bashir with the head of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel, Hamid told reporters that the meeting touched on the continued support that Juba provides to Sudanese rebels groups.

"If the South Sudan does not stop supporting the insurgency we will have to take action to protect the country, even if it led to the closure of the border again," he said, adding "We are waiting for the implementation of the Cooperation Agreements signed with the South Sudan since 2012, so there will be no security problems between the two countries."

The renewal of accusations comes after reports in Khartoum about meetings in Juba between senior South Sudanese officials and SPLM-N leadership to discuss the needs of the Sudanese rebels who are facing a large scale military campaign in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

Last January, President Omer al-Bashir announced the opening of border with South Sudan for the first time since its secession in July 2011. Also it reduced oil transportation fees and decided to open river transport with the South Sudan.

According to the official news agency SUNA, the governor of White Nile state Abdel Hamid Kasha on Wednesday called for the withdrawal of the South Sudanese troops from the border with Sudan, adding that the presence of the SPLA soldiers hinders Khartoum's decision to open the border.

Kasha made his statement during a meeting with an American diplomat from the Office of the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan who visited the border state where are the camps of South Sudanese refugees.

In a statement he issued on 26 January, President Salva Kiir instructed to withdraw South Sudan army units on the border with Sudan, to "at least five miles south of our common borders of 1st January 1956, in accordance with our commitment to the terms of The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2005 with Khartoum”.

SPLA TROOPS ARE AT 1 KM

However the top command of the South Sudanese army on Thursday denied the accusations of failing to implement the presidential order.

“That order has been complied with long time ago. Our forces have been withdrawn more than 1 kilometre away from the common border with Sudan but they want us to go beyond that, which has security concerns,” South Sudanese presidential advisor on security affairs, Tut Gatluak, told Sudan Tribune on Thursday when asked to comment on the matter.

Gatluak said the government was concerned that “negative and hostile” rebel forces could take advantage of movement away from the common border and may use the area for activities which may compromise security between the two countries.

The new deputy chief of general staff for finance and administration, Lieutenant General James Ajonga Mawut Ajonga, also confirmed that government forces have complied with the order after the army's chief of general staff, Paul Malong Awan, sent out to all units at the border with Sudan to act in compliance with the order of the president.

“In the army, there is a culture of command, order and comply, which is the guiding doctrine world over for the military. When the office of the commander in chief issued the directives, the chief of general staff received it and acted immediately. He issued instructions to all the units and our troops at the common border with Sudan and they complied,” said Ajonga.

Sudan closed its border with the South Sudan in June 2011, one month before the formal declaration of independence.

At the time, the decision intervened days after the start of a rebellion in the South Kordofan by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N). Khartoum accused Juba of supporting the former members of the ruling party in South Sudan.

(ST)

March 16, 2016 (MUNDRI) – Military media officials of armed opposition faction based in the South Sudan's greater Mundri of Amadi state (former Western Equatoria state) have accused the government of planning to attack their positions in further violation of the ceasefire agreement signed in August last year.

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

“The Governor of Amadi State has this morning demanded the commander of SPLA-Juba in Mundri Barracks to issue an order to despatch three trucks full of SPLA Juba military from Mundri towards Bari to fight the SPLA\M IO forces in their assembly area and to proceed to Medewu, Ladingwa and up to Bangolo,” alleged a press statement signed by Baya Kayidri, the official Reporter of SPLA-IO, Division 9, Sector 5 in Western Equatoria state.

Kayidri said the aim of the government was to dislodge the opposition forces from their assembly point and have a permanent military deployment at Bari and areas far beyond Medewu.

“These are very unfortunate situations as it indicates that he [governor] is perusing war instead of focusing on the implementation of the signed peace agreement,” he said in the statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Wednesday.

He warned that the action will cause more humanitarian suffering among the civilian populations in these areas of targets.

“We therefore urge the JMEC and the CTSAMM to take note of these planned violation and advise the governor to stop all military activities in Greater Mundri counties and focus on the implementation of the signed peace agreement.”

He said the forces in Greater Mundri, originally Arrow Boys, are officially part and parcel of the SPLM-IO under the leadership of the first vice president designate, Riek Machar, and therefore have been covered by the ceasefire agreement.

He however added that it is unfortunate that civilians in these areas have suffered when the SPLA-Juba attacked the cantonment sites of the SPLA-IO early last month which resulted into cases like houses burnt and properties looted with majority of the populations remained displaced.

“Therefore, these second operation by SPLA Juba forces on SPLA IO is going to result to more looting of civilian properties, burning of houses, killing of innocent civilians and more displacement, which will affect more women, children and elderly men and women as they will be forced to run to bush again and suffer just as they have started suffering,” he further lamented.

JMEC and the UN, he said, should note that the current military operation by the government will hinder delivery of humanitarian aid to the suffering populations in those areas, adding the governor must be stopped from his “aggressive actions.”

(ST)

March 16, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – The leader of the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO), Riek Machar, also the South Sudanese first vice president designate, has issued a message of condolences to the family of late Professor Bari Wani, who passed on in the national capital, Addis Ababa.

Prof Arkangelo Bari Wanji (ST File Photo)

“On behalf of the SPLM/SPLA-IO and my own behalf, I am sending my deepest condolences to you for the loss of my long time comrade in struggle, friend and humble citizen of our beloved country, Prof Bari Wanji,” partly reads the message signed by Machar and extended to Sudan Tribune on Wednesday.

“Words cannot express my sorrow and grief in this hour of morning,” he said, adding “Our thoughts and prayers shall be with you in this difficult time.”

Wanji, a member of the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and a former chairman of specialized Committee for Finance and Economic affairs in the National Legislative Assembly, died on Monday in the national capital, Juba.

He was also a chairman of Public Accounts Committee in Sudanese government in Khartoum before South Sudan broke away and established an independent state in July 2011.

Late Wanji who was born in 1936 died at the age of 80, according to his family sources.

Wanji hails from Golo ethnic community in Wau county of Western Bahr el Ghazal state. He was elected to the parliament in Juba in 2010.

The late has been suffering from illness for a long time which resulted to his demise.

A family member told Sudan Tribune on Tuesday that the South Sudan national parliament administration was in contact with them for arrangements over the preparations for his burial in Wau, his home town.

Meanwhile, South Sudan president, Salva Kiir, has described Wanji's death as a great loss to the people of South Sudan, “not only the people of Wau state.”

CONDOLENCES FOR IVORY COAST ATTACK

The South Sudanese first vice president designate also sent a condolence message to the President of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, for the recent terrorist attack in his country which left at least 16 people dead, when terrorist suspected to be affiliated to the Al-Qaeda bombed Bassam Grand Resort.

“Your Excellency, it is with deep sorrow and sadness that I am sending you this message of condolences for the victims of the terror attack on the Bassam Grand Resort that has left 16 people dead,” reads the message from Machar.

“We condemn in the strongest term possible this horrific and terrible act by the terrorists Al-Qaeda affiliated group…My thoughts and prayers are with the families of victims and the entire population of the peace loving people of Ivory Coast,” he said.

He said the “SPLM/SPLA-IO and the South Sudanese in general” stood with the country in the terrible tragedy.

(ST)

March 16, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The head of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) Thabo Mbeki Wednesday has invited a newly formed opposition coalition to take part in an informal and inclusive consultations meeting with the government on the national dialogue process.

AUHIP's Thabo Mbeki talks to reporters after a meeting with Sudanese president Omer al-Bashir on national dialogue in Khartoum on 10 September 2014 (SUNA)

As scheduled, Mbeki arrived to Khartoum on Wednesday where he met with the national dialogue body known as (7+7) committee. Also, he met with the opposition Futures Forces of Change (FFC) that was established on 24 February

The former South African president is expected to meet with President Omer al-Bashir and the government negotiating delegation on Thursday before to fly to Addis Ababa where he organizes a meeting between the government and some holdout armed and political opposition groups on Friday.

In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, the FFC, which is mainly composed of dissident members of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), said they accepted to take part in this meeting to discuss the confidence building measures necessary for an equal dialogue.

"The African mechanism delegation proposed to the alliance of the Futures Forces of Change to hold a meeting, organized by the AUHIP, with the government side to discuss and find solutions to the issues raised (with him)".

"The Futures Forces of Change accepted the AUHIP proposal, in support of the peace efforts," it further added.

The FFC delegation led by Ghazi Salah al-Din Attabani discussed with Mbeki ''The failure to create a conducive environment for the dialogue, the absence of key players, the lack of commitment to the road map, which was endorsed by the (National Dialogue) General Assembly and the Addis Ababa agreement; and the government's attempts to divide the opposition and creating more than a (parallel) negotiation track".

Based on an initiative launched by al-Bashir two years ago for a national dialogue, Mebki seeks to bring all the Sudanese parties to the negotiating table to discuss an agreement ending armed conflicts and paves the road for democratic reforms.

Up to date, the warring parties failed to reach a cessation of hostilities agreement. In addition, The government and the opposition groups didn't strike a deal on how to organize the national dialogue or to define its goals.

Following their meeting with the AUHIP chief, the government spokesperson Ahmed Balal Osman said they briefed the chief mediator about the ongoing dialogue conference in Khartoum and told him that they endorsed many measures aiming to ensure freedoms and create a suitable atmosphere in the country.

A 7+7 member Osman Abu Almajd stated that Mbeki promised to organize a meeting between the holdout opposition groups and the dialogue coordination mechanism.

After the FFC meeting, Attabani told reporters that the consultations will be convened inside the country and without previous agenda.

He further said the meeting will include all the Sudanese parties, but no date has yet been determined.

The former presidential adviser said they informed Mbeki that they want a "dialogue that does not exclude anybody".

MBEKI DIDN'T MEET NCF

However, the leader of left opposition alliance National Consensus Forces (NCF) Farouk Abu Issa Wednesday said the African Union mediator didn't ask to meet them.

"Mbeki kept saying that the National Consensus Forces are not willing to participate in the dialogue. But this is not true because the NCF met him more than ten times during his frequent visits to Sudan and gave him about six memos in which the NCF clearly stated they are willing to participate in a genuine and productive dialogue," Abu Issa said.

"(Such dialogue) requires the creation of a conducive environment by stopping war, allowing humanitarian access, and the release of political detainees and prisoners. Furthermore, the dialogue should lead to a transitional government and the dismantling of one-party state," he stressed.

The African Union mediators believe that the NCF forces have a radical stance against the regime and want to dictate some preconditions before to join the process.

However, the SPLM-N sees the NCF as its strategic ally and repeats they will refuse a dialogue excluding the left parties.

(ST)

March 16, 2016 (WAU) – Lawmakers in South Sudan's Western Bahr el Ghazal state assembly, at its third sitting on Tuesday, elected Anyar Anyar Dor and Viola Omely as speaker and the deputy respectively.

Dor, who hails from Marial Bai payam of Jur River county, replaces Mario Nyibang John. Nyibang was controversially-elected two years.

On the other hand, the deputy speaker from Wau county, replaces Mary Emilio Bafuka.

Speaking during the swearing in ceremony in Wau town on Tuesday, Anyar said the state assembly would mainly focus on the state's security situation as well as the implementation of last year's peace deal between government and the armed opposition.

“Our country is going through hard time and facing gigantic confronts on the issue of insecurity," said Anyar.

“We need work to guarantee that the security situation is stabile, peace is implemented throughout the region and that the warring parties recently restore trust between ourselves, and fabricate the social framework," he stressed.

Meanwhile, all the 32 members of the newly established Wau state parliament took oath on Tuesday in the presence of the state chief justice and Governor Elias Waya Nyipuoch.

(ST)

March 16, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Vice-President Hasabo Mohamed Abdel-Rahman Wednesday discussed with the British Ambassador to Khartoum Michael Aron bilateral ties between the two countries besides Sudan's dialogue and peace processes.

Vice-president Hasabo Mohamed Abdel-Rahman

Abdel-Rahman urged the United Kingdom government to take positive stances during the upcoming round of talks with the rebel groups in order to achieve peace and stability in Sudan.

For his part, Aron told reporters following the meeting that the head of the African department at the British Foreign and Commonwealth office would visit Sudan on Sunday to initiate a new strategic dialogue with Khartoum.

He added the British official will meet with Sudan's foreign minister Ibrahim Ghandour besides other Sudanese officials.

The British ambassador expressed his country's readiness to support efforts to achieve peace in Sudan, pointing to the visit of the African mediation Thabo Mbeki to Khartoum on Wednesday.

He stressed the importance for holding a comprehensive national dialogue, expressing optimism over the results of the upcoming talks between the government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in Addis Ababa.

The Sudanese army has been fighting SPLM-N rebels in Blue Nile and South Kordofan since 201.

Last November the two warring parties failed to reach cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access agreements, as the five-day talks showed that important gaps persist in the positions of the two sides.

A Strategic Consultations Meeting between the two parties under the auspices of the African mediation would kick off on Friday in Addis Ababa to resume negotiations for peace and democratic reforms.

(ST)