Sudan Tribune

October 27, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - One Sudanese person was killed and four others injured by Libyan gunmen, said the head of the programme on curbing illegal migration among the Sudanese community in Libya, Malik Mohamed Salih

A Libyan rebel fighter arrives to take position at Misrata's western front line, some 25 kilometres from the city centre May 26, 2011 (Reuters)

Media reports last week said Libyan merchants have taken 5 Sudanese people hostages in Kufra demanding the Sudanese authorities to release 14 trucks confiscated on the border area.

According to Salih, Libyan gunmen have intercepted these people as they were heading from the Qatrion town in Libya to Sudan on private vehicles last week.

Salih on Saturday said the Libyan gunmen have opened fire on the hostages killing one instantly and wounding four others, pointing out that two of them have sustained serious injuries.

He pointed those two hostages have been rushed to Sabha Hospital for treatment while the rest of the group are still in Qatrion.

Following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's 40-year-rule in 2011, Libya has slid into chaos and has become the most important transit country for illegal migrants to Europe.

In May 2016, Khartoum proposed to establish a joint force to monitor the common borders between Sudan and Libya to curb the movement of Darfur rebels and fight against illegal migration and terror groups.

(ST)

October 27, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The leaders of Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) Gibril Ibrahim and Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) Minni Minnawi slammed a call for sanction against another rebel leader in Darfur and urged the Security Council to not respond to this request.

In a briefing to the Security Council on 22 October, the head of the African Union-United Nation Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and Joint Chief Mediator Jeremiah Mamabolo said the Abdel Wahid al-Nur persists in his rejection to participate in the peace process and called for sanctions against him.

" It is highly unlikely that he would change this position any time soon. The Security Council may wish to consider stem measures against the SLA leader," Mamabolo added.

"JEM and SLM strongly condemn the recommendation to the UN Security Council made by the Joint UN African Chief Mediator, Ambassador Jeremiah Kensley Mamabolo, to impose sanctions against Comrade Abdel Wahid Mohammed Ahmed al-Nur, head of the SLM/A," said a joint statement issued on Saturday.

The Gibril and Minnawi further pointed out that Mambolo as the chief mediator has no mandate to seek sanctions against a party to the conflict.

"Taking such an initiative indicates that the mediator is weak and lacks innovative means of communicating with all parties to the conflict, understanding their positions and persuading them of the importance of their participation in the peace process," said the joint statement.

"Accordingly, the Sudan Liberation Movement (Minnawi) and the Justice and Equality Movement recommend to the UN Security Council not to adopt this disappointing recommendation, which will not contribute to peace in Sudan," stressed the statement.

The SLM leader refuses to take part in the peace talks demanding that the consequences of the conflict be repaired by the government first before to engage in a political process to address the root causes of the conflict.

The return of IDPs to their areas of origin, accountability for the war crimes and compensations for the victims, are among the demands he made.

In the past, the Security Council put aside such calls for sanctions against al-Nur made by the Sudanese government. But this is the first time that the matter was discussed by the African Union Peace and Security Council and raised by the chief mediator.

After the recent downsizing of the hybrid peacekeeping force and the planned withdrawal of the mission in 2020, the 15 member-body is more insisting on the need for the armed group to conclude a political agreement with Khartoum after 15 of war in Darfur.

In a speech before the Security Council on 22 November, the Ethiopian Ambassador blamed the Darfur armed groups for the gap between the improvement in the security situation and the delay in the political settlement of the conflict.

"The Darfur rebel groups show no meaningful interest in ensuring peace in Darfur. They are amassing huge benefits from criminal activities in neighbouring states and have no real incentive to pursue peace," he said.

The SLM-Minnawi and the JEM are part of a peace process brokered by the African Union. The peace talks are expected to resume soon as the mediators have recently asked the parties to prepare for the talks.

(ST)

October 27, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The exchange rate of the U.S. dollar on Saturday went up to 53,00 Sudanese pound (SDG) on the black market.

Earlier this month, The Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS), formed a body of bankers and exchange bureaus to set the official exchange rate on daily basis.

The move was part of a package of financial and monetary measures designed to tackle the deepening economic crisis in the east African nation.

The government body on Saturday set the purchase price of the U.S. dollar at 47,00 Sudanese pounds while the selling price was put at 47,23 pounds.

Traders speaking to Sudan Tribune Saturday in central Khartoum said the purchase price of the U.S. dollar through cheques has reached 53,00 pounds while the cash purchase was 50,00 pounds.

It is noteworthy that due to the lack of liquidity in the banks, U.S. dollar carries two prices on the black market. The purchase price by cheques is usually higher than the cash price.

The same traders said the demand for the dollar has continued to increase despite the recent government measures, pointing to customers' lack of trust in the banking system.

They added the security services have carried out large arrest campaigns against money traders in an attempt to curb the rise in dollar price.

Last February, the government introduced a number of measures to curb the rise in dollar price including limiting cash withdrawal from banks to absorb liquidity, cracking down on black market Forex traders and restricting imports.

Economic conditions in Sudan have been challenging since the secession of South Sudan in 2011 and the loss of the bulk of oil production and exports.

The withdrawal of South Sudan oil has compounded the difficult external environment, including debt arrears, limited access to external financing, U.S. sanctions, and the withdrawal of correspondent bank relations.

The most recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report indicated that Sudan's gross international reserves remained very low in 2017 ($1.1 billion, 1¾ months of imports).

(ST)

October 26, 2018 (JUBA) - South Sudan's main opposition force SPLM-IO has accused government forces of resuming attacks on their positions in Yei River State a day after claims of attacks in Western Bahr el-Ghazal.

Lam Paul Gabriel

In a short statement, he released on Friday Lam Paul Gabriel said government troops launched an "offensive against the SPLA IO in Kendiri, Kajo-Keji County".

He added that the fighting started at about 7:20 AM of 26 October and vowed to give further details later.

The South Sudanese peace partners held several meetings on how to bring troops and uncontrolled elements from both sides to abide by the cessation of hostilities and to stop attacks on civilians as well.

But still, they continue to trade accusations of attacks and call on the ceasefire monitoring body to investigate the attacks.

Also, the delay in the implementation of the security arrangements, encourage local commanders to attack other positions before the cantonment and disengagement of troops and the deployment of IGAD military observers.

On Wednesday, Gabriel said the government forces attacked their position of Limuro in Yei River State, adding that civilians fled the area to refugees camps in Uganda.

The SPLM-IO official further accused the government army of attacking their position in Bazila and Baggri County of Western Bahr el-Ghazal. The soldiers according to Gabriel captured three civilians in Ngovendeko area after looting and burning houses.

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October 26, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's State Foreign Minister Osama Faisal and Italy's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Emanuela Del Re, have discussed ways to promote bilateral relations between the two countries.

The two ministers have met on the sidelines of the second Italy-Africa Ministerial Conference which has convened Thursday in the Italian Capital, Rome.

The meeting discussed a number of issues of common concern besides the trade, economic, development, cultural and technical cooperation between the two countries.

Also, the two sides discussed the latest political developments pertaining to Sudan's neighbouring countries as well as the Horn of Africa region.

For her part, Del Re has praised Sudan's efforts to resolve regional issues under the auspices of the regional bloc, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

On the other hand, Faisal briefed the Italian minister on the recent developments in Sudan's internal issues, pointing to the national dialogue and the 2020 presidential elections.

He also pointed to recent economic reform policies and the government's efforts to overcome the economic hardships that had adversely impacted on the Sudanese people.

Last year, the third Sudanese-Italian economic and investment forum was held in Rome with the participation of 135 Italian companies.

Also, the Sudanese-Italian political consultations committee in July 2017 held its fourth meeting in Rome discussing joint cooperation in the various domains.

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October 26, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) has asked the Sudanese parties to hand over their position papers to resume the Two Areas talks, reported the semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) on Friday

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

Meanwhile, the government spokesperson Bishara Aror told the SMC that the government is committed to the Roadmap Agreement (RMA), expressing readiness to resume the Two Areas talks with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N)

He expected the parties to reach a political settlement and achieve peace before the end of the year.

On the other hand, the SMC has quoted sources as saying the AUHIP chief Thabo Mbeki would meet with the leader of the SPLM-N al-Hilu, Abdel-Aziz Adam al-Hilu, in Addis Ababa soon to discuss the resumption of the peace talks.

The same sources pointed out that Mbeki would also meet with the rest of the RMA signatories.

In March and August 2016, the Sudanese government and the opposition alliance Sudan Call respectively signed an RMA for peace in Sudan proposed by the AUHIP.

The RMA provides that the warring parties end the war, negotiate a peace agreement and together with the opposition political groups hold a preparatory conference before to return to Sudan and participate in the national dialogue process and a constitutional conference.

However, the parties failed to strike a cessation of hostilities deal and a humanitarian access agreement in Darfur and the Two Areas for different reasons. As a result, the government held its national dialogue conference and formed a national consensus government to implement its recommendations.

Last month, Mbeki, sent a letter to the parties proposing to amend RMA, stressing that conditions have changed in the country and the opposition should be flexible

He proposed that after the peace agreements, the parties move directly to the constitutional conference with the participation of the opposition groups without the preparatory meeting for a national dialogue conference.

The Sudanese government accepted Mbeki's proposed amendments but the Sudan Call rejected the proposal and reaffirmed its adherence to the initial peace plan.

(ST)

October 26, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir on Sunday would visit Turkey accompanied with a senior ministerial delegation, said the Khartoum-based Akhir Lahza newspaper on Friday

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and President Omer al-Bashir shake hands on 13 December 2017 (ST Photo)

According to the newspaper, al-Bashir would travel to Turkey on an extraordinary two-day visit accompanied with senior officials from the presidency and the foreign ministry.

Al-Bashir and the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, would hold a joint summit to discuss bilateral relations and the latest regional developments.

The Turkish-Sudanese relations have reached a high level, especially after President Erdogan visit to Sudan last December.

During Erdogan's visit to Khartoum, the two sides signed 12 cooperation agreements and agreed to launch a strategic partnership covering agriculture, industry, minerals and health.

They also approved the establishment of a higher political committee headed by the two presidents, saying the committee would annually meet in Khartoum and Ankara alternately.

The two sides agreed to raise trade exchange between the two countries to $1 billion within one year to reach $10 billion in the future.

According to a report issued by the Sudanese Ministry of Investment, the volume of Turkish investments in Sudan amounted to 2 billion dollars from 2000 to 2017.

It further indicates that there are 288 Turkish investment projects in the east African country.

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October 26, 2018 (JUBA) - South Sudanese peace celebrations have been delayed by one day to take place on 31 October, the minister of information Michael Makuei announced on Friday.

Minister Makuei announced the delay following the weekly cabinet meeting saying technical issues triggered the sudden delay.

"The government has decided that the celebration should be pushed for a day, but it will be on Oct. 31. This is to give a chance for any technical work which is incomplete, to allow it to be completed so that the celebration comes out the way we expected," he said.

The minister added that there are many other occasions that take place on the same day as the independence of Turkey and a European Union meeting to which many African leaders are invited.

The celebrations intend to show South Sudanese that war is over, in a way to contribute to creating a suitable atmosphere for the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.

The IGAD and the international community encouraged the South Sudanese leaders to make public statements and meetings together to send a positive message across the country about the commitment of the peace partners to the signed pact.

Despite his formal demands for three confidence-building measures, the SPLM-IO leader Riek Machar is expected to attend the celebrations as he would be with the peace grantors and the government pledged to take draconian security measures.

Unconfirmed reports Khartoum say Machar would come with the Sudanese President to Juba and return with him.

The South Sudanese government extended the invitation for this event to the IGAD leader and some African leaders such as the Rwandan president who is the chairperson of the African Union and the South African and Tanzanian presidents.

(ST)

Atta brings a résumé with the least appropriate background imaginable for a regime seeking to whitewash a record of corruption, repression, genocide, terrorism, and discrimination.

By John Prendergast

Over the last two years, Sudan has engaged in a charm offensive aimed at normalizing its relations with the United States. Despite its president being indicted for genocidal crimes by the International Criminal Court and his regime having a long history of support for terrorist organizations going back to the creation of al Qaeda, Sudan has successfully lobbied the Obama and Trump administrations to lift comprehensive sanctions.

Emboldened by this diplomatic victory, which cost the regime almost nothing in terms of substantive policy change, the regime has turned its attention to convincing Washington to remove it from the State Sponsors of Terror List, which will enable it to receive billions of dollars in debt relief.

To lead that effort and head its embassy in Washington, Sudan sent General Mohamed Atta, the former chief of the notorious National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), who has arrived with no fanfare in Washington to embark on this new assignment.

His entrance was quiet for a reason.

General Atta, who is not related to the Egyptian with the same name who led the 9/11 attacks, brings a résumé that nonetheless represents the least appropriate track record imaginable for a regime seeking to whitewash the reputation of a government steeped in corruption, repression, genocide, terrorism, and religious and racial discrimination.

Under Gen. Atta, NISS has been deployed in the regime's arrest and persecution of Christian priests, churchgoers, and other religious and ethnic minorities, operating jails and secret detention facilities where systematic torture and abuse of detainees are routine.

Atta also had command responsibility for Sudan's Rapid Support Forces, a brutal security-military unit built from the infamous Janjaweed militias responsible for mass atrocities in Darfur. He is responsible for using these recycled Janjaweed militiamen for the violent suppression of civil protests in September 2013 which led to the killing of more than 200 peaceful demonstrators, many of them school children. As such, Atta's CV is directly part of the Sudanese regime's history of war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and genocide.

Today, the U.S. is fully aware that Sudan is harbouring radical Islamist clerics and groups that openly advocate violent extremism, indoctrinating Sudanese youth to the ideologies of the so-called Islamic State and al Qaeda. Hardliners within the regime are directly implicated in recruiting youth and secretly sending them to fight for the two terrorist organizations and their affiliates elsewhere in Africa, Syria, Iraq, and beyond.

Atta, as the head of NISS, has been working at the very center of activities that give the lie to its repeated promises of cooperation with the U.S. in the war on terror. Leaked internal documents have revealed that NISS adeptly assumes the double agent role by, on the one hand, cooperating with and enabling these terror groups, while on the other hand occasionally blowing the whistle on them to NISS counterparts in the U.S. intelligence community.

It is shocking that anyone would even entertain the idea of removing the Sudan regime from the State Sponsors of Terror List.

Just this summer, the State Department alerted U.S. citizens to reconsider travel to Sudan, warning that “Terrorist groups continue plotting attacks in Sudan, especially in Khartoum… [and] have stated their intent to harm Westerners and Western interests through suicide operations, bombings, shootings, and kidnappings.” Some of these groups and clerics are supported or enabled by the Sudan regime, in particular by the NISS under Atta.

The regime in Khartoum has remained brazenly committed to enabling extremist groups and terrorist organizations and continues its war against its own people, including a recent escalation of attacks against civilians in Darfur and the brutal oppression of Christians and other minority groups across the country.

Sudan's selection for the face of its D.C. charm offensive is worse than tone-deaf, it's a shocking affront to Americans who care about human dignity and religious freedom. The Trump administration should immediately revoke Atta's diplomatic visa and put him on a plane back to Khartoum. And Congress should send a strong signal to the administration and to the Sudanese regime that sending such representatives and continuing such actions should ensure that Sudan remains firmly on the terrorist list until there is real change in Sudan.

John Prendergast is Founding Director of the Enough Project and Co-Founder of The Sentry.

October 17, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir on Wednesday has named Ambassador Jamal El-Shiekh as special envoy for peace in South Sudan.

Speaking to the diplomats at Foreign Ministry headquarters, al-Bashir said South Sudan's peace would positively impact on Sudan and the region in general, describing it as “significant move towards achieving comprehensive peace in Sudan”.

He pointed out that Foreign Minister El-Dirdeiry Mohamed Ahmed has tackled South Sudan's peace file with “knowledge and wisdom” which contributed to the signing of the peace deal in the world's newest nation.

Al-Bashir added that Ambassador Jamal El-Shiekh has been appointed as special envoy for peace in South Sudan to follow up on the implementation of the peace agreement on the ground.

South Sudan became an independent country on 9 July 2011 after decades of war, lengthy negotiations and a referendum to secede from neighbouring Sudan. Two and a half years later, armed conflict broke out between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those allied to his then deputy Riek Machar.

However, in August 2015, the two main parties in the conflict agreed a peace deal and later formed a transitional unity government with President Kiir at the helm and Machar as one of his two deputies.

Renewed again fighting broke out in July 2016 with heavy clashes in the capital Juba and other parts of the nation forcing Machar to flee.

On September 12, the South Sudanese rebel leader signed in Khartoum a peace agreement with the government aimed at ending a five-year civil war, which killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions.

October 17, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese Army's Chief of General Staff Kamal Abdel-Marouf has renewed his country's keenness to exert further efforts to promote peace, security and stability in the African continent.

Abdel-Marouf has arrived in Washington last week at the invitation of the Chairperson of Joint Chiefs of Staff of USA, General Joseph Dunford, to participate in a meeting on counter-terrorism organized by the U.S. Army.

On Tuesday, Abdel-Marouf met with Dunford, in the presence of the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley.

He thanked Dunford for extending the invitation to him to participate in the conference, saying it offered a good opportunity to discuss the future of joint cooperation between the two countries.

Abdel-Marouf also pointed to the upcoming second phase of dialogue between Sudan and the U.S., saying his visit to Washington would enhance military diplomacy and political efforts aiming at achieving full normalization of bilateral ties.

He expressed his country's readiness to activate the joint work with the U.S. particularly on combating terrorism and protecting borders.

For his part, Dunford said Sudan's participation in the conference was crucial to his country, pointing to Sudan's regional roles and its geographic location as well as the importance of issues discussed during the conference.

In April 2017, Sudan participated for the first time in the meeting of the United States Africa Command known as "AFRICOM". At the time, the Sudanese army Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Emad al-Din Mustafa Adawi took part in a meeting of AFRICOM chiefs of general staff in Stuttgart, Germany.

On Wednesday 19 September, the U.S. State Department released its report on terrorism which has kept Sudan on the list of states sponsoring terrorism. However, Washington said Khartoum remains a partner in the counter-terrorism.

After the left of economic sanctions on Sudan in October 2017, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, John Sullivan, was in Khartoum in November of the same year to launch the second phase of the normalization process and pointed to the need for reforms on human rights and religious freedom.

The east African nation was placed on the U.S. terrorism list in 1993 over allegations it was harbouring Islamist militants working against regional and international targets.

(ST)

October 16, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir and South Africa's Deputy-President David Dabede Mabuza Tuesday have discussed the implementation of South Sudan's revitalized peace agreement.

Deputy President David Mabuza (Photo S African Presidency)

Al-Bashir on Tuesday received Mabuza at his office in the Guest House in the presence of the State Foreign Minister Osama Faisal.

In press statements following the meeting, Mabuza said they discussed the significant efforts exerted by Sudan to achieve a comprehensive peace agreement among South Sudan's warring parties.

He pointed out to the significant progress being made in South Sudan's peace that was recently hosted by Khartoum under the auspices of the regional bloc IGAD.

Mabuza further underscored his country's support to efforts of President al-Bashir and the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and other leaders of the region to achieve peace in South Sudan.

The official news agency SUNA reported that the visiting South African senior official met with the First Vice President Bakri Hassan Saleh to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries.

South Africa, together with Tanzania, sought in the past to bring peace in South Sudan through the reunification of the historical Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in what is known as Arusha process which had been concluded by the signing of an agreement on 21 January 2015.

Before his arrival in Khartoum on Monday, Mabuza was in Juba for talks with President Salva Kiir on the implementation of South Sudan revitalized peace agreement.

After Khartoum, he travelled heading to Kampala for a meeting with President Yoweri Museveni on South Sudanese peace implementation.

South Sudan became an independent country on 9 July 2011 after decades of war, lengthy negotiations and a referendum to secede from neighbouring Sudan. Two and a half years later, armed conflict broke out between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those allied to his then deputy Riek Machar.

However, in August 2015, the parties to the conflict signed a peace deal and later formed a transitional unity government with President Kiir at the helm and Machar as one of his two deputies.

Renewed again fighting broke out in July 2016 with heavy clashes in the capital Juba and other parts of the nation forcing Machar to flee.

On September 12, the South Sudanese rebel leader signed a peace agreement with the government aimed at ending a five-year civil war, which killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions.

October 16, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The opposition alliance Sudan Call 's foreign relations official, Yasir Arman, rejected criticism of opposition forces involved in the efforts for a comprehensive settlement saying 'it does not deserve to apologize to anyone."

SPLM-N Yasir Arman (L) in a private discussion on the contentious issues with government chief negotiators Amin Hassan Omer (R) and Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid at the venue of the talks in Addis Ababa,on November 22, 2015 (ST Photo)

Sudanese opposition parties of the National Consensus Forces (NCF) have expressed strong reservations towards what they call "soft landing" in reference to a process brokered by the African Union for peace and reforms in Sudan, involving the government and the opposition groups of the Sudan Call.

"Peace should be the end of every war and the best way to solve Sudan's current wars is through a comprehensive political settlement and a just peace," Arman wrote in an opinion article on Tuesday.

"The search for a comprehensive political settlement and a just peace does not worth apologizing to anyone, it is a strategic issue (...). The challenge we have always faced is how to avoid partial solutions."

He explained that the current division in the SPLM-North occurred due to their adherence to a comprehensive solution and not to limit the process to the Two Areas.

"During (15) round of negotiations and three informal meetings we stuck to the comprehensive solution," stressed the deputy chairperson of the SPLM-N led by Malik Agar.

He further stressed that whoever questions the positions of the armed movements engaged in direct or regional contacts or through the African Union mediation and the international community is "unaware of the nature of the war and the nature of those movements and the interests of civilians in their regions"

The NCF forces and the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) recently escalated a campaign against the Sudan Call as the African Union chief mediator Thabo Mbeki proposed to review a peace roadmap signed in 2016.

The SCP and its allies also pointed out the "negative role" played by the armed groups saying resorting to violence enabled the regime to crack down the popular mobilization to overthrow the regime.
However, he called for the unity of purpose and the coordination of means to achieve change and democratic reforms in Sudan.

"The opposition is different in its political, social, geographical and cultural composition and uses different means. So it cannot be limited to follow one of the chiefdoms, but we need the flexibility to mobilize their energies and coordination among them," he said.

Arman also welcomed the announced return to Khartoum of the Sudan Call leader Sadiq al-Mahdi by the end of the year.

"He will return not only as head of the National Umma party but as the chairman of the Sudan Call," he said adding "His return must be welcomed by all the national forces and any action taken by the regime against him must be resisted."

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October 16, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) on Tuesday said it handed over two policing centres at IDPs camps to the Sudanese government as part of the exit strategy.

“On 14 October 2018 UNAMID officially handed over two Community Policing Centers (CPC) at Ottash and Dreij internally displaced persons' camps in Nyala, South Darfur to the Government of Sudan” read a statement from the Mission on Tuesday

The statement pointed out that “the handover is part of the Mission's ongoing reconfiguration and gradual exit from Darfur, as mandated by UN Security Council Resolution 2429”.

A tripartite working group including the Sudanese government, African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) has been set up in February 2015 to develop an exit strategy for the UNAMID from Darfur.

In June 2017, the AU and the UN decided to draw down the UNAMID by withdrawing the military personnel by 44% and that of the police component by 30%, the closure of 11 team sites in the first phase and the withdrawal of the military component from another 7 team sites in the second phase.

The UN Security Council (UNSC) admitted that the security situation in Darfur has improved but it decided to reinforce its presence in the mountainous area of Jebel Marra because there is no cessation of hostilities as a Sudan Liberation Movement faction led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur (SLM-AW) refuses to declare a unilateral truce or to engage in peace negotiations.

Last July, the UNSC unanimously decided to extend for one year the mandate of the UNAMID and also to reduce the number of its troops in line with an exit strategy aiming to close the hybrid operation in two years.

The hybrid mission has been deployed in Darfur since December 2007 with a mandate to stem violence against civilians in western Sudan's region.

It is the world's second-largest international peacekeeping force with an annual budget of $1.35 billion and almost 20,000 troops. UN agencies estimate that over 300,000 people were killed in the Darfur conflict since 2003, and over 2.5 million are displaced.

(ST)

October 16, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Minister of Interior Ahmed Bilal Osman on Tuesday said the United States has granted $16 million to meet the needs of refugees in Sudan.

The semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) has quoted Osman as saying he met with the U.S. delegation on the sidelines of the 69th session of the Executive Committee of UN Higher Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva.

He pointed out that he briefed the U.S. delegation on Sudan's efforts to hosting refugees, saying Washington has provided $16 million to meet the needs of refugees and promised to provide more funding in the future.

Osman also demanded the international community to support Sudan to meet the needs of the continued inflows of refugees, saying the current international funding covers only 32% of the actual needs of refugees.

According to statistics of Sudan's Commission of Refugees, Sudan is hosting around 2 million refugees from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Chad, Somalia, Central Africa Republic, South Sudan, Yemen and Syria.

The United Nations says Sudan hosts 110,000 Eritrean refugees, 400,000 South Sudanese refugees and more than 100,000 Syrian refugees.

In addition, some 500,000 South Sudanese who stayed in Sudan following the separation are also in need of humanitarian assistance according to the UN.

(ST)

October 16, 2018 (JUBA) - The National Salvation Front (NAS) led by Gen Thomas Cirilo Swaka Tuesday dismissed accusations of attacking the SPLA-IO positions in Yei River State saying its fighters acted in self-defence.

In a statement issued Monday SPLM-IO Deputy Spokesperson Lam Paul Gabriel said NAS fighters killed 17 civilians in two attacks on their positions in Minyori and Logo of Yei River State.

However, NAS Spokesperson Suba Samuel Manase said his group which rejected the revitalized peace agreement is fully committed to the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement of 21 December 2017.

"On I4th October 2018, SPLM-IO under the command of Col Gadi attacked NAS small patrolling contingency force in Minyori Boma of Yei County," Manase said in a statement released on Tuesday.

"As a result, NAS force responded in self-defence and pursued the SPLA-IO bandits into their operational base in disarray," he stressed.

The African Union Peace and Security Council on Monday issued a statement about the outcome of a meeting held on 10 October about the situation in South Sudan.

The Council called on the parties to not resort to violence.

The Council ''Appeals to all the parties to the conflict to cease all acts of violence in South Sudan and respect for the signed Revitalized Agreement and to remain committed to the peaceful resolution of the conflict".

(ST)

October 15, 2018 (JUBA) - The South Sudan legislators Monday endorsed the full text of the revitalized agreement 33 days after the final signing in Addis Ababa on 12 September.

Members of South Sudan's parliament sing the national anthem during the reopening of parliamentary sessions in the capital, Juba, on 11 June 2012 (Photo: Giulio Petrocco/AFP/Getty)

In line with the implementation matrix of the revitalized peace agreement, the Transitional National Legislature comprising the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) and the Council of States should ratify the peace pact within seven days of the signature.

Once tabled for parliamentary approval by Minister of Justice Paulino Wanawila Unango, the agreement was unanimously adopted by the Members of Parliament (MPs) of the two houses.

NLA Speaker Anthony Lino Makana welcomed this great achievement saying it shows that the MPs of the two Houses are for peace.

Analysts in Juba say now after the parliamentary consent they expect that the release of the political detainees and prisoners of war take place soon.

(ST)

October 16, 2018 (JUBA) - South Sudanese President Salva Kiir directed the governors and tribal leaders of the states bordering neighbouring Sudan to implement the cooperation agreement particularly the operationalization of the buffer zone.

On Tuesday President Kiir held a meeting attended by his first deputy Taban Deng Gai with the governors, presidential advisers, defence and police senior officials as well as the tribal leaders of the border areas.

The South Sudanese presidential press unit said the president sought "answers on the status of the operationalization of the security arrangements agreed with the Republic of Sudan on the safe demilitarization of the buffer zone".

"While addressing the meeting, President Salva Kiir urged the state governors and paramount chiefs (in the areas) bordering the Safe Demilitarized Buffer Zone to work collectively with the national government to implement the security agreement reached between the two sisterly countries".

On 27 September 2012, the two countries signed a security agreement aiming to stop the flow of guns and supplies to the rebel groups across the border. The deal provides to establish a centreline and a buffer zone, which run 10 km along either side.

It was agreed by the parties that these security measures represent only the location of the separation line between the armed forces of the two States but it does affect the ongoing discussions on the border demarcation.

However, under the pressure of local leaders, South Sudan had stopped its participation in the joint border monitoring operation also suspended the marking of crossing points fearing that delimitation of the centreline, which passes through contested areas, may be seen as the final location of the boundary.

Recently, UN Security Council said it would downsize the international forces deployed in Abyei and involved in the operation if no progress is achieved until next November.

For his part, First Vice President Taban Deng Gai urged the State governors and paramount chiefs to support the national government in enhancing the working cooperation between the two countries. Also, he pointed that the opening of the six joint border corridors will boost trade between the two Countries.

Minister of Defence Kuol Manyang Juuk who signed the implementation matrix stressed the importance of implementing the security arrangements for the safety co-existence between the two Countries.

(ST)

The Sudanese Regime Tends to Order Righteousness to others while ignoring doing so for itself

By Mahmoud A. Suleiman

Heads of Failed States in the African Continent are trying to save other failed states; a questionable phenomenon posing many unanswered questions that remaining seeking answers! On the other hand, the question is whether the African people expect and/or except Peace initiatives brokered by regimes such as the National Congress Party (NCP)in Sudan that continues Waging Wars of Attrition against Its Own Citizens and Fails Honouring Peace Accords it has signed with the Parties in Dispute?

Reviewing the recent literature on African conflicts, Africa has a history of producing mixed results on mediation efforts to end conflicts. Successes include Mozambique. Failures include Somalia and eastern Congo. The author ofMay 30, 2010 Nico Colombant indicates that he spoke with several Africa experts in the United States about lessons learned and what seems to have worked. The conclusion indicated that African Mediation Efforts Have Mixed Results.

The list of African countries going through the process of conflict mediation is long, from Madagascar in the south to Sudan in the east, Ivory Coast in the west, and others in between.
https://www.voanews.com/a/african-mediation-efforts-have-mixed-results-95278874/154664.html

There is a basic legal principle known in Latin as - Nemo dat quod non habet – indicating that a person who does not own property, especially a thief, cannot confer it on another except with the true owner's authority.https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=nemo+dat+quod+non+habet.&oq=nemo+dat+quod+non+habet.&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.8374j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
This article comes against the backdrop of the recent news media outlet reports that the new Cabinet of the National Congress Party (NCP) regime is trying to find peace for the neighboring African countries while the former National Islamic Front (NIF) and its offspring the National Congress Party (NCP) regime continued Waging Wars of Attrition against Its Own Citizens and reneging and failing to honour Peace Accords it has signed with the Parties in Dispute and allowing Sudan to be in wars with its people in the Darfur region since 2003. It has been surfaced in the news that the regime's new Foreign Minister Dirdiri Mohamed Ahmed is currently on his way as of Monday 15th October 2018 to the Capital and largest city of the Central African Republic (CAR) Bangui and to N'Djamena the capital and largest city of the Republic of Chad, carrying messages from the National Congress Party (NCP) President Marshall Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir to his counterparts of the Chadian President Idriss Débyand the President of Central African Republic, Président de la République centrafricaine Faustin-Archange Touadéra.

According to a statement issued by the Sudanese Foreign Ministry, which was read by Bag News, the visit comes within the framework of Sudan's efforts to achieve peace in the Central African Republic (CAR) adopted by the African Union (AU). Furthermore, let us not forget the peace deal signed by the feuding groups of the Republic of South Sudan of President Salva Kiir Mayardit with the main rebel leader Dr Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon in Khartoum in 2018 in Khartoum where the National Congress Party (NCP) President Omer Al Bashir has offered to host peace talks. Nevertheless, the peace accord targeted at the time has yet to be archived, given the South Sudan's bitter rivals President Salwa Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar. The IGAD-led peace mediation in South Sudan as all of us know, things didn't go as expected.

Now coming back to the topic which is the communal warfare that has been continuing since 2013 when the Central Africa Republic (CAR) has slipped into a sectarian conflict in which the Christian Anti-Balaka militias, the so-called "Silica" coalition, a political and military coalition with a Muslim majority, have been put to the fore. On April 10, 2014, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) approved the deployment of an international peacekeeping force of 12,000 troops in the Central Africa Republic, shaken by a stifling sectarian crisis. The United Nations has deployed a 12,000-strong force to stabilize the country, which was able to emerge from a transitional phase and hold presidential elections in early 2016.

Thus, Omer al-Bashir and his ruling regime mimic the story of a doctor who tries to cure sick patients while he is sicker than the patient himself!
There are signs, however, that the "Sick Man of Africa", as Uganda was dubbed after a 20-year reign of terror by Milton Obote and Idi Amin, is well on the way to recovery.https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/sick-man-of-africa-is-very-much-on-the-mend-1594060.htmlAt one time, Nigeria has also been given the label of “Sick Man of Africa"https://nationalinterest.org/article/the-sick-man-of-africa-3345?page=0%2C1
Now Sudan under the 30-year reign of the National Congress Party (NCP) will qualify the title of the failed state the "Sick Man of Africa", par excellence.http://www.gamji.com/article5000/NEWS5169.htm
According to the cyber journal Sudan Tribune that in Last September in a meeting held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the African Union integrated the Sudanese initiative to end the armed conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR) between Muslim and Christian militias that continue to destabilize the country despite the deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission.http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article66426

At this juncture, there is a question posing itself as to whether there exists not a single wise head of state in all the African continent who could help in solving the chronic internal conflicts in the sisterly countries other than Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir who has been indicted for crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide against the Sudanese citizens in the Darfur region and remains fugitive from the international justice? That is the 64 Dollar Question! In other words; is there not among the African leaders a person of reason? Isn't there a wiser discerning individual among them to make peace initiatives other than the criminal bloke? The questions remain endless as to whether there is not in the club of African dictators even a single head of state who is unique among them has the wisdom and qualifications of the statesmanship and presents himself as a model of initiatives for peace, prosperity, justice and equality to be followed as a living model example to be cherished by others?TheKenyan academic Professor Patrick Lumumba has said you African people you allow your goats to be looked after by the hyenas who you elect and when the goats are consumed, you ask as if in a surprise; “how that has happened?”!Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba commonly referred to as Prof. PLO Lumumba gave speeches on Africa's Worst Tragedy: Economic Disorientation – A Case of South Sudan and quoted as saying:” When I look at Africa, Many times, I ask myself, “What would happen if Mwalimu Julius Nyerere were to rise up and see what is happening?”Many times, I would ask myself, “What would happen if Kwame Nkruma and Patrice Lomumba were to rise up and see what is happening?”!https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/when-i-look-africaa-must-read-speech-patrick-loch-otieno-rashid-adam

Prof PLO Lumumba goes further with his speech: “There is a war going on there. But it is not on the front pages of our newspapers, because we did not even control our newspapers and the media. As I speak to you, the Central African Republic is at war. But we talk about it only mutedly. As I speak to you now, in South Sudan, the youngest nation in Africa, the Nuers have risen against the Dinka. As I speak to you now, Eritrea is unsettled. As I speak to you now, there is unease in Egypt and there is unease in Libya, in Niger it is no better, in Senegal in the Casamance.”The Cassamance conflict is an ongoing low-level conflict that has been waged between the Government of Senegal and the Movement of Democratic Forces of Cassamance since 1982.https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Senegal+in+the+Cassamance&oq=Senegal+in+the+Cassamance&aqs=chrome..69i57j0.1901j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli the Italian diplomat, politician, historian, philosopher, humanist, writer, playwright and poet of the Renaissance period has been quoted as saying: ”Men are so imprudent that they take up a diet which, though it tastes sweet, is poisonous.”http://quotes.yourdictionary.com/author/quote/561430

The Situations of the ruling regime of the National Congress Party is similar to that of the Pharaoh that does not see himself naked until the little boy draws his attention!
Abraham Lincoln the American statesman and lawyer who served as the 16th President of the United States of America and led the United States through the American Civil War—its bloodiest war and perhaps its greatest moral, constitutional, and political crisis from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865, has been quoted as saying: “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time”. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/stephen_king_130778

Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman is an author, columnist and a blogger. His blog is http://thussudan.wordpress.com/

October 15, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Security authorities in Sudan detained a number journalists for several hours before to release them, Monday.

The Sudanese Parliament building

The journalists demonstrated outside the parliament to protest the ban of a colleague from covering the sessions.

The security agents dispersed a protest by the journalists of Al-Akhbar newspaper in front of the National Assembly in Omdurman, before to arrest nine protesters.

The newspaper organised the protest after the parliament officials systematically targeted its reporter Murtada Ahmed and prevented him from covering the sessions.

Ten Members of Parliament from the independents' caucus participated in the protest.

Murtada Ahmed told Sudan Tribune that the security service took him after dispersing the protest to a detention center in Omdurman with members of the editorial board including Nizar Sayed Ahmed the general editor, Ahmed Hamdan head of news section, Abdel Rahman Al-Aqab head of the political section, Abdel Rahman an editor, Shawqi Gamar Aldolla a designer and Ibrahim Nugd Allah a photographer.

Also were detained Omar al-Kabbashi, Haji Abdel Rahman al-Moz who are from other newspapers.

According to Murtada Ahmed, the security agents interrogated him and others for about an hour and kept them in detention for additional three hours before the intervention of Omdurman Commissioner Magdi Abdel Aziz who requested the release of detained journalists.

Abdel Aziz who is a member in different discussions groups with the Sudanese journalists further promised to intervene personally to contain the crisis between the parliament officials and Al-Akhbar newspaper.

For his part, the head of the news section of the newspaper Ahmed Hamdan said they would escalate the issue and file a case before the Constitutional Court against the ban because it violates the law and the Constitution and the status of the Parliament.

Last year several disputes occurred between parliament authorities and the press.

In August 2017, the reporters boycotted the parliament activities in solidarity with their colleague Mourtada Ahmed, who at the time was a reporter of Al-Ahram Al-Youm newspaper.

Also, the General Secretariat of the National Assembly sued Al-Jareeda and Al-Ahram Al-Youm newspapers for publishing statements by Badria Suleiman the deputy speaker expressing her rejection of the appointment of a third deputy speaker.

In addition last July, the parliament authorities issued a decision banning newspapers and satellite TV journalists from covering their activities after a two-day boycott by the journalists to protest the ban on another female colleague from entering the National Assembly.

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